I thought the same thing but when I read arranged my talent tree and resetup my bars. It was fine.. In beta you have no enchants no food no flasks. So.. Your going to be weak for the time being.. It's gets better. Once you rearranged everything
Been playing in beta for a week, ele has been pretty fun and more doable than enhance for quest mobs. When dealing with most mobs you find yourself kiting a lot, but generally if you pull smart you can nuke them down pretty quick. Maelstrom generation has been frustrating at first, but that has been fixed by picking the Aftershock talent. This talent alone is a godsend for opening up the ele playstyle to make it a more smooth experience. Instead of sticking with a "Fire" or "Lightning" spec elemental shaman, I chose a compromise with ascendance and totem mastery.
I got pretty geared within 1 week to 850 ilvl and pretty much all mobs can die before they can touch me most of the time. If you have one of those rare elites that is kitable, you can solo it. I talented towards maelstrom generation and savings so I can dump more into earthshock when applicable.
200k dps atm with 850 ilvl, you can choose to switch it up with single target talents, but I find the flexiblity of laying down many earthquakes on demand better for dungeons and trash clearing.