Maybe you and others can help me understand Galveston. This LiveScience article says, "Galveston is a barrier island, a narrow landmass made mostly of sand that extends along a coastline parallel to the land. These islands, common along the Gulf Coast and East Coast of the United States, are some of the most fragile and changing landforms on Earth. And they are particularly vulnerable to storms."

I didn't know Galveston was an island, but having read this I must ask why people build on mostly sand?

"From a safety standpoint, it's silly," Alexander [a marine geologist] said. "Because the lifespan of a typical house is something like 60 years. But if you live on a barrier island, you can't guarantee you'll have land under your house in 60 years. It's trying to put something permanent in a place that's very dynamic."

I don't understand this.

I remember John Stossel doing a piece on the "Give Me a Break!" phenomenon of rich people building homes on Galveston coast and Florida coast, which the federal government insure, and b/c the homes aer blown away every decade or so, they get a brand new house at our expense. Their choice to build in untenable land; our taxes rebuild for them. Over and over again.