Katrina

[shelbyGT]

Wow... I never expected it to be this bad. 50 dead in one county in Mississippi, 80% of New Orleans under water:




Glad my cousins left when they were told!

[thecoalman]

I wonder what those people were thinking when the Superdome's roof started ripping off? I haven't seen much but I guess it was just a covering but still left the giant holes. Probably scared the shit out of everyone.

[shelbyGT]

My cousin and her kids and husband all live in Mandeville, LA. It got hit pretty much straight on and then had to suffer the lake overflowing by like 5-10 ft. Crappy!

[BJ_M]

well when you build a town in a swamp 8-15 feet below sea level

[shelbyGT]

Yeah, so don't build any towns in tornado alley (Damn, my house has gotta move!), or anywhere that a blizzard might come through (whoops, Alaska's gotta go), or on an island that could be covered in a second by a tsunami (bye bye hawaii)...

I know what you're saying, but that's almost like saying "they deserved it", which I don't think you mean in this situation. That's just how that comment comes across (to me).

[BJ_M]

no of course i dont mean they deserved it -- but building as it has been done for many years in the flood plains of the Mississippi and the delta has not been well thought out in terms of berms and dike upgrades and pump maintanance..

NO was sinking already - and as such, not much was really being done about it ...

solution ? no idea ..

but snow storms dont do this much damage - nor do tornados .....

[SquirrelDip]

It came across that way to me also... I doubt that was how it was intended though.

I don't think living in certain areas should reduce your sympathy when events like this happen but these events should be expected.

[BJ_M]

these events should be expected.

exactly -- when you build a town below sea level in a swamp on the edge of an ocean ..........

[shelbyGT]

Yes, they are expected to a certain extent. However, the sheer size of this one was surprising to all.

Expecting doesn't make it less sad or horrific.

[MackemX]

yep, it's sad to see but the power of the weather is an amazing force

my mother lives beside a river and although it's got a beatiful scenery I keep telling her to sell up and move while property prices are still high. One flood will soon have a dramatic effect on prices and a local town last year had some serious flooding

have you seen the Great Red Spot storm on Jupiter thats bigger than the Earth?

This dramatic view of Jupiter's Great Red Spot and its surroundings was obtained by Voyager 1 on February 25, 1979, when the spacecraft was 5.7 million miles (9.2 million kilometers) from Jupiter. Cloud details as small as 100 miles (160 kilometers) across can be seen here. The colorful, wavy cloud pattern to the left of the Red Spot is a region of extraordinarily complex and variable wave motion. To give a sense of Jupiter's scale, the white oval storm directly below the Great Red Spot is approximately the same diameter as Earth.

[lumis]

have you seen the Great Red Spot storm on Jupiter thats bigger than the Earth?

havent actually seen it with my own eyes, but i've seen the pictures and learned about it back in elementary or jr. high school

[SquirrelDip]

have you seen the Great Red Spot storm on Jupiter thats bigger than the Earth?

Sure glad I don't live there! :P

[BJ_M]

MackemX went there once on vacation .. :P

[waheed]

MackemX went there once on vacation .. :P

Thats where his holiday home is

[MackemX]

MackemX went there once on vacation .. :P

I've never been the same since!

the thing is I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing

anyone fancy some timeshare?

[ZAPPER]

I am not totaly un-compassoinate, but I do kind of agree that where you choose to set up your shelter/home is kind of important. A couple of hundred years ago when we didn't know any better is one thing, but these are modern times. If you have the disposable income to put up a disposable home in an area that will in all likelyhood get wiped out in your lifetime, then fine, go for it. But if you sink your lifes savings into a home that is prone to be destroyed in a fifty year span, why should my taxes go towards helping you out afterwards? Why should I have to pay out the, Well er em, nose for insurance now?

I mean yea, maybe it is a great place in some opinions to live, work, party or vacation in unsuitable areas for permanate homes, but hey, if it gets wiped off of the map every fifty years or so, maybe it is time to reconsider where you set up house.

Having a summer house or vacation cottage on the edges of some place that may be prone to disasters is one thing, but building a million dollar home there and then crying when it gets gone, does not get my sympathy.

I don't mean to sound like I am kicking folks when they are down, but if anyone has lost it all in this mess, maybe it is time to take stock and consider relocating to, let's say, higher ground.

Sorry, maybe it is poor timing, or poor taste, but that's just the way that I see it.

[BJ_M]

from last june -- this isnt working out to well

In fiscal year 2006, the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is bracing for a record $71.2 million reduction in federal funding.

It would be the largest single-year funding loss ever for the New Orleans district, Corps officials said.

I've been here over 30 years and I've never seen this level of reduction, said Al Naomi, project manager for the New Orleans district. I think part of the problem is it's not so much the reduction, it's the drastic reduction in one fiscal year. It's the immediacy of the reduction that I think is the hardest thing to adapt to.

There is an economic ripple effect, too. The cuts mean major hurricane and flood protection projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms. Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane has been shelved for now.

Money is so tight the New Orleans district, which employs 1,300 people, instituted a hiring freeze last month on all positions. The freeze is the first of its kind in about 10 years, said Marcia Demma, chief of the Corps' Programs Management Branch.

Stephen Jeselink, interim commander of the New Orleans Corps district, told employees in an internal e-mail dated May 25 that the district is experiencing financial challenges. Execution of our available funds must be dealt with through prudent districtwide management decisions. In addition to a hiring freeze, Jeselink canceled the annual Corps picnic held every June.

One of the hardest-hit areas of the New Orleans district's budget is the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was created after the May 1995 flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes. SELA's budget is being drained from $36.5 million awarded in 2005 to $10.4 million suggested for 2006 by the House of Representatives and the president.

read the rest here
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4200/is_20050606/ai_n14657367

[shelbyGT]

You ever thought that not all of the people in the world can just up and move because there is a threat that in the future some natural event will take their home from them?

I can barely afford to move across town, let alone many miles inland. And I'm considered "well off" when compared to the majority of the U.S.

[thecoalman]

On top of that N.O. is one of the oldest cities in the U.S. It's been there for centuries as have some of those houses and neighbohoods.

[ZAPPER]

You ever thought that not all of the people in the world can just up and move because there is a threat that in the future some natural event will take their home from them?

I can barely afford to move across town, let alone many miles inland. And I'm considered "well off" when compared to the majority of the U.S.

I do know what it is to be stuck in a rut. I also realize that many folks have roots in the area and like where they are at for many reasons. But there is a point of diminishing returns.

[BJ_M]

it is pretty new when compared to many places in just about anywhere else outside of America ...

and none of this is unexpected ...

flashback to 2001 http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/research/1282151.html

flashback to last year
http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/o/nov04/nov04c.html

[shelbyGT]

The only thing we can do is to try and prepare, and from the news coming out, seems as though we didn't do enough in these areas. Funding's been lowered to pretty much a trickle on the projects that were aimed specifically at preparations for a hurricane strike.
Hindsight is 20/20, I guess.

[thecoalman]

The only thing we can do is to try and prepare, and from the news coming out, seems as though we didn't do enough in these areas.

In that area though there is only so much you can do. The Army Corps of Engineers has been there for decades building dams, pump stations etc. At some point as Zapper pointed out there is diminishing returns. They build dike that is 10 feet high it cost 10 million if they build it 20 feet it cost 30 million....

I live right next to a river, currenlty most of our area is protected by dikes for waht is considered a 30 year event. They just recently completed this project. Last time it happened was 30 years ago . Almost happened last year with Ivan. Problem is if the water goes a few more feet higher all those dikes aren't going to mean shit.

[BJ_M]

the levees were all just high enough -- but were built only to withstand a cat 3 hurricane ... http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/083005cccawwlunwatering.45718845.html

as well they were not breached OVER - they were undermined ...

the governer just stated " Abandon New Orleans "

City uninhabitable for up to four months, mayor estimates

[MackemX]

pretty nasty scenes if destruction and mayhem on the news

I'd hate to be living there

they reckon there's going to be more soon also!

[BJ_M]

gas expected to rise $1.10 US more in many areas this weekend ..

Governor Blanco confirms plans to move evacuees to the Houston Astrodome - 475 busses on thier way right now ..

Gov. Blanco spokeswoman Denise Bottcher described a disturbing scene unfolding in uptown New Orleans, where looters were trying to break into Children's Hospital.

Bottcher said the director of the hospital fears for the safety of the staff and the 100 kids inside the hospital. The director said the hospital is locked, but that the looters were trying to break in and had gathered outside the facility.

The director has sought help from the police, but, due to rising flood waters, police have not been able to respond.

Bottcher said Blanco has been told of the situation and has informed the National Guard. However, Bottcher said, the National Guard has also been unable to respond.

The whole parish of St. Bernard is gone.

[thecoalman]

Bottcher said the director of the hospital fears for the safety of the staff and the 100 kids inside the hospital. The director said the hospital is locked, but that the looters were trying to break in and had gathered outside the facility.

The director has sought help from the police, but, due to rising flood waters, police have not been able to respond.

I think it was the Governor I saw on the news last night, and he was asked about the looting, to paraphrase:

"if you come to Louisanna and expect to rob the people...."

As if these people were from somewhere else.....

I'd have a solution for those looters if I lived there. "let me introduce you to my little friend..." :P

[shelbyGT]

If I ever want to feel down, I just have to read BJ's posts about oil!

haha, j/k.

[MackemX]

If I ever want to feel down, I just have to read BJ's posts about oil!

haha, j/k.

don't read his one with the dog over at The Pub in the Swallow this you bitch thread

I've warned you!

[SquirrelDip]

If I ever want to feel down, I just have to read BJ's posts about oil!

haha, j/k.

don't read his one with the dog over at The Pub in the Swallow this you bitch thread

I've warned you!

Check out the 5 legged dog!