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Santa Monica issuing evacuation order

Dr.Guru of Peru

played the long game
Feels like maybe corporations should be beholden to all stakeholders again, and not just shareholders.

Gotta cancel insurance for the shareholder, gotta cut safety costs as a power company for the shareholder, gotta suck up all that low cost water as a giant ag company shipping alfalfa to Saudi Arabia for the shareholder...

And then everyone else gets stuck with Flint, MI water quality, $1,000 per kWh electricity in frozen Texas, and uninsured homes in Florida and California.
I don't think that's the same issue, but WRT to California and Florida: at what point do people realize that this is just the risk of living in these regions?

I hope this doesn't come off as insensitive, but I really think people don't pay enough attention to the risk posed by natural disasters when deciding to live in a region.

Yeah, it's great to have sunny warm weather year round and access to beaches, but the down side of that is everything catches on fire or gets destroyed by a hurricane all the time. If insurance companies are backing out because they can no longer make money in your community because it gets wiped out every few years from a fire or hurricane, then people need to factor that calculus into whether you can afford to live in these places. If you can't self insure, then sell when you can and get out.

Everyone likes to blame their favorite scapegoat whenever something like this happens, but ultimately all anyone can do is mitigate risk and if the disaster is big enough the risk mitigation is bound to fail.
 
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EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
D6Rc9O2.png


 

FunkMiller

Member
I don't think that's the same issue, but WRT to California and Florida: at what point do people realize that this is just the risk of living in these regions?

I hope this doesn't come off as insensitive, but I really think people don't pay enough attention to the risk posed by natural disasters when deciding to live in a region.

You should probably tell us where you live, if you're going to say stuff like this.
 

FunkMiller

Member
Wouldn’t be able to imagine how I would recover from something like this happening to me.

You don't. Not fully. I know people who have been caught up in some of Australia's disasters, like wildfires and flooding. Many of them have not been able to recover their lifestyles fully. And I'm talking about a country where insurance premiums are generally fairly priced, and the companies do pay out.
 

FunkMiller

Member
Southern Ontario in Canada, but why does it matter? I'm not trying to attack anyone personally. If it's "too soon", I'll butt out.

https://www.getprepared.gc.ca/cnt/hzd/rgnl/on-en.aspx

In Ontario, regional risks may include flooding, severe storms, forest fires, and transportation accidents.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Canadian_wildfires

https://www.ibc.ca/news-insights/ne...rio-caused-over-940-million-in-insured-damage

In 2025, none of live in places that aren't at some threat of natural disasters. I don't mean to have a go at you, but the idea that anyone can decide to live in a 'safe' region is for the birds in this day and age.
 
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Dr.Guru of Peru

played the long game
Sure, but there's degrees of risk. Insurers haven't mass cancelled policies here like in California or Florida and as far as I know the government hasn't had to bail out people for lack of coverage in Toronto *knock on wood*.

We did have a similar episode where there was extensive flood damage near the national capital region, and the local government performed a one-time bailout but prevented the owners from reoccupying the land due to ongoing risk.
 
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Jinzo Prime

Member
https://www.getprepared.gc.ca/cnt/hzd/rgnl/on-en.aspx



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Canadian_wildfires

https://www.ibc.ca/news-insights/ne...rio-caused-over-940-million-in-insured-damage

In 2025, none of live in places that aren't at some threat of natural disasters. I don't mean to have a go at you, but the idea that anyone can decide to live in a 'safe' region is for the birds in this day and age.
Yep. Look up Asheville North Carolina. A nice, friendly, hip mountain town obliterated by a fucking hurricane. A hurricane in the mountains? Yeah that can happen now. No one had any idea Asheville was anything but safe.
 

FunkMiller

Member
Sure, but there's degrees of risk. Insurers haven't mass cancelled policies here like in California or Florida and as far as I know the government hasn't had to bail out people for lack of coverage in Toronto *knock on wood*.

We did have a similar episode where there was extensive flood damage near the national capital region, and the local government performed a one-time bailout but prevented the owners from reoccupying the land due to ongoing risk.

Ah well, the conversation over how insurance companies handle these things is a different one. The severity of risk clearly isn't the governing principal for how those fucks handle their policies and their customers.

Maybe the good people of Greenland would want to think twice about being owned by America, given how well its companies like to protect and insure its citizens.
 
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Meicyn

Member
Sure, but there's degrees of risk. Insurers haven't mass cancelled policies here like in California or Florida and as far as I know the government hasn't had to bail out people for lack of coverage in Toronto *knock on wood*.

We did have a similar episode where there was extensive flood damage near the national capital region, and the local government performed a one-time bailout but prevented the owners from reoccupying the land due to ongoing risk.
Can’t speak on California, but I can the other as I have two properties in Florida. The biggest reason why I have affordable insurance through State Farm for both is because they are compliant with the Miami-Dade building standard. State Farm wouldn’t even consider me until I provided evidence of proper hurricane mitigation, which I provided after hiring an independent inspector to assess. If the homes had failed, I would have hired contractors to make the roofing compliant and then reassess.

It’s a calculated risk for both myself and my insurer, but at least for Florida, there are some options. I proved that my home has reduced risk, and my coverage price reflects. Without that evidence of mitigation, I would have had to pay an insurer like American Integrity $3500/year for just the smaller house. I currently pay less than $3000/year to cover both properties under State Farm.
 

Meicyn

Member

Ah, the classic cold shoulder approach. I too, learned about it in DARE. As a functional adult however, I’ve found it to be ineffective and quite tone deaf in the face of disaster and exacerbating a PR nightmare.

Like, say you regret cutting the budget, but want to focus on fixing what’s in front of us right now. Pull a power move like Lt Gen Hanore during hurricane Rita/Katrina and tell the reporter to not get stuck on stupid and focus on getting people to safety. Something, anything.

Fucking amateur hour.
 

Meicyn

Member
I wish I had an anger reaction emoji right now. She reminds me of the irritating middle managers at my job, but now people are dead. Same vibe, same look, same incompetence.
Seriously, I am beyond livid that this bitch is in a position of power. While I was in the military, I had to address a town hall of angry people with hostility behind every question and it was easily the worst public speaking experience of my life. But when you’re in a leadership position, people feed off of your energy. Standing there looking upset like you’re being inconvenienced is beyond pathetic. Take command. Be honest. Show empathy. Assuage their fears. Repeat their questions so they know you’re actively listening. Something. Anything.

Just think. According to the L.A. budget, she makes almost $300K/year.
 

squallheart

Member
Does California do any preventive measures for fires like that? Trimming, controlled forest fires etc. I feel like there are fires every year.
I mean trump told Newsom he needs to do those things. He ignored it. He even dumped all the rain water we got last year straight to the ocean.
I'm like an hour and half away but in the deserts so we have no view of this fire. We did however have the last fire that was in September so needless to say fires are not going anywhere poor people who lost everything:/
DTWwhzt.jpeg
 

Meicyn

Member

It’s like a movie scene, where the bumbling moron is taking up space, actively hindering the situation instead of helping. Can’t be genuine and speak from the heart in a moment of crisis, vapor locks in real time, needs a script to communicate, the works. Except it’s real life, lives have been lost, people are injured, untold damages will accrue, and so on.

The best thing she could do right now is resign and just disappear so someone who gives a genuine shit can fill the spot.
 

Jinzo Prime

Member

All of this can be found at URL
Please meme this.

California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and other regulatory policies limit the ability of local government and fire management services to clear dead trees and vegetation. (This is a big deal and prevents much of the controlled burns we desperately need.)Multiple bills, including AB 2330, AB 1951, and AB 2639 were rejected by the democrat-controlled Legislature or vetoed by the Governor that would have exempted wildfire prevention projects from CEQA and other permitting issues.
This fire did not have to be as bad as it was. I want to know scientifically how much clearing dead wood and controlled burns could have reduced the fire by.
 

Tajaz2426

Psychology PhD from Wikipedia University
Good lord, this is unbearable for those folks and hard to watch. No one deserves this. Is there any link up yet for donations for victims?
 

Myths

Member
Being about a mile and a half from DTLA, skies were crazy red today. Now Hollywood is an even closer encroachment.
 

ChuckeRearmed

Gold Member
I mean trump told Newsom he needs to do those things. He ignored it. He even dumped all the rain water we got last year straight to the ocean.
I'm like an hour and half away but in the deserts so we have no view of this fire. We did however have the last fire that was in September so needless to say fires are not going anywhere poor people who lost everything:/
DTWwhzt.jpeg
Tragic. I guess the damages cost wise will be around 100b at the end of all of it.

Am I blind or is Reddit hardly covering this? I've seen threads on /r/news about the wildfires suddenly disappear.
Well it is not Texas burning, but "democrat paradise", "the biggest economy that feeds USA", "perfectly run democrat state" :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 
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