[RonF]

One thing that has been repeatedly asked on these threads that I think is on-topic; "Why did 'they' build a city in a spot 8 feet below sea level?"

The answer is that 'they' didn't. When New Orleans was founded, it was above sea level. The problem is that the land has subsided. New Orleans is on a silt bed built up over 10,000s of years and more of annual Mississippi river floods. When the river was channelized and the levees were built, the floods could no longer deposit their silt in the city site and it all blew out to sea instead. This is also why New Orleans is so far inland now, when it was much closer to the ocean when it was founded. The other major reason for subsidence is that people needed potable water, so they drilled wells and started pumping out water. This caused the land to subside as well.

[BenLurkin]

They should give serious consideration to bulldozing the ruins and building up the land level with fill and new silt dredged from the shipping channels etc.

[MIT-Elephant]

Same sort of story with Mexico City. That place is sinking fast.

[JimSEA]

Bangladesh, in a great river delta for the most part, and NO have basically the same problems. The land isn't suited for permanent settlements and those who live there are going to be repeatedly be the victims of disaster. The difference is that we can build the infrastructure to resist all but the most extreme disaster. The question is, "Is it worth it in view of the fact that eventually nature will overwhelm whatever we put up at our current levels of technology and economy?"

[The Red Zone]

How can a city sink like that and not have problems with the integrity of building foundations?

[laishly]

"Why did 'they' build a city in a spot 8 feet below sea level?"

There is some logical appeal to the question. The left wing MSM has also been saying that this catastrophe is due to humans interfering with the environment and trying to control the forces of nature. Well, the Dutch started doing this centuries ago--and on a far grander scale. No one is criticizing them nor did anyone make those kinds of remarks when the Dutch suffered catastrophic flooding from the North sea in the 1950s.

[Ditter]

After Galveston Tx was destroyed by a hurricane in 1900 they built a levee and then jacked up the houses that weren't destroyed and pumped sand underneath them, an amazing operation. They raised the level of the island. Of course New Orleans is a much bigger city and I can't imagine what they can to to fix it.I am distraught over the destruction of a city I love very much.