Knowing this, New Orleans still not prepared for Katrina.

by FlyingHighNow 8 Replies latest jw friends

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  FlyingHighNow

  
  Following is an article that was linked to on a discussion board last year, about the effects of a category 5 hurricane and how ill prepared New Orleans is for it and the potential for the loss of 40,000 lives. Look for the picture of the expected water level from the storm surge:

  Some scientists suggests there's a roughly one in six chance that a killer hurricane will strike New Orleans over the next 50 years. Photo: U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Joe Suhayda shows Daniel Zwerdling how high the water would be if New Orleans were hit with a Category Five Hurricane. Photo: William Brangham/NOW with Bill Moyers Joe Suhayda, left, and Daniel Zwerdling. Photo: William Brangham/NOW with Bill Moyers PART IV Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hurricane Risk for New Orleans Listen (Real Audio, 20:12 min) | Printable Version When emergency management officials think about the worst natural disasters that might befall America, San Francisco is always on the list. They say there's a 70 percent chance that a major earthquake will hit that city in the next 30 years and potentially cause thousands of deaths. But they say there's another disaster that could be far worse—and many people don't know about it. The chances that this tragedy will happen are much lower, but the death toll would be staggering. Government officials are trying to figure out if there's any way to prevent it. Think about the great cities in this country, and one of them will be New Orleans. On a recent evening, a scientist pulls up in the French Quarter. Joe Suhayda takes a plastic rod out of his trunk and he proceeds to show us what could happen the next time a hurricane hits New Orleans. "OK, this is tool that I have a range rod," explains Suyhayda. "It will show us how high the water would be if we were hit with a Category Five Hurricane." Which would mean what? "Twenty feet of water above where we are standing now," says Suyhayda. Twenty? A Category Five Hurricane is the most powerful storm on a scientific scale. Suhayda plants the rod on the sidewalk next to a 200-year-old building that's all wrought iron balconies and faded brick and wooden shutters. Every click marks another foot that the flood would rise up this building. I can't believe you're still going. "Yeah, still going," says Suyhayda. Until a couple months ago, Suhayda ran a prominent research center at Louisiana State University. They've developed the most detailed computer models that anybody's ever used to predict how hurricanes could affect this region. Studies suggest that there's roughly a one in six chance that a killer hurricane will strike New Orleans over the next 50 years. Suhayda is still extending his stick as he describes what he is doing, "It's well above the second floor, just about to the rooftop." It's hard to comprehend. "Yes," agrees Suyahada, "it is really, to think that that much water would occur in this city during a catastrophic storm." Do you expect this kind of hurricane—this kind of flooding—will hit New Orleans in our lifetime? "Well I would say the probability is yes," says Suyahada. "In terms of past experience, we've had three storms that were near misses—that could have done at least something close to this." Basically, the part of New Orleans that most Americans—most people around the world—think is New Orleans, would disappear. Suyhayda agrees, "It would, that's right." Next: A Risky Spot
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  FlyingHighNow

  Here is a comment from the message board on the above article:

  I've been hearing about this for years, and yet NO is so astoundingly corrupt and ineffectual, they are incapable of doing *anything* to try and mitigate this disaster, when, not if, it happens.
  They have had 20-30 YEARS to build surge walls, prepare massive pumps, create concrete tide walls not just against the ocean, but against the Mississippi, instead of dirt levees, and any number of creative and innovative ways to save themselves. But they have done NOTHING.
  This obstinance to protect themselves in a hazardous place really makes me question whether the federal government should bail them out when they are inundated. Had they even *asked* the federal government for help years ago, this could have been prevented or mitigated, but they have not. posted by kablam at 8:23 AM PST on September 14
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  Leolaia

  I was wondering about this earlier today. How can they not have anything better than levies...even if it costs half a billion to build concrete walls or what not, wouldn't that be worth the investment to save thousands of lives and billions of dollars in property and expenses....???
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  BluesBrother

  The news media is now covering the story, both the BBC her in the UK and last night when we saw some U S News on a satelite channel. The story last night was that people seemed blissfully unaware of the coming storm. Today it highlighted the max exodus from the city.

  It all seemed very late.. Lets hope that people are not hurt by this and that the wonderful city does not suffer irreparably. I will keep watching the news ...
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  FlyingHighNow

  It all seemed very late.. Lets hope that people are not hurt by this and that the wonderful city does not suffer irreparably. I will keep watching the news ...

  They say the damage will be catastrophic and that if the storm surge tops the levees, the loss of lives could be the worst of any USA natural disaster. I'm just shaking my head. I am stunned. With all the oil revenues down there, Louisiana is still one of the poorest states in the union.
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  Leolaia

  All those people in the stadium in New Orleans...I hope that place is sturdy!
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  FlyingHighNow

  My family lived in Bayou Vista, just west of Morgan City when Betsy and Camille hit. Those were in 1965 and 1969. We took a direct hit from Betsy. We got 90 MPH winds from Camille. I am in disbelief that, after seeing what Camille did to the Mississippi coast, officials didn't do more than build taller dirt levees.
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  FlyingHighNow

  All those people in the stadium in New Orleans...I hope that place is sturdy!

  There will no lights or ventilation. Can you imagine the heat and the humidity inside the dome. And they asked people to come with food for five days. I saw some of those people, they didn't have that much food. It will be hell.
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  FlyingHighNow

  
  Looks like Nola was spared the category 5 Katrina. Instead, Mobile a city of roughly 200,000 is getting the worst of the storm surge. Mobile has taken some beatings from 'canes over the years. Our family went through Hilda in the early 60s. We braved the storm at Mae Eanes Jr. High. After living along the gulf coast and highway 90, Mobile, Morgan City/Bayou Vista and Houston, I guess I should be glad we finally moved away from hurricane country. I miss NOLA and southeast La so much at times I think of going back. But after this, I don't know.

  I hope that Katrina's scare will wake people up. As they clean up the damage and repair the hole in the roof of the superdome, I hope they will realize that it's no place to ride out a Category 5 storm.

  Looks like Nola was spared the category 5 Katrina. Instead, Mobile a city of roughly 200,000 is getting the worst of the storm surge. Mobile has taken some beatings from 'canes over the years. Our family went through Hilda in the early 60s. We braved the storm at Mae Eanes Jr. High. After living along the gulf coast and highway 90, Mobile, Morgan City/Bayou Vista and Houston, I guess I should be glad we finally moved away from hurricane country. I miss NOLA and southeast La so much at times I think of going back. But after this, I don't know.

  I hope that Katrina's scare will wake people up. As they clean up the damage and repair the hole in the roof of the superdome, I hope they will realize that it's no place to ride out a Category 5 storm.

  Edit: the storm downgraded to a 4 by the time it hit. I am speaking of the future. Along Mississippi's coast, they are calling Katrina Camille 2. Recalling that Camille washed up cemeteries along the coast and at one time they counted some of those bodies as victims, making it necessary to go back and revise the count to 250. Still high. All of this makes me think of the song Bad Moon Rising by CCR.