The predicted deluge of New Orleans

[kambriel]

I'm still in CA for a few days, so I've had spotty news coverage while I've been here, but it's terribly frustrating the extent of this tragedy's aftermath has befallen New Orleans. One of PBS's shows, I think it was "Nature" had a special on hurricanes, and the last ten minutes of the show was a chilling account of what would happen if a large hurricane hit New Orleans. This show was first aired MANY YEARS AGO. It gave all the warnings of what could happen with the lake overflowing, complete with computer imaging for what parts of downtown would be underwater, etc... I saw this show probably close to a decade ago, and have seen it re-aired in recent years. The final words of the hour long special, were saying how "it wasn't a matter of if, but when this would happen". It frustrates me to no end that the city's officials didn't do more to protect the area when the warnings and information were out there for a long time in advance. This is the kind of tragedy that happens when people procrastinate.

My prayers are going out to the entire area ~ my heart sinks at the thought of what their reality is right now. I am so sorry that everyone wasn't better looked out for by the city planners. May help, safety, shelter, health, and comfort find you all in your moment of need.


~ Kambriel

[Kambriel.com ~ Etsy ~ Bluesky ~ Twitter ~ Tumblr ~ Facebook ~ Instagram]

Comments

[lisawebb.livejournal.com]

It is heart breaking.
:(

[colombenoire.livejournal.com]

This is also the kind of tragedy that happens when a people's elected government sends away its money and resources to fight a war of greed instead of using them to keep its own citizens safe at home from real, anticipated dangers.

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/08/bush-took-new-orleans-disaster-funds.html

Dark times, indeed. I can only hope that the principle of balance is at work, and there's light on the horizon.

[pvcdiva.livejournal.com]

one is forced to sk how many american troops have been killed in Iraq so far, and add that to the 3,000 or so (can't remember the exact figures embarassingly) in the attack on the WTC and see how the final fugre stacks up against the death toll in NOLA and then we'll know if Bush's ppolicies really have helped keep Americans safe.

And as recent video footage has shown, one of the July 7th London bombers cited the war against Iraq as one of his reasons for become a suicide bomber, so so much for this crap about making the world safer...

if anyone is an unelected dictator who stole power it was Bush...wasso sickening when he did win in 04...I don't know, do all generations get to this point where it feels like the end of days

[mystress.livejournal.com]

Yeah, being so low below sea level, the city can and did just fill like a tea cup.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2005/08/31/disaster_preparation/index_np.html

[slave1.livejournal.com]

That is spooky!
And how about this National Geographic article from a Oct 2004:

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0410/feature5/

[ankhayra.livejournal.com]

I heard an interview with a Dutch specialist on water-defense.* He's been to New Orleans before the hurricane to help protect the city against flooding. He says: the city was basically protected from floods coming from the river, not the sea. In the interview he stated he wasn't surprised of what had happened now.

* The Netherlands is a country that has 1/3 of it's territory below sea-level, and has been working hard (since the great flood of 1953) to protect the country against flooding. They closed the mouth of "De Schelde"-river with several doors, and built huge dams around the whole country (5 meters high). More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Works (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Works)

[kambriel.livejournal.com]

I've seen shows on the projects in the Netherlands where scientists are doing what they can to guard against flooding ~ the need is similar to that of Venice.

The USA can often have an embarrassing "better than everyone else" attitude, so I wonder if the Dutch specialist's advice was adequately listened to. I'm sure it would have been very valuable for this situation which most people in-the-know knew was an eventuality, and a lot could have been learned/done to protect people in the area.

[pvcdiva.livejournal.com]

the BBC news coverage is getting increasingly exasperated with the patchy response from the US government.

You can see the restrained anger in their reports - obviously as professionals who are supposed to be impartial observers, it's hard for them to criticise directly. However I've seen the same guys cover terrible events in war zones and other disasters, and you can tell that they are a different kind of mad this time, mad because they're in a position to make comparisions between coping with natural disasters in the third world and the response to the NOLA emergency and the US government has been so lacking in a more co-ordinated response to help its citizens.

Could the divide in Bush's America be made anymore stark - the poor were left to die, there was no help in evacuating them (correct me if I'm wrong) and I found myself screaming at the telly last night when that smug bastard Bush came on trying to supress that 'good ole boy' smirk saying 'I can't imagine what it must be like'. Wonder how much of his own personal fortune he will donate to his campaign to raise money for the victims. How much did his re-election campaign cost? As ever what money is raised will come mostly from the ground up, from people who know what it is to have very little.

[kambriel.livejournal.com]

I was away and couldn't respond til now, but you have no idea how comforting your words are in a way, because I feel the exact same way about the smirks, the smugness, the meaningless words, etc...

[pvcdiva.livejournal.com]

I've been screaming at the tv a lot. I just hope this costs the republicans the next election...it's shocking how obvious they have been in not caring about the lives of their citzens. Shame the next election is so far away. Just compare this disaster with the help given in advance to Florida before the election...oh, but hang on, who's the governer there...hmmm....

I'm getting so angry with people who are desperate for food being called 'looters'. Certainly no denying there is lawlessness out there, and people raiding consumer goods not just for food, but that's what's going to happen when people are abandoned in desperate times.

Quite frankly are they supposed to sit around politely and wait another week for help when there are stores full of food, and no-one around to pay anyway...