And we have the possibility of a 9.0 Earthquake off the coast of Washington State. A chance of a Cat 3 Hurricane hitting New York City, closing bridges and flooding tunnels and subways. Can't forget that Charleston, SC has to worry about both hurricanes AND earthquakes.
And the grandpappy of them all, an 8.4 on the New Madrid Fault affecting Memphis and St. Louis and many other towns ill-prepared to deal with such - and promulgating over a very large area because it is surrounded by solid bedrock that transmits energy much more efficiently that the jumbled and shattered formations along the West Coast.
And don't even talk about what would happen if Yellowstone erupts.
In other words, we've got potential disasters all over. Providence, RI got whaled by the same hurricane that drilled Long Island in 1938. Who ever thinks of Providence as having hurricane dangers?
The point is, it takes planning, from the individual level up to the federal government, to deal with a major disaster. The lesson of Katrina is that certain aspects are beyond planning, such as a 30 foot surge over 100 miles of coastline. But some should have been worked out, such as housing 20,000 people in the Superdome - or, better yet, figuring out how to get them out of town in the first place.
Interesting that you should mention this. Only this morning, GMA showed a map of the 5 worst locations for hurricanes. One of these was Long Island.
I am originally from LI and lived through several hurricanes - none of which even approached a Category 5. Here, however, is the history:
1954 - Hurricane Carol - Carol was responsible for 60 deaths and $461 million in damage in the United States.
1960 - Hurricane Donna - (Cat 3 on LI) - The landfall pressure of 27.46 inches makes Donna the fifth strongest hurricane of record to hit the United States. It was responsible for 50 deaths in the United States. One hundred and fourteen deaths were reported from the Leeward Islands to the Bahamas, including 107 in Puerto Rico caused by flooding from the heavy rains. The hurricane caused $387 million in damage in the United States and $13 million elsewhere along its path.
September 21, 1938, however, produced the most disaster. The immediate affect of this powerful hurricane was to decimate many Long Island communities in terms of human and economic losses, however, the long term effects linger today. The '38 Hurricane created the Shinnecock Inlet and widened Moriches Inlet which, to this day, are changing the landscape of the south shore due to their influence on the natural littoral sand transport.
History has shown that these powerful storms are rare but do in fact occur with long-term frequency. Case studies have shown that the next time a storm like the Long Island Express roars through, it might be the greatest disaster in U.S. history.
For those unfamiliar with Long Island, egress is very limitted and the population of LI has grown immensely since 1938. Evacuating residents from LI remains a grave concern. To cite some examples; in 2003 the population numbers:
Nassau County: Total population 1,317,003
Suffolk County: Total population - 1,437,766
Bronx Conty: Total population - 1,315,692
Queens County: Total population - 2,198,835
Factor in Manhattan: Total population 1,537,195, and
Kings (Brooklyn) County: Total population 2,433,203, and
Richmond (Staten Island) County: Total population - 450,561
and FEMA is looking at an evacuation plan of gargantuan proportions. Where does one send all of these people? I won't even begin to contemplate those who refuse to leave.
This is a disaster waiting to happen.