oh check this out: lots of high pressure in the northern latitudes right? well, so the east had a mild summer, west had a drought. what do you think happens in the winter? from //www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/threats/threats.html#3-5days long soybeans anyone?
St. Croix is becoming hurricane-resistant after all the storms that hit in the '90s. Buildings are better constructed now. Most have concrete walls, some with concrete roofs. Wood frame buildings are rare. One resident had a wood frame cottage. He knocked it down prematurely and plans to build something stronger. Our house is concrete-walled with a steel reinforced wood roof and heavy 4x8 rafters. It hasn't taken any damage since it was built in '64. Hugo destroyed 80% of roofs in '89. Some residents don't bother with shutters or plywood. They install stronger windows and doors instead. If the wind from a cat 4 or 5 hurricane catches underneath steel shutters or plywood it will rip them off like paper. All of our electrical feeder lines and main telephone trunks are underground. The local lines are going underground as funding permits. Looting never happens anymore. Most big stores have long-term generating capacity. Most homes have one or two generators. Many residents will bring out their chainsaws to help clear roads after a storm. Florida is going to have to make changes to building codes and put power and telephone lines underground.
There has been alot of debate on this subject in South Florida, as people have gone long periods without power here. The power company says it is cost-prohibitive to bury the power lines. It may literally take an "act of Congress" to force this to be done. When looking at the cost of repairing damage to aerial lines, and the economic impact of power losses, it seems to be the right thing to do. On the positive side, the changes to the building codes since Andrew in '92 has made homes much more storm-resistant. Almost all of the major damage we're seeing is on pre-Andrew homes, and mobile homes especially.
That would be the obvious thing to do. Why is that so expensive? Power lines and cable lines are underground in most European countries . I hear cable internet is still down in Freeport. Is DSL any better ? Is a dial up connection a reliable back up ? I have been told cable is "reliable when it works" ! I cannot imagine not being able to get online for days at a time, how can you trade for a living in those conditions? Also how often do power outages happen?
what is the best island to live on (6-10 months per year) ? I think of Freeport because it is modern and doesn't seem to have the downsides of Nassau: too crowded , too many tourists, crime and so-so (although expensive) nightlife apparently.
Better in Freeport than in the other places I mentioned? Always seemed much tackier there, to me. Infrastructure that much better?