"Will New Orleans survive?"
Ive seen more intelligent questions.
No, not as we know it.
The notion takes on a different quality when an official newspaper begins considering the possibility that New Orleans could be "annihilated".
Part of me hopes that NO can pull itself up after this.
OTOH, this disaster was waiting to happen. A whole city below sea level next to the Gulf Coast doesn't make sense.
Prayers for the folks in NO and Mississippi.
"Will New Orleans survive?"
As it exists now, mostly below sea-level?
Should it?
Should the taxpayers be on the hook for it?
-PJ
Well, somebody picked themselves up a thesaurus at Wal-Mart.
> ... Hurricane Katrina may have annihilated New Orleans.
Yep. The long-predicted (when-not-if) has now happened.
Either the city needs to become Cat5-proof, or they need
to abandon the site. If the status-quo is merely preserved,
even with minor enhancements, this WILL happen again.
This isn't Holland. People can go elsewhere.
Was this a "disaster"? Yes.
Was it a "tragedy"? No (except for those who had no
choice about being there, like children).
If the federal government writes flood insurance for this
area, that needs to stop (indeed, that whole program can
be deep-sixed - if private insurers won't write it, there's
an important message there).
Had New Orleans been hit by an unsuspected asteroid, I
might have had some sympathy. But what is unfolding there
now is simply what had been expected for decades, and has
now been fully realized.
When Galveston was devastated by the 1906 hurricane, they jacked up the buildings that survived, pumped sand in under them, then built a seawall to protect the city. It can and has been done.
maybe they should move it upstream a bit
Upon viewing the photo thread, I understand the question being asked. There are no words for the devastation. As to the below sea level debate, I understand both sides...
People who have roots there generations deep aren't going to give up without a fight. They just have to find a way to make it worthwhile to stay in the neighborhood. However, the old system of levees and pumps is probably history.
Maybe they could turn it into an American Venice.
Bring in landfill from northern Louisiana and Mississippi, and fill all the streets of New Orleans to at least the level with Lake Ponchartrain (or maybe a few feet higher). THEN rebuild the city.
Or relocate it further up the Mississippi, say like just south of Baton Rouge.
No more Mardi Gras? To be replaced by the Veil Prophet in St. Louis?
I guess they will have to build Super Duper New Improved Orleans somewhere else.
If we said nobody should live in places that are dangerous, then that eliminates pretty much everywhere in the US I'd like to live.
Florida? Hurricanes. Texas? Hurricanes. Louisiana? Hurricanes.
California? Earthquakes. Malibu? Fires. Pacific Palisades? Mudslides. Newport Beach? I'm sure there's a giant tidal wave with my name on it, if I moved there.
Hawaii? I'm sure there are hurricanes there too.
Okay, let's say we give the warm weather areas to the primordal ooze and move back East to the ancient industrial areas. My God I hate to live in those places. Then we have winter.
Guess what? Winter kills more people in a year than these disasters do in a decade.
I would rather pull together through my tax money and help out the people who suffer from a disaster than not be allowed to live in a disaster zone. Because, unfortunately, those are the only places I like to live :-(.
D
Oh yes, on the topic.
The French Quarter survived, right?
Then New Orleans will survive, in some fashion or another.
And you can take that to the bank.
D
Hell, yes. This is America, baby.