(Long Island, NY) The late comedian Sam Kinison once made a tasteless joke about the plight of starving people in Africa. “Why don’t they move to where the food is?” Kinison raged, giving his trademark howl, to much laughter from the audience. Sure, it’s insensitive. Of course it’s tasteless. And yes, many people agreed that the statement was funny. After all, “comedy is when it happens to you,” the old saying goes, “tragedy is when it happens to me.”
After last year’s disastrous hurricane season, people outside Long Beach are no doubt wondering why residents there are willing to live in a potential flood zone. New York outsiders scratch their heads as they ponder the local version of Kinison’s joke. Why don’t the Long Beachers move away from the risky areas and let nature do its work? “Those Long Beach types must” one muses, “all have GREAT flood insurance.”
Of course, it’s far too late for any exodus-type thinking; hence the Army Corps of Engineers fifty year, $220 million dollar project for fortifying the Long Beach oceanfront against future storms. The idea is good, but the details are less assuring. There are questions about where the money for such a project would come from, and on top of the huge money issue, the Corps of Engineers admits that even this project won’t prevent bay flooding from the north.
“Those Long Beach types must have GREAT flood insurance.”
The expensive (and very long-term) project would add some much needed security against rising waters, but in the meantime the threat of a major storm and its consequences are still very real. There won’t be any flood-fearing exodus from Long Beach today, tomorrow, or next year; those who live in there accept the risks. It’s the classic case of an irresistible force—the storm and subsequent rising waters—versus the immovable force—the population of Long Beach. A flood will come, sooner or later, but it’s human nature to stick around, hope for the best and keep your fingers crossed. Even some of those who fled Hurricane Katrina waited until the very last moment to get out of town.
Of course, getting out of town is only half the problem. What to do with the flooded out remains of everything you ever owned is the other half. Some landowners may live in areas required by federal law to have flood insurance—those living in a 100-year floodplain, for example. If you live or own a building in these areas, your lender has required you to take out the insurance. Other areas aren’t so strict. In the wake of the last round of hurricanes and tropical storms, it’s clear that those without insurance in a potential high-water area are living on borrowed time when it comes to keeping or losing everything they have. “Those Long Beach types NEED great flood insurance.”
The Corps of Engineers want to help Long Beach, and those who are affected by potential flooding are certainly grateful for any consideration at all. The protection offered by the plan certainly won’t be fully available for decades; some may well wonder what happens if a major storm comes along and wipes out the project’s progress?
All of this leads back around to the original question. Why not just move away from the high water zone? The question is pointless, of course. Nobody is going to run from the big bad storm…until it actually shows up. It’s the same kind of human nature at work as those who laughed at Sam Kinison’s joke about the starving masses in Africa. Comedy is when it happens to somebody else. The only question is, how long until the laughs run out? Flood insurance is expensive, but it’s probably best to get a hold of some while you’re still laughing.
