The main reason is overpopulation. Then there is lack of civic planning and zoning. The main question to me is not why do they (we..I live in Tsunamiville)..build there, but why are they allowed to build as they do...stick houses that break apart in hurricanes..houses that burn, or rot from the rain..made out of flimsier wood than in the past and person-made materials...

I am fanatic about not building out of wood, except where the earthquake risk far exceeds other risks of fire, flood, insects, and hurricanes. Even then, I think some reinforced masonry ends up being safer but people will argue with that and I am not going to reserach it again. There are ways to have building codes, made out of proper materials, to really reduce the hazards. There are simple laws that could be made, or maybe are, to reduce the risk to mobile home dwellers..like each park will have a big masonry building..call it a garage or whatever...where people can take shelter. Several masonry shelters (we still need bomb shelters) scattered throughout a town...high structures in tsunami or flood areas.

Better prepared populace..here we right now have students with their feet up on their desks and baseball caps drooping, chewing gum, with glazed eyes and a defiant attitude..train them to be very important responders in a disaster..digging latrines, first aid, cooking skills, practice erecting tents, etc. We don't make use of the resources we have. Wash and shrinkwrap all sorts of used bedding and clothing and have them on hand ready to drop into places. Buy up surplus, grow surplus, and make biscuits to drop down. mg