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No Home, No Job, No Luck
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Something that gets lost in the coverage of natural disasters: They don't just kill people, they eliminate jobs. Every business, every factory and retail outlet damaged in a tornado represents jobs that may not come back. And temporary construction jobs don't make up the long-term loss. Oh, and here's another thing: A lot of lives in Joplin could have been saved if the houses had basements, but 87% of homes in town don't. Why? Because the ground can't handle deep foundations due to the composition and the high water table, unless you're prepared to pay a LOT of money to do it. You can build "garage vaults," though, for a couple of grand; they're concrete rooms in your garage. So you might want to do that if you live in a place like Joplin that's tornado-prone and basement-free. (MSNBC; Reuters via MSNBC)
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