The water, sewer, and gas lines in my state are all still buried. We don’t have basements, so when these lines enter the house, they are often routed to the attic. But we don’t have big wooden poles that carry water or gas at roof level and get blown down with ever strong gust of wind.

Burying the lines would require an additional expense for home builders and energy/data technicians. Telephone and electricity poles are much cheaper to erect than big trenches for the lines are to dig and insulate. But you’ll notice in Houston that areas in downtown and the Galleria and certain corners of the wealthy suburbs, we’re able to maintain power through even the worst weather because we buried the fucking lines over there. It is absolutely possible to do. It just incurs an upfront cost that these businesses don’t want to pay and the city doesn’t have the authority (or inclination, under our current shitty cheapass mayor) to do themselves.