New Orleans

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 7:25 am

I see on the news today another Hurricane (Gustav) is bearing down on New Orleans. This takes me back to what some politician (can’t remember his name) said after Katrina devastated the city back in September of 2005. He said something to the affect that it might not be wise to rebuild. At the time I thought, “Wow, a politician making a smart, unpopular, reasonable assessment about rebuilding a city in a hurricane zone that’s close too or below sea level”. I remember the absolute shit-storm this guy had to withstand until he recounted his statement.

Now another storm might hit the city again, and if it does, there will probably be more of the same destruction all because we humans have this inane, sentimentally driven desire to see traditions continued. Even the American Indians were smart enough not to build their villages close to the ocean in Florida. They apparently understood cause and affect better then the typical American does today.

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 8:08 am

Much of the city was destroyed in a hurricane - in the early 18th Century when it still belonged to France. It's a great place to visit and many are deeply attached to the location as home, but how many times will this happen.

Of course, I live about seven miles from the west coast beaches of Florida-albeit on the highest ground by zone. What is rather remarkable is this county has not suffered a direct hit since the 1920's. We do lose power, get
flooded out in areas, and experience property damage in small to moderate doses occasionally from nearby hurricanes.

Graduate Thinker Joined: Mar 26, 2008 Posts: 550

When the French had all those years ago, the city was not in danger of being flooded by a hurricane. This was because there were many marshes, swamps, bayous and other coastal regions that acted as a buffer against storms. If these coastal wetlands had been in place today, then the Katrina fiasco may never have happened. New Orleans can be kept; it all depends on how willing the state is to restore the wetlands.

Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 6:31 am

Cygnus wrote:

When the French had all those years ago, the city was not in danger of being flooded by a hurricane. This was because there were many marshes, swamps, bayous and other coastal regions that acted as a buffer against storms. If these coastal wetlands had been in place today, then the Katrina fiasco may never have happened. New Orleans can be kept; it all depends on how willing the state is to restore the wetlands.

If the predicted rise in ocean level happens, restoring wetlands won't be much of an option for saving it. Also, because of warming ocean temperatures, the storms hitting the gulf region are likely to become more intense and more frequent. About the only way I can think of to make that area safer would be some extreme engineering project out in the bay to reduce or prevent tidal surges. Of course, that will do nothing (as with a wetland buffer) to soften the wind damage that comes with high-level hurricanes.

Graduate Thinker Joined: Mar 26, 2008 Posts: 550

Coastal engineering is tricky business. Huge seawalls and hard structures usually only work for a short time and disrupt the natural flow of things. New Orleans could use a much better and more sophisticated pump system if it is to be saved.

Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 4:47 pm

Louisiana can not restore the wetlands. Louisiana was built up by the Mississippi River carrying eroded soil downstream into the Gulf. After the Dustbowls on the 1930s, the US Army Corps of Engineers engineered projects to stop soil erosion, and that damned my home state. Ever since, the Gulf has washed the soil away from Louisiana, allowing the sea to poison the wetlands with salt and then allow it to sink and wash out.

South Louisiana is doomed until the Army Corps of Engineers reverses their decades long project, and they won't abandon it to save my state.


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