I didn't make a post about New Orleans because, well, enough people were already talking about it. Truth is I was very concerned but forgot to post here. I did follow what was happening. The Times Picayune, one local fellow's blog, and various other blogs and news sources covered what was happening better than the newspapers and television. What was infuriating was listening to either Chertoff or that Michael fellow say that help was on it's way to those folks in the Louisiana Stadium and then not only not seeing them show up -- but finding out that FEMA was turning people away. Finally the President fired the head of FEMA and real help arrived. What a refreshing development!
The Feds were too slow in reacting to what was going on. The FEMA leadership acted like jerks. The President was on vacation. His deputies were incompetant. So what else is new? Nothing. But what was new was that the President actually admitted (well sort of) that he'd helped create the SNAFU. That was a first. I was glad when the cavalry finally arrived; a week late and billions short, but what can you say? New Orleans is a democratic enclave, but it's neighbors are all Republican powerhouses (and retirement sites) and so the locals haven't been totally messed over and maybe things will work out for them.
A lot of people I know actually helped in the clean up or went down there. The Air Force, the military, everyone who could help, wanted to help or actually did help. My cousin volunteered. Doctors I know volunteered. People raised funds. Funds are still needed. I hope this spirit continues.
I know one thing. The entire city should not be rebuilt unless they build it above sea level and with better levies and safe-guards. It's not a good sign that they are buying house trailers and cheating some people. When the politicians and accountants step in whily nilly nothing gets done right.
What are needed are risk assessments, damage assessments, and the use of technology to make sure this doesn't happen again. Where buildings have been destroyed, they need to be bulldozed or dirt filled into their lower levels, dirt trucked in and then rebuilt at a level above sea level -- if within New Orleans proper. The street level should be above the flood level for the entire city. And the levies need to be proof against a category 5 hurricane in the worst scenario.
Outside the city limits homes need to be built at least 10-30 feet above sea level. And nobody should be able to build a home closer than 1000 feet from a beach unless that home is built like a fort complete with 30 foot glacis, 30 foot wall, and armored shutters on the windows. Communities that flood once should be abandoned or rebuilt above the level they flooded. Communities should be surrounded with meadows, forests and marshes -- by law.
The Mississipi should be allowed to flow through those marshes during normal times and through the meadows and forests during floods. The mistake the engineers made was to try to fight mother nature instead of using her silt and muck to keep the area fertile and alive. The land sinks a little each year -- so keep it building up naturally by diverting water into it during floods. And in built up areas build it up naturally by paving the streets ever higher and requiring houses and buildings to either rachet their level up each year or else be abandoned and built over. Do all those things and there will still be natural disasters -- but they won't be so disasterous.