Rebuilding New Orleans

Thanks!

 

El Guero
Nothing can shield you from the wind, but the flooding in New Orleans would have been a lot less worse if the local waterworks had been better. And it's the flooding that caused most of the NO mess.

I've seen some of the aftereffects of a hurricane in South-East Asia, I know it can rip a tree that is a few centuries old out of the ground and dump it on top of what used to be a nice church. Not that it mattered 'cause most of the church had been blown away prior to the tree falling on it.

 

When Houston was hit by Hurricane Alicia in 1983, a moderate Category 3 storm with winds around 115 mph, two 50 year old trees (about 50' tall each) were thrown from the church yard onto the sanctuary and the kitchen, even ripping up portions of the parking lot from the roots.

The church suffered tens of thousands of dollars in damages.

A shed, on a concrete foundation, was lifted out of the back yard and deposited about a hundred yards away, over a 10' fence into the yard of a neighboring business. All of the contents of then shed were still sitting perfectly fine in their place where the shed used to be.

The foundation of the sanctuary, which was about 3 feet thick, was cracked and separated by an inch.

I say all of this to point out that it does not take a Cat. 5 storm to wreak havoc. Even minimal to moderate hurricane winds can dessimate a building.

When it comes to the power that God has given to nature, it is impossible to know what the effects will be until it is over. The first line of defense for us is not to build stronger shelters, but to make sure we are in an area that is not likely or prone to catastrophic damage in these situations.

Houston is between 20' and 70' above sea level, depending on what part of the city you are in. We take a risk of flooding in the low, flat terrain. However, building an entire city below sea level, no matter the precautions taken, is just asking for devastation. Hopefully, the survivors recognize this now and will not attempt to resettle the city, so long as it is at its current elevation.

 

It's up to the citizens of NOLA whether or not they rebuid. I believe many of the refugees will not go back. This may turn out to be their ticket out of a bad situation.

Whatever they decide to do, if it turns out to be a mistake, it will be Bush's and the federal government's fault.

 

After the disastrous hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900 without benefit of warning killing about 6,000 people on the island and another 4,000 to 6,000 nearby, people raised the elevation of much of the city by as much as 11 feet and built a sea wall around a great distance of it. The city received county, state, and federal help but carried much of the burden itself. The US Army Corps of Engineers built a lot of the improvements. There's still a risk from hurricanes but it's not nearly as bad as it was before 1900. People do still wisely evacuate when a hurricane threatens the island. The people did something about the problem and its paid off since.

 

Amen Dragoon

 

President McKinley, to the best of my research, wasn't blamed for the response to the 1900 hurricane that hit Galveston. Back then, the federal government was not yet "responsible" for solving or taking charge of every natural disaster. Back then, I suspect, things like this were considered "Acts of God" and everyone just pitched in to help. The first responders didn't come from Washington but, rather, from Galveston. Leaders were born at the scene out of necessity and did what had to be done. Help came as soon as possible for all around including county, state, and federal resources. Americans mourned the loss but, as far as I know, didn't blame one another for it and, instead, did something about the problem for future generations.

 

In fact, the Federal government is responsible for the maintainence of federal waterways, and the levees containing them.

It has been that way since the Constitution was ratified.

We just messed up. The hurricane was an act of God; the failure to maintain the levees was a sin of omission.

 

We ought to just leave it under water.

Seriously.

 

I think it is awful easy for those of us who did not live there to sit back and say "no, dont rebuild it"

Obviously rebuilding it comes with the risk of this happening again. But if they choose to rebuild it, I will be supportive of it.

 

If you build your house on the sand, and it falls because of a storm, that's the reward for your folly. If you want to rebuild it, you can do it without picking my pockets.

Besides, that's not why I think we should leave it underwater. New Orleans was a modern day Sodom. Let's leave it under water.

 

Wouldn't most states and cities qualify with all the casinos and lottery tickets?

 

No, there's no "sin of omission" involved in the failure of the levee system as a result of this storm. Yes, the Army Corps of Engineers is charged with the construction, operation, and maintenance of internal waterways. Others such as the Orleans Levee Board are also involved. Solutions to problems come down to compromises between risks and benefits with the factors of knowledge, technology, time, money, etc. being considered. There never have been any certain nor instant solutions. Money has always been a problem. The levee system has been continuously improved - not just in New Orleans either - as more is learned, more is available, and resources can be allocated. Fighting Old Man River has been an on-going struggle we sometimes win and sometimes loose. Fighting hurricanes is an even greater struggle. No one should be considered ignorant of the risk of living in New Orleans. The potential consequences of a hurricane hitting New Orleans have been widely known within Louisiana for generations. No one can hide behind the false assumption - much less demand - that man's works could provide protection against all possible forces nature can pit against them.

 

Wouldn't most states and cities qualify with all the casinos and lottery tickets? </font>[/QUOTE]You're comparing lottery tickets to openly acceptable and excouraged sexual promiscuity and immorality?

Have you ever even been to New Orleans? It's Las Vegas with twice the crime and half the lights.

 

It is amazing to me how many of Job's friends come out with all of the answers...

 

Just because you have no answers doesn't mean the rest of us are clueless. A miserable comforter YOU would be.

 

Wouldn't most states and cities qualify with all the casinos and lottery tickets? </font>[/QUOTE]Sodom was allowed to heap up wrath against herself for a long time. Fire from heaven was not an instant response to the first act of sodomy within her walls.

 

We need to understand that some things happen by time and chance even to the fastest, strongest, wisest, and most skillful of nations or their leaders. It seems we're often not in control to the extent we might believe mankind should be by his own abilities. In the end, its all up to one infinitely more powerful than any of us mere mortals. We should keep this in mind as we make our "should've, could've, would've" reviews of what happened. The tradegy that has come to New Orleans could happen elsewhere in like or different form. Even tomorrow, another hurricane could strike. We should humbly pray for God Almighty's continued blessings and temporal salvation from all the many possible sufferings that can come to any or all of us.