Life in the Big Wheezy

I have a very dear friend that has a family history dating back to the start of New Orleans. He loved growing up there but he said Katrina was just a matter of time. any time you have the ingorance to try to live below the level of a huge body of water that is near by you risk your life. We as a united people should spend our joint money and level New Orleans and make it the best fishing hole on earth. We have and are going to spend more making it almost livable before Katrina II happens. The pumps are on the edge of capacity all the time and the people think the rest of the country owes them something. In a way I agree we owe it to the good people with a long "tradition" of durability and grit to help them relocate and use their talents elsewhere. Right after Katrina I took 8 of my airconditioning technicains and went to our local shelter to get it ready for what was delcared on TV that thousands of displaced people were coming to Las Vegas to start over. I had the greatest pleasure of working with some of those wonderful people, it was very hard to say goodbye when they went back home. They all knew what they were going back to but they whent anyway. Sorry cant help you any more. However I would contribute to the leveling of the entire below water area. I know some of you will think this is harse but it is real. The water will come through the levy again.

As a consultant working frequently on the Gulf Coast, I have come to love and appreciate the tenacity of the residents of the FL Panhandle to TX.

All of the natives I have come to know will often say, discreetly, that something like Katrina is needed every so often to eliminate the overbuilding, destruction of barrier islands, and the greed of the developers & new owners of multi million dollar condos.

Katrina will eventually bring back a somewhat more idyllic life and hopefully convince people that you just don't build in some places and that you need to take care of the Gulf environmentally.

Respectfully posted.

Actually the worst fault lies along the Mississippi River. California are buidling codes to reduce and protect against large Seismic events, which are much less common than hurricanes. Florida has plans, agencies and some limited codes to protect against hurricanes (though admittedly the Seimic codes in California provide better protection against hurricanes than Florida Codes). I was in Florida the year before Katrina, when those three hurricanes hit central Florida back to back, anfd they though one was going to hit New Orleans and flood it even then. The State of Florida was better prepared, and the people knew what to expect. There were some people who took higher than acceptable risk by California Standards, but they all still faired prety well in general. FEMA is admittedly incompetant, but there job has always been to come in afterwards and provide money. The fact of the matter here is that the State of Louisiana was not prepared, and took dramatically inadequate measures to protect the citizens. The oldest part of New Orleans faired better than the newer areas, so apparently the vast amount of corruption in Louisiana over the years has allowed a level of development that was extremely unsafe. No residential portion of any community should lie below sea level. I would suggest that states that do not adequately try to mitigate the risk to their housing developments, should be excluded from federal funding in those areas if impacted and potential owners should be clearly notified in wirtting of this condition, then maybe people would pay attention to their government and force better development policies. Just because Donald Trump says he can build it, doesn't mean he should build it no matter how profitable it is to him, or that you should even buy it and live in it no matter how much cheaper it is.

What about the port?

what about the Metairie Ridge? higher ground site of the least damage, the land the french quarter is built on?

Does this mean we should abandon the entire gulf coast including Florida & Texas gulf coast?

The failure of the Levee's is the direct result of the corruption of the levee boards & ineptitude of the corp of engineers.

Holland is also below sea level, I suppose we consign them to the deep too.

"how can this population be protected and how can this mess be remedied?

Easy answer:Dont let ANY more rebuilding in the area! It going to happen again! Anyone who designs a city BELOW the water line needs to be shot!

I have visited NOLA several times, and I have wondered at the complacency of the state and of Corps of Engineers. Why were there not secondary levees as a back-up if the first should fail? Why were the shotgun houses not elevated on higher piers? (Many or most were on short piers, rather than continuous foundations, so jacking them up 4 feet would not have been a big deal) What happened to all the volunteer organizations which were or might have been in place to assist in evacuation and rescue? (It seems the powers that be would not allow volunteer efforts) Why were the school busses not used? Why couldn't the many ships who were waiting out the storm take away flood victims with their lifeboats? (And provide water, etc.) Why weren't US Navy and Marine ships and amphibious vehicles and helicopters told to do a "training exercise" in the wake of the storm, if not before? Why were the hospitals and nursing homes ignored? How could so many delusional idiots just stand around shuffling paper, when action was needed?

It might also be noted that, after the San Francisco earthquake and fire, a century before Katrina, rescue and recovery efforts were underway as it was happening, without anyone having to get permission from FEMA. The Army, for example, sent a trainload of tents, which were set up in public parks. They didn't have the amenities of FEMA trailers, but they got there a lot quicker.

It might be noted that the Rainbow Gathering, "hippies" who camp out, were quick to respond and set up feeding stations after Katrina (without asking permission). After all, if you can live in the woods without electricity or running water, why not in New Orleans?