Posted on 02/02/2006 10:08:40 AM PST by ncountylee
In the chaos that followed the worst natural disaster in American history, a forensic investigation has been taking place to find out what went wrong and why.
The BBC's Horizon programme has spoken to the scientists who are now confronting the real possibility that New Orleans may be the first of many cities worldwide to face extinction.
Modern day New Orleans was a city that defied the odds. Built on a mosquito infested swamp squashed between two vast bodies of water in what is essentially a bowl, its very existence seemed proof of the triumph of engineering over nature.
But on the 29 August 2005 New Orleans took a direct hit from Hurricane Katrina and overnight was turned into a Venice from hell.
The delicate flood system in New Orleans, that so many relied on to protect them was actually, year on year, adding to the risk of a catastrophe in the city.
Coastal Geologist Shea Penland from the University of New Orleans knows every inlet, every cove and every stretch of marsh that surrounds New Orleans.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
"Keep the helpful slogans coming"
I'm not condemning New Orleans; it is in a very precarious situation, though. Moreso than the Netherlands or Venice, neither of which have to contend with hurricanes, but are apparenlty better prepared to deal with the inevitable, and both predate New Orleans by quite a bit.
Dirt boy and by the way I enjoyed our conversation last night I realize your not the enemy in this. The problem was storm surge. In large part to that inter coastal canal I believe. I think in some ways it was the perfect storm. Also if some idiot had secured a barge we wouldnt have had half the flooding in Nola esp in the lake view area that resulted in the waters you saw on canal and the quarter
ROFL! But are they all registered as Democrats yet? ;)
No dirt boy the point is we know the situation. We also know there are solutions to it. We are full aware of the facts on the ground. Blissfull ignorance and pipedreams are not a current state of reality we are living with
The point is, Katrina was Cat 2 on the weak side. Surge was probably Cat 3.
The levees were supposed to hold up to Cat 3. They didn't.
What would happen if the levees were built to supposed Cat 5 strength, a Cat 5 hit, and it turns out the calculations were wrong again?
That seems to be what your politicians are peddling.
They are more concerned with getting money to people who didn't have flood insurance than using tax dollars to fix critical problems along the coast.
Where will all the cute voodoo stores relocate to?
No pessamist I saying learn a few facts first. From the discussion on this topic last night I think its shown to me and several conservative louisiana freepers who now are so hurt they dont come on here that the lack of thinking on this issue by many is incredible. We are not unprepared to make a few changes but really are sorry if we are not prepared to sit by while most of the State below I-10 becomes a swamp
Quote of the day:
"Somebody needs to tell the mayor of Chocolate City to get the chocolate chips off their butts and stop waiting for the caramels to rebuild their houses and the vanilla's to pay for them."
Dirtboy that is so untrue. Its is the major topic form Slidell to Lake charles. In fact after Rita its the main concern
GIVE ME A BREAK, if this is true, I say it might not be worth rebuilding all the city. Move it.
To make New Orleans safe to withstand a Category Five hurricane, his proposal is for a vast barrier system stretching from Mississippi all the way to Texas.
Sorry - we've got you beat. Detroit was founded in 1701, so "we - alls" have been around longer than "yalls".
what we are talking about are plans that allow the re sediment of our marshlands. Again the Barrier Island Question should not be visulaived as some huge cvontinious wall
like I said "most"
Sorry, but what are they pressing for most recently? Federal aid to start a buyout program.
And this is a problem because....
Because we need a major port at the base of the Mississippi to provide a transfer point between ocean-going and river-going traffic, or all those red states in the middle of the Union starve economically.
Venice shoud be preserved because it has architectural masterpieces unmatched in all the World. But the tract housing in the New Orleans basin was dime-a-dozen shacks, such as can be found in every city in the United States. There is simply no reason that what was being done there could not be done more safely and much cheaper almost anywhere else.
There is simply no reason to put it back.
Which would defeat the need to allow resedimentation.
And it also doesn't face hurricanes.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.