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Views From Your Windows
Almost 2 million residents along the Lousiana coast have evacuated the region as Hurricane Gustav is expected to hit today. After his mandatory evacuation of New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin revealed he would be staying in the city, sleeping in City Hall. Nagin also warned, "Looters will go directly to jail. You will not get a pass this time. You will not have a temporary stay in the city. You will go directly to the Big House."
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal called a state of emergency and urged any remaining residents to evacuate. He added that 50,000 National Guard troops were activated and that 1,800 additional troops were headed to Louisiana (including some from New York) and he's requested 16,000 more. President Bush visited FEMA (which is eager to show it's ready this time) in Washington, D.C. for an update and said, "The Army Corps of Engineers informs me that while the levees are stronger than they've ever been, people across the Gulf Coast, especially in New Orleans, need to understand that in a storm of this size there is serious risk of significant flooding." However, there are still worries about the fact that the levee updating project is only 20% done since Katrina. A Times-Picayune editorial, though, says, "A timely and effective corps response could go a long way in restoring the agency's image in the eyes of those flooded by its ineptitude three years ago."
Gustav, currently a Category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds, is expected to make landfall around noon. As of 12:45 a.m., the center of the storm is projected be west of New Orleans (which would mean New Orleans' "storm surge would be lower") and towards the central coast. It's still possible Gustav's course and intensity could change--for instance, it could gain strength when if it hits warmer water (Hurricane Hugo grew after hitting the Gulf Stream)--and there's even a chance of tornadoes. Here's the NOAA page on Gustav, MSNBC's Gustav tracker, and ongoing coverage from NOLA.com, including Times-Picayune reporters' blogs from the Army Corps bunker and a shrimp boat.
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Being on the eastern side of a hurricane is the worst place to be.
Wonder how different Bush's and Congress' responses would be now mere months before an election - especially with Obama being so popular
20% done in 3 years, eh? Looks like they're on the "Ground Zero Project Timetable."
If the government had the will, they could protect New Orleans from even the strongest storms. The Delta Works project in the Netherlands is a prime example of a country's determination to protect itself from the high seas.
However, Given the amount of poor minority people that live in the New Orleans area, it doesn't seem to be that high on the priority list of the Bush Administration. If New Orleans is flooded again, then I don't see how anyone could have any faith in this government's ability to protect its own citizens.
With enough money, you could harden any disaster proof area. The question becomes 'why'.
Clearcut and there's no forest fires. Triple building costs and earthquakes and hurricanes will be more sustainable. Turn the country into a police state and you'll prevent some terrorist attacks.
They should have bulldozed the lower ninth and returned the lowest lying areas to wetlands; the same goes for flood plains up the whole Mississippi river.
Here's why
If New Orleans is flooded again, then I don't see how anyone could have any faith in this government's ability to protect its own citizens.
It's been proven time and again that you cannot protect people from their own stupidity. They were already resettled elsewhere after Katrina. They never should have come back to an area where they know disaster is going to happen again sooner rather than later.
Ted Stevens will have his 'series of tubes' filled while in prison.
A few months back there was a series of investigative reports that showed some of the contractors repairing the levies by stuffing them with newspaper. I'm no engineer, but I'm pretty certain that newspaper won't stop a hurricane.
#4 makes a good point about flood management in the Netherlands but there is a difference: after Katrina, there was a hurried rush to build something that would protect New Orleans as quickly as possible. Those great projects in Europe are often designed decades before they are actually completed. They are well planned and fully funded. A crash program such as those levees in N.O., required actually rebuilding the destroyed levees while quickly designing added improvements and then funding and building those. And it won't be enough. Louisiana has lost so many wetlands and barrier islands to erosion that little lies in the path of any hurricane until it reaches those levees. All of it has to be restored.