It's not about playing the odds- because the odds of the 'perfect' storm coming the 'perfect' way at the 'perfect' strength are low, as any meterologist will tell you. So many factors have to be 'perfect' for the 'doomsday' scenario the press so wants for N.O.
It's about not being ABLE to spend nearly $1000 for a 5 day road trip, or not having a car that will make it as far as you might need to go to find accomodations. The feeling we get here in the N.O. area is that the 'valuable' can afford to evacuate several times a month, if necessary -and they will blithely take a 'mini vaction' whenever a storm nears. The rest of us are dispensable.
There could be every high school in cities like Alexandria, Monroe, and Shreveport open for evacuees. For that matter, small towns north of I-12 have buildings that could be opened to evacuees from the south- but they aren't! It's drive to find hotel rooms somewhere or stay and drown. Nice thing to contemplate on a summer weekend, isn't it?
Maybe the city's luck will run out one day, maybe it won't. Maybe it won't be in our lifetimes- which would surely disappoint the disaster junkies, wouldn't it?
But ANTICIPATING the destruction of a city, and the lives of the people in it, is ghoulish. Elsewhere in the country, people are looking forward to Fall. We dread August and September on the Gulf Coast( and especially here in N.O.) because it means death and destruction could threaten- literally, every week!
And so here we have Kritina. I pray to God that he keeps the storm weak and turns it to where it can do the least damage. He has answered our prayers so far- I believe He will now.
Very well put! Prayers up for all the good people in N'awlins. I hope Nagin doesn't go on TV again imploring folks not to bring their big screen televisions to evacuation shelters. Remember when he did it last time? Unbelievable............
The odds of New Orleans being hit by THE STORM THAT DESTROYS NEW ORLEANS is very small as to any storm and as to any season.
Small hurricanes won't do it and fast moving Cat 3 storms won't do it.
The odds of it happening in the next few centuries must be close to 100%.
I dunno about Katrina. I'd guess the odds are about 10%, maybe a little less. We'll be more certain tomorrow.