Katrina, two years later

[another view]

I've been hearing a lot about what's happening in New Orleans and the whole area affected by Hurricane Katrina (and Rita, that followed shortly later) as this is the second anniversary of the storm.

I haven't been to the area since then, but a friend recently returned from a week's work near Gulfport MS and had a lot of stories to tell. Most city blocks have one house standing, but by now many of those houses are repaired. The way I see it, one house per block is probably about 10% of the population that was there two years ago. Will the town survive?

There have been a lot of conflicting stories about New Orleans. Residents point to areas like the 9th Ward which don't look much different than they did after the waters receeded (as verified by my friend who also visited this area). The government talks about the ship canal walls that have been repaired, the shipping port being open, 80% of the restaurants and an even higher percentage of hotels also being open. I'd say you would need that to get commerce flowing again but then if I were a resident it would be hard to argue with living conditions after two years.

[JSPhoto]

LOL, a friend called and said he had a job for me, full time, good pay, one catch... it's in the US murder capitol, NO at the "PT" NO largest paper.... yeah, just where I want to go. The thought of being below sea level in area known for hurricanes doesn't appeal to me, maybe because I am smart enough to realize the dangers of such a settup. There are ways to do it and make it safer, like taking dirt from other places and filling the city in and bringing it above sea level, but thats expensive, so why not just abandon it and let the ocean have it back. It's costing too much money and too many lives to be worth rebuilding, and it's obvious most of the residents don't want to go back anyway, or they would have done so by now.

[another view]

The thought of being below sea level in area known for hurricanes doesn't appeal to me, maybe because I am smart enough to realize the dangers of such a settup.

Can't argue with that - how many years before another one blows in? Nobody knows. Chances are that it will happen again but it may not be within our lifetimes. Is that acceptable? I don't think so. A couple (at least) of small midwestern towns have literally moved since the Mississippi River flood of '93. Why can't we do that with New Orleans?

Well, anyplace other than New Orleans probably could be moved. Buildings, roads and sewers can be built and would probably a smarter long-term investment. But New Orleans is different than any place I've ever been. I think it would be gone forever if it were to be moved. I think it would be a lot like Celebration, FL (that place gave me the creeps).

[JSPhoto]

It may sound like I don't care about the history of NO, but I am being realistic, it's just not worth the expense to make the city liveable and safe, from hurricanes other natural disasters, there are faults that could affect any dykes in the area or man made disasters such as terrrorism or the present ongoing murder rate.
I just can't see wasting the billions of dollars to rebuild the city when kids in our country starve, and there are much more important, and obviously no one there seems to really care as they still cannot get control of the city from the gangs two years later. I say turn it into a huge prison, then if the dykes fail it just lowers the nations inmate population and we wouldn't need to worry how long FEMA takes to respond.....

JS

[Xia_Ke]

... we wouldn't need to worry how long FEMA takes to respond.....

FEMA is a joke. I was looking through the gallery of a photographer named Samuel Portera today who lived in NO during Katrina and has a pretty powerful gallery. Here's one shot of his that sums it up...

"The Problem"

[JSPhoto]

Is that REALLY the problem? I doubt it. First off most FEMA employees can't afford cars like that unless they are at the very top levels. Second, many FEMA workers are not even paid or paid very little, so most likly this is a volunteers car who just happens to have a very good jib and can afford such luxery.
I think the person is stupid driving it to NO as it makes them a target for the criminals.
JS

[Frog]

I agree with JS. Its a huge waste of our money to even have tried to rebuild a city sitting a bowl surrounded by water. I do understand the sentimental feelings but if New Orleans has a 'spirit', that spirit can live elsewhere.
Helping the people go live where the same thing might happen any time isn't helping.

BTW, I saw some statistics on the news and they said that the population is up to 2/3 what it was pre-Katrina.

[masdog]

FEMA is a joke. I was looking through the gallery of a photographer named Samuel Portera today who lived in NO during Katrina and has a pretty powerful gallery. Here's one shot of his that sums it up...

"The Problem"

FEMA is a joke, but Katrina was a comedy of errors that left Murphy rolling around on the floor laughing. The City of New Orleans, the State of Louisiana, and the Federal Government were all caught unprepared, and the least privileged residents of New Orleans were the ones who suffered for it.

Then again, if you live in an area that could easily be hit by a hurricane each year, you should have a bug-out bag and some supplies just in case you can't get out right away.

[JSPhoto]

The funny thing is just after I wrote that a couple who wound up here in Indy was on the news and said they would never have thought of living anywhere else but NO until they came to Indy temporarily, now they won't go back, even with our huge jump in crime , it's safer than NO before Katrina.... that should explain some things. So maybe making NO the new Alcatraz isn't such a bad idea.... and much cheaper.....

JS

[mn shutterbug]

So maybe making NO the new Alcatraz isn't such a bad idea.... and much cheaper.....

JS

And if Alcatraz sinks into the sea, look at the money it would save us tax payers. :thumbsup:

I just read in a Time magazine that 1/4 of the country's oil comes from the part of Louisiana that is slowly sinking into the sea.

[JSPhoto]

And if Alcatraz sinks into the sea, look at the money it would save us tax payers. :thumbsup:

I just read in a Time magazine that 1/4 of the country's oil comes from the part of Louisiana that is slowly sinking into the sea.

Well maybe it's a good place for death row and lifers.....


Hmmm, oil out ground down...any correlation there? It would make sense.

JS