Don't Go in the Water(LA & MS)

The Orange County Register ^ | September 2, 2005 | HENRY I. MILLER

[kellynla]

Like an Air Force smart bomb, Hurricane Katrina scored a direct hit on a hideously vulnerable spot on the nation's underbelly. Overnight, she turned New Orleans, one of America's most charming and seductive cities, into a festering lake of filth.

The aftermath of Katrina could present Louisiana and Mississippi - which are hardly paragons of health outcomes on their best days - with monumental public health problems. The nation's public and private rescue workers will cope eventually, but like a military campaign of massive proportions, the effort moves slowly at first.

The topography of New Orleans - its location below sea level and a "soup bowl" configuration surrounded on three sides by water (the Mississippi River, Lake Ponchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico) - means that, unlike areas usually exposed to hurricanes, the water will not drain readily and will last for weeks, or even months, until it can be pumped out. The wide area of devastation ensures that vast numbers of survivors will suffer prolonged exposure to the water.

I use the term "water" loosely, because what fills the topographical bowl that used to be New Orleans is an unspeakably vile, toxic marinade of industrial and agricultural chemicals (including gasoline, crude oil and pesticides), building materials, cars and trucks, household products, heavy metals, sewage and rotting corpses. A few days of tropical temperatures will make the brew even nastier.

Previous hurricanes offer some indication of what to expect, but the unprecedented numbers of dispossessed persons and the huge area of devastation from Katrina will cause inevitable delays in evacuation that could precipitate unique problems. Most deaths during the first few days are usually due to drowning, and there are inevitably some storm-related vehicle accidents and other injuries, heart attacks and electrocutions.

[FinallyBackInNH]

I remember being in Biloxi in 1989 (before Biloxi was Biloxi, which it isn't so much anymore), and they were telling us then not to go in the water with any open cuts because of sewage and whatnot in the water. If memory serves, they were telling us it was left from CAMILLE 20 years earlier, and was just trapped by the barrier islands from ever getting washed out to sea.

[Prospero]

Incredible. Left over from Camille? Was it industrial waste? Seems like the risk would have been cancer rather than infection.

[FinallyBackInNH]

Nah, I seem to recall it was mostly sewage...well actually the leftover high bacteria counts from old sewage spills/leaks. Sad part is at the time, there wasn't a heck of a lot else to do in Biloxi in August than to go hang out on the beach.

[Hardastarboard]

she turned New Orleans, one of America's most charming and seductive cities, into a festering lake of filth

Wow, just like New York.

[Fudd Fan]

Nice.

[JasonC]

The worry over chemicals is silly, they are far too diluted to matter and if anything help by killing off some of the bacteria. No, the issue is sewage which contains bacteria that will cause dysentery at a minimum, and cholera and yellow fever at a maximum. Yellow fever was endemic in the whole delta region in the 19th century. All are controlled by proper sanitation and water treatment, and treatable when the whole medical system is functioning properly. Clearly, neither is at the moment. Evacuating people is the only short term solution, with bottled water only used in the meantime.

[kellynla]

I don't think people will exactly be running back to N'awlins soupbowl to live...
and if the government is smart they'll not go back in there either!

one terrorist flying a plane into the levee will only flood the city all over again...