[sionnsar]

A positive way to think about the future of New Orleans

This comment by Charlie E., a commenter at Kendall Harmon's "Titusonenine", gives a hopeful way to think about the future of New Orleans: emulate the Dutch in their reclamation of the Zuider Zee. Charlie E writes:

I pray for all caught up in this. It is a sad and hard thing to lose your house and possibly your job. But the people caught up in this should not despair too much. The rest of the country is there and they appear to be more than willing to help.

It must be overwhelming at this point but this is a bit more gloom than necessary unless the people of Louisiana don’t have the fortitude of the Dutch. I remember watching a documentary a couple of years ago about the devastating North Sea storm of 1953. Thousands killed, well over 1/4 million acres of land inundated and fouled when the polders/dikes were breached in 67 places. There is only about 8 million acres in the whole country so this was a very substantial part of it and a number of important cities were involved. So, the Dutch did not abandon all of this. No, they looked things over and acted on a long-term project. The Zuider Zee was turned into the Isjelmeer. The took back what was lost and added to it.

The lowest point in Holland is over 20 feet below sea level, the lowest spot around New Orleans is only about 8 feet below sea level. And the North Sea is no pussy cat when it comes to bad storms.

Maybe it is just that I am a Texan but it doesn’t seem like all that big of a project to me. If the powers that be in Lousiana can’t figure this out maybe they should phone the Dutch. They keep the North Sea out of their country.
There is too much shipping and refining infrastructure to abandon it just because of a bit of water.

I know there are undoubtedly obstacles to face that I cannot even comprehend--but I think this could well be a model for us to follow, and give long-term hope to New Orleans, although it will take years to do so.

[sionnsar]

An excellent topographical map of New Orleans

From the LSU Center for the Study of Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes , this is a topographical map that shows the elevations of different areas of New Orleans. Note the large areas that are either below or near sea level; this shows the challenges Louisiana will face in engineering the rebuilding of the city so that it is more hurricane-proof.

[sionnsar]

Updated Town by Town Reports — Mississippi

Filed under: General, Hurricane Katrina — Karen B. @ 9:17 am

Newly updated reports from the Mississippi Gulf Coast – but the information is still sketchy.

Comments (0)

Day of Prayer declared in Louisiana

Filed under: General, Hurricane Katrina — Karen B. @ 9:10 am

I found this article in this morning’s Google News search of the latest stories about Hurricane Katrina.

NEW ORLEANS, LA, United States (UPI) — Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco declared Wednesday a day of prayer as uncounted bodies floated in and around hurricane-battered New Orleans.

Two days after Hurricane Katrina came ashore with winds of 140 mph, city and state officials were still unable to estimate how many died from the winds and flooding from heavy rain and two broken levees that swamped New Orleans.

In declaring Wednesday a day of prayer, Blanco suggested residents ask “that God give us all the physical and spiritual strength to work through this crisis and rebuild.”

Amen. Note in Bishop Jenkins’ update (see below) he mentions a specific prayer service to be held in Baton Rouge. Let’s stand with Louisiana in prayer today.

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Another source of information on areas hit by Katrina

Filed under: General, Hurricane Katrina — Karen B. @ 8:23 am

I found this discussion forum this morning on the WWL TV website. It has discussion forums for various Louisiana parishes AND Mississippi Counties (Hancock & Harrison).

So for those of you seeking news on loved ones who did not evacuate, or wanting updates on damage, you may find helpful information on these discussion threads. As you read these pleas for information about missing loved ones, or news of damage, please keep praying for all who have been affected.