Ok, I'll probably take some heat for this, but that's ok.

While I am (very) sympathetic to all of those affected by this disaster, I do have a question (that most likely cannot be answered).

Why are people allowed to build homes in these areas that look no different then a house you would see anywhere else in the country?

How come there aren't zoning laws in place that say something to the effect of "if you're going to build here, you need to meet these building standards..."?

We see the same areas, year after year, boarding up there houses up with plywood, sandbags and other items to 'shore up' their house. Why? Why are the houses in these areas not built to withstand the harse weather conditions that occur every year? Plywood over the windows? WTF? Why don't these structures have some sort of storm-shutter systems installed?? Why aren't the bottom floors reinforced brick or masonry?

I'm not naive enough to think that all conditions can be prepared for, but there are obviously some structures built in these areas that are still there and I have a hard time believing that this is due to simple chance.

Maybe it's just me, but if I lived in an area such as this, I'm guessing that I would pass on the standard wood frame and sheetrock construction that appearantly do not last long under circumstances such as these.