Philip W. Barnes, PhD
Texas is approaching the annual hurricane season. So it is timely to look back and see what we have learned from the last major hurricane to hit the Texas coast.
When Hurricane Ike hit the Texas coast on September 13, 2008, it caused damage of historic proportions. In the United States, Ike was blamed for at least 195 deaths, and many more are still missing. Due to its immense size and strength, damages from Ike in U.S. coastal and inland areas were estimated at $24 billion. Ike was the third costliest Atlantic hurricane of all time.
In Galveston, by 4 p.m. on September 12, the rising storm surge began overtopping the 17-ft Galveston Seawall, which faces the Gulf of Mexico. Waves had been crashing along the seawall earlier, from 9 a.m. Although Seawall Boulevard is elevated above the shoreline, many areas of town slope down behind the seawall to the lower elevation of Galveston Island.
On the morning of September 13, 2008, the eye of Hurricane Ike approached the upper Texas coast, making landfall at 2:10 a.m. over the east end of Galveston Island, with a high storm surge, and travelled north up Galveston Bay, along the east side of Houston. People in low-lying areas who had not heeded evacuation orders, in single-family one- or two-story homes, were warned by the weather service that they may “face certain death” from the overnight storm surge, a statement that turned out to be true for some unable or unwilling to evacuate. Two of the images above show the damage from Ike in the community of Gilchrist, which was largely destroyed by the hurricane, and flooding in Galveston.
Widespread flooding included downtown Galveston; water was six ft deep inside the Galveston County Courthouse, and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston was flooded. Tourist attractions on the island suffered various degrees of damage. The Lone Star Flight Museum suffered massive damage, as the storm surge washed through the airport and hangars with about 8 feet of water. Moody Gardens — shown in one of the images above — was built with storms in mind and was able to withstand the worst of the storm. And many of Galveston’s magnificent historical homes – those built before and around 1900, such as the home in the image above – also survived the storm, often with minimal damage.
The damage from Hurricane Ike was dramatic and devastating. And in reviewing examples of the range of damage the storm caused, lessons can be learned – or perhaps “learned again.” What are some of these lessons?
Well Designed and Constructed Buildings
First, we know that buildings can be built to withstand very high winds and high surging water. The design and construction of Moody Gardens is an excellent example of the use of sophisticated design and building materials in anticipating hurricane events and thus minimizing their impact, including the impact of a storm as strong as Ike. Without a doubt, today’s computer assisted design techniques and other computer-based analytics are invaluable in the assistance they can provide architects, engineers, and constructors in helping assure that buildings of all kinds will withstand high sustained winds.
In the simplest form, beach cabins built on piers are another example. These structures, which are found along virtually any populated beach area and for which examples are shown in an illustration above, are built with the first floor or living area 8 to 10 feet off the ground. The ground level space may be open permitting rising water from a storm surge to flow beneath the building. If enclosed, the ground level space typically is encased with walls that will give way to the storm without jeopardizing the structural integrity of the building itself. The upper stores can be designed and built of materials that can withstand high winds, and the orientation of the building on the lot coupled with design features can minimize wind damage. Can structures such as these withstand every storm, no matter how strong? Of course not. But it is certain that structures such as these have a better chance of surviving most hurricanes.
Even homes built long before computer assisted design techniques were available reflect the logical thinking and experience of their architects and builders. I have two acquaintances who had family and friends that owned historic homes in the City of Galveston. These homes were described as located near the historic downtown area but away from the sea wall. They were both built around the turn of the century, two story structures with high ceilings and cupolas, which were common to that era. These homes were in the path of Ike and their owners were among the thousands of Galveston residents who evacuated the island. They returned days later fearing the worst, having seen images of homes on Bolivar peninsula totally destroyed, some washed away to the foundation, and similar damage to many modern homes and buildings in the center of the city. To their great relief, both families returned to their historic homes and found literally no damage! In one of the homes, a windowpane in an upper story was broken. That was all.
One might argue that if every home and building on Galveston Island had been built to comparable standards, the property loss on the island would have been greatly reduced. That is almost certainly true. While it may be unrealistic as a practical matter to expect every structure to comply with state-of-the art building standards, this idea would be a noble goal.
Local (and state) building codes are an obvious and important tool. We really know a great deal about what works and doesn’t – as the recent Galveston experience suggests. However, we often lack the political will to make it happen. Building codes and code enforcement are examples. While Texas cities have the authority to impose and enforce building codes, Texas county governments do not. So in most unincorporated areas, there is minimal local government influence over what and how things are built. The State of Texas has imposed by law certain building requirements for coastal properties insured by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. The appropriate promulgation and uniform enforcement of building standards recognized independently as wind resistant certainly reduce the risk of hurricane loss.
Of course, individual property owners may choose to build to standards higher than the minimum required by law or ordinance in order to reduce the risk of hurricane loss. I would bet that the construction standards met by Moody Gardens exceeded the minimum building standards enforced on Galveston Island!
Pricing Insurance to the Risk
What is the role of property insurance in all of this? We know that the insurance industry has the technology and expertise to price any insurable risk, and to do so efficiently. While the inspection of a property by an experienced appraiser is always preferred, a great deal of information is available electronically – and more every day. Satellite technology has brought sophisticated imagery easily within reach of most insurance companies. And with more information, the insurance company can continually refine its underwriting and rating systems. Property insurance companies today have the technical ability to differentiate among risks in pricing based on very accurate evaluation of the risks themselves. Accordingly, public policy should require insurance companies to compete for all risks, without exception, including those in coastal areas. Only if conventional insurance is not available at any price should public policy provide for a market of last resort.
In Texas, the insured losses from Hurricane Ike experienced in Galveston were borne largely by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA). While Texas has a healthy file and use system for policy forms and rates, insurance companies have no incentive to compete for risks in areas served by TWIA simply because TWIA offers rates that are not adequate to pay forecasted losses. As a result, no risk served by TWIA pays a proper premium for its exposure. The voluntary market cannot compete and remain profitable, no matter how sophisticated it’s underwriting and rating systems. This is the result of a deliberate and misguided public policy.
