In future storms, we're fucked no matter who is in office...

There are regulations in place that says if the government rebuilds a building, it has to be rebuilt EXACTLY as it was before even if it was a 50 year old building.

There are regulations in place that says if the government rebuilds a building, it has to be rebuilt EXACTLY as it was before even if it was a 50 year old building. Originally Posted by JD Barleycorn

Garbage. Whoever told you that probably also has a bridge to sell, or oceanfront property in Kansas. Either that, or someone read part of something, or read something they didn't understand.
-
As a matter of law, when anyone rebuilds a building, whether it's paid for by a government entity, an insurer, a mortgage company, or the owner, unless that building has been designated a Historical Landmark, local and state regulations require that the new building be constructed to the then-current building codes. Now, there may be provisions that exempt the entity paying from footing the bill for the required upgrades, but that's a lot different than rebuilding it exactly as it was.
-
And as for the situation in Joplin, no one can force you to rebuild around existing undamaged portions of property. What probably happened was that the entity or insurer that was paying for the damage repairs refused to pay to tear down undamaged parts of the building, meaning the owner has to either repair around the undamaged portions, or foot the bill for the difference in what was paid and the cost of tearing down what was left and rebuilding from scratch.
-
With all due respect, and I mean that, it's dangerous to listen to anyone who is telling you what someone else told him, or to listen to someone who thinks they know, but really don't, because they don't have all of the facts. I was a licensed claims adjuster for 18 years, and worked in over 30 states. I worked hurricanes, tornadoes, California earthquakes and brush fires, winter freezes, floods, and a host of other types of claims.

When I was adjusting Katrina claims, I had an insured named Helen who lost everything when New Orleans flooded. Over the course of adjusting the loss of an entire house and all of the property in it, most adjusters naturally get to know the people as more than just names on a file. This was such a case. One day toward the tail end of the claims process, when I had paid Helen just about everything she was due, she told me she was going to tithe on everything I gave her. I questioned why, since she had already tithed on the money she had used to purchase everything she owned (she had told me this in a prior conversation) and she replied that she wanted to stay on God's good side, because it was God who destroyed New Orleans.
-
Naturally I scoffed, though as respectfully as I could because I didn't want to offend her. She asked me quietly if I believed in God. I told her yes. She asked if I believed the Bible was the Word of God. I told her yes. Then she asked if I believed the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. I answered yes again. She said New Orleans was a wicked city, and that if God could do it to Sodom and Gomorrah, he could sure do it to New Orleans.
-
Population of greater New Orleans before Katrina = 1.2 million
Population of New Orleans proper before Katrina = 600,000
Population of greater New Orleans post Katrina = 600,000
Population of New Orleans proper post Katrina = 300,000
I'm not saying...I'm just saying. Food for thought, if you're a believer.