what, exactly, has beta done?? i have it for you, from a chicken little website...
Major damage include the destruction of 411 houses, four schools, three health centers, 22 latrines, one child feeding center, two water tanks, four churches and innumerable fallen trees. Some 3,408 people have been evacuated from the various communities and relocated to 24 temporary shelters. Seven people are reported missing.
sounds bad, but it isnt, unless you happen to be the owner or dweller of one of those buildings... it came, it pissed itself away in a rather insignifigant way, it damaged some things, destroyed some other things, and was done... historically and economically insignifigant... i say now again, the gulf is done with hurricanes of any signifigance for this season... there may be more than a month left, but i am confident that nothing of note will happen...
wilma didnt destroy anything of signifigance in the USA... there will be NO discernable economic impact from it... it came through, it left, it hit nothing important... rather typical, really...
10 billion is based on what?? i am curious... is it the total damage, including mexico and various banana republics, or is it just florida??? im guessing that number wont hold, regardless of what it represents.. in any case, ANY hurricane that hits the US now will cause a lot more damage than an identical twin would have ten years ago.. more people live on the coast, more buildings have been raised on the coast, and more people are living more prosporous lives on the coast... when this happens, there is simply more stuff for a storm to hit.. end result is more damaga, but not a worse storm...
it still falls back to responsibility in construction, maintenance, and owning of enough of the right kind of insurance... a truly devastating hurricane is STILL a fluke event, and wont happen any more frequently than it has through out history... as for the katrina damages, i can only hope that those with the losses cover them for themselves... i also know that some of my money will be taken from me and given to some irresponsible schlubs who didnt plan ahead... there truly is no substitute for responsibility... those here in the US that got hit by the hurricanes got exactly what they should have expected...
you will be happy to know that the house of a certain Rush Limbaugh was hit, and power, as of today, still had not been restored to him... unlike the foolish and irresponsible people of new orleans and other locales, i doubt a single tax dollar will be spent on mr Limbaughs home, as he built well enough to not lose the structure, and is insured well enough to recover any losses... he also had enough provisions to remain in his home if he chooses, along with a generator for electrical needs... naturally, he has more money than most folks, but that is not any excuse... one should not live where one cannot afford to...