Hurricane destroying beaches...

It would be a rough time to be a real estate agent in Florida right now, especially along the Palm Beach area. I was just watching Night Line as they discussed how beach erosion is endangering 20 million dollars worth of real estate property. An interesting question was asked if such properties should be built on the beach in the first place with the response being since they were already built the government had a duty to protect them. That I have to wonder about, given the property owners built there, I am not sure if it is the duty of the government to continually fund saving property that is involved in a constant battle with Mother Nature...