If the risk of living along the coast is so great. What draws so many people to the coast lines?
Intitally I thought maybe people simply like the view, along with the booming economic trade, jobs, and really great sushi. After reading the below article I realized, though all the things listed above are great, there is more. The risk to live in a, ‘danger zone’, is almost easier than not. The federal government is bound by law to pay for most of the cost of fixing storm damage and the national Flood Insurance Program provides consumers in coastal danger zones below-market protection from floods. So if you are not attached to your belongings and the rewards out way the risk then the hazards of living along the coast line provide a more appealing outcome to people.
Politically speaking a town, city or state might find the cost of additional barriers and preventatie measures more appealing if they knew the federal government wasn’t just going to turn around and pay for all the damages, inevitably enticeing people to continue buying property along the coast. Reformig the governments flood insurance program might be a good start to a long term solution to reducing the trillions of dollars being spent on damages caused by destructive weather.
http://science.time.com/2012/11/20/after-sandy-why-we-cant-keep-rebuilding-on-the-waters-edge/