A "managed retreat from the coasts" is what we should be doing. If the free market prevailed, the retreat would happen, though "managed" is probably not how it would go down.

The free market isn't prevailing, of course. Unfortunately, the government is really screwing it up. In Florida, the state - IOW, the taxpayers - is insuring homes that insurance companies won't.

In North Carolina, Hurricane Fran decimated some towns in areas that weren't supposed to be rebuilt with federal money. They were supposed to pay people to relocate, but not to rebuild. But emotions ran so high after the disaster that they got a waiver. The result was a huge jump in prices. Houses that used to cost 1 million started going for 2 million. And more people moved into harm's way.