Actually, people with even the lowest IQ’s understand that not all of New Orleans in below sea level.
“Actually, people with even the lowest IQ’s understand that not all of New Orleans in below sea level.”
Yep, it’s about 50/50.
“A recent study by Tulane University notes that 51% of New Orleans is at or above sea level, with the more densely populated areas generally on higher ground. The mean (average) elevation of the city is currently between 1 and 2 feet below sea level, with some portions of the city as high as +16 feet and others as low as -10 feet.
While New Orleans has always had to consider the risk of hurricanes, they did not pose the existential risk that they do today due to coastal erosion. In fact, when the capital of French Louisiana was moved from Mobile to New Orleans, the French Colonial government cited New Orleans’ location inland as one of the reasons for the move as it would be less vulnerable to hurricanes. In the 20th century however, oil exploration, the construction of massive levees on the Mississippi and the creation of canals in the wetlands led to a large-scale erosion of Louisiana’s coast. Since the beginning of the 20th century it has been estimated that Louisiana has lost 2,000 square miles of coast (including many of its barrier islands) which once protected New Orleans against storm surge.
This process seems reversible; following Hurricane Katrina, government officials hope to institute a massive effort to restore Louisiana’s coast. If accomplished, it would constitute the country’s largest engineering effort to date.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans