New Orleans Is Sinking....Literally.

[Mark]

When Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans on Monday, it could turn one of America’s most charming cities into a vast cesspool tainted with toxic chemicals, human waste and even coffins released by floodwaters from the city’s legendary cemeteries.

Experts have warned for years that the levees and pumps that usually keep New Orleans dry have no chance against a direct hit by a Category 5 storm.

Katrina reached Category 5 level Sunday before weakening just slightly to a strong Category 4 storm early Monday. But with top winds of 150 mph and the power to lift sea level by as much as 28 feet above normal, the storm threatened an environmental disaster of biblical proportions, one that could leave more than 1 million people homeless.


“All indications are that this is absolutely worst-case scenario,” Ivor van Heerden, deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center, said Sunday afternoon.

'A refugee camp of a million people'
The center’s latest computer simulations indicate that by Tuesday, vast swaths of New Orleans could be under water up to 30 feet deep. In the French Quarter, the water could reach 20 feet, easily submerging the district’s iconic cast-iron balconies and bars.

Estimates predict that 60 percent to 80 percent of the city’s houses will be destroyed by wind. With the flood damage, most of the people who live in and around New Orleans could be homeless.

“We’re talking about in essence having — in the continental United States — having a refugee camp of a million people,” van Heerden said.


Aside from Hurricane Andrew, which struck Miami in 1992, forecasters have no experience with Category 5 hurricanes hitting densely populated areas.

“Hurricanes rarely sustain such extreme winds for much time. However we see no obvious large-scale effects to cause a substantial weakening the system and it is expected that the hurricane will be of Category 4 or 5 intensity when it reaches the coast,” National Hurricane Center meteorologist Richard Pasch said.*

As they raced to put meteorological instruments in Katrina’s path Sunday, wind engineers had little idea what their equipment would record.

“We haven’t seen something this big since we started the program,” said Kurt Gurley, a University of Florida engineering professor. He works for the Florida Coastal Monitoring Program, which is in its seventh year of making detailed measurements of hurricane wind conditions using a set of mobile weather stations.

Vulnerable city
Experts have warned about New Orleans’ vulnerability for years, chiefly because Louisiana has lost more than a million acres of coastal wetlands in the past seven decades. The vast patchwork of swamps and bayous south of the city serves as a buffer, partially absorbing the surge of water that a hurricane pushes ashore.

Experts have also warned that the ring of high levees around New Orleans, designed to protect the city from floodwaters coming down the Mississippi, will only make things worse in a powerful hurricane. Katrina is expected to push a 28-foot storm surge against the levees. Even if they hold, water will pour over their tops and begin filling the city as if it were a sinking canoe.

After the storm passes, the water will have nowhere to go.

In a few days, van Heerden predicts, emergency management officials are going to be wondering how to handle a giant stagnant pond contaminated with building debris, coffins, sewage and other hazardous materials.

“We’re talking about an incredible environmental disaster,” van Heerden said.

He puts much of the blame for New Orleans’ dire situation on the very levee system that is designed to protect southern Louisiana from Mississippi River floods.

Before the levees were built, the river would top its banks during floods and wash through a maze of bayous and swamps, dropping fine-grained silt that nourished plants and kept the land just above sea level.

The levees “have literally starved our wetlands to death” by directing all of that precious silt out into the Gulf of Mexico, van Heerden said.

It has been 40 years since New Orleans faced a hurricane even comparable to Katrina. In 1965, Hurricane Betsy, a Category 3 storm, submerged some parts of the city to a depth of seven feet.

Since then, the Big Easy has had nothing but near misses. In 1998, Hurricane Georges headed straight for New Orleans, then swerved at the last minute to strike Mississippi and Alabama. Hurricane Lili blew herself out at the mouth of the Mississippi in 2002. And last year’s Hurricane Ivan obligingly curved to the east as it came ashore, barely grazing a grateful city.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9113550/

This is going to be an absolute disaster. I'm really interested in how it all plays out. The video footage, no doubt, is going to be absolutely mind blowing. Just picture a dam overflowing and all that water rushing into a low-laying area. completely submerging the town. The before and after pictures are going to be crazy.

[Whimsicality]

That scares the crap out of me.

[Chris(tmas)]

its down to category 4 right? And I heard on CNN that the roof of the blabla-doom fell down?

[Will]

I heard that this hurricane could be the United States' version of the Indonesian tsunami. That's a horrible comparison but given the fact that towns were sunk in Indonesia makes the comparison plausible since New Orleans could sink in a matter of hours.

[Mark]

Originally posted by Will@Aug 29 2005, 12:26 PM
I heard that this hurricane could be the United States' version of the Indonesian tsunami. That's a horrible comparison but given the fact that towns were sunk in Indonesia makes the comparison plausible since New Orleans could sink in a matter of hours.
A terrible comparison.

The tsunami was unexpected and hit a very heavily populated area. And I mean, incredibly populated. It took the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Billions upon billions upon billions of dollars in damage.

The hurricane was expected and hit a less-heavily populated area. It'll probably cause a few billion dollars in damage and kill less or close to a dozen people.

[Kate]

It's terrible, the city is probably going to be completely ruined...and it's a beautiful place for those of you who haven't seen it.

Last I heard it's still a category 5 storm, but that was last night.

[Mark]

Originally posted by fairladykate@Aug 29 2005, 12:41 PM
It's terrible, the city is probably going to be completely ruined...and it's a beautiful place for those of you who haven't seen it.

Last I heard it's still a category 5 storm, but that was last night.
It died down to a category 4 when it hit land, and veered slighly east of New Orleans, but they're still taking a beating.

[Will]

Originally posted by Mark+Aug 29 2005, 11:10 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Mark @ Aug 29 2005, 11:10 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--Will@Aug 29 2005, 12:26 PM
I heard that this hurricane could be the United States&#39; version of the Indonesian tsunami. That&#39;s a horrible comparison but given the fact that towns were sunk in Indonesia makes the comparison plausible since New Orleans could sink in a matter of hours.
A terrible comparison.

The tsunami was unexpected and hit a very heavily populated area. And I mean, incredibly populated. It took the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Billions upon billions upon billions of dollars in damage.

The hurricane was expected and hit a less-heavily populated area. It&#39;ll probably cause a few billion dollars in damage and kill less or close to a dozen people. [/b][/quote]
Oh. I know.

I was just stating that I heard the comparison, and I was trying to explain it in my own words so that people knew what I was talking about.

I don&#39;t really agree with it, aside from the fact that towns were sunk in the tsunami and New Orleans has a high chance of being sunk as well.

That&#39;s all.

[Mark]

Originally posted by Will+Aug 29 2005, 01:39 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Will @ Aug 29 2005, 01:39 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
Originally posted by -Mark@Aug 29 2005, 11:10 AM
<!--QuoteBegin--Will@Aug 29 2005, 12:26 PM
I heard that this hurricane could be the United States&#39; version of the Indonesian tsunami. That&#39;s a horrible comparison but given the fact that towns were sunk in Indonesia makes the comparison plausible since New Orleans could sink in a matter of hours.
A terrible comparison.

The tsunami was unexpected and hit a very heavily populated area. And I mean, incredibly populated. It took the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Billions upon billions upon billions of dollars in damage.

The hurricane was expected and hit a less-heavily populated area. It&#39;ll probably cause a few billion dollars in damage and kill less or close to a dozen people.
Oh. I know.

I was just stating that I heard the comparison, and I was trying to explain it in my own words so that people knew what I was talking about.

I don&#39;t really agree with it, aside from the fact that towns were sunk in the tsunami and New Orleans has a high chance of being sunk as well.

That&#39;s all. [/b][/quote]
I know you didn&#39;t agree with the comparison, I was just sharing my disgust with whoever made that horrendous comaprison. :lol:

[Will]

Originally posted by Mark+Aug 29 2005, 12:25 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Mark @ Aug 29 2005, 12:25 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
Originally posted by -Will@Aug 29 2005, 01:39 PM

Originally posted by -Mark@Aug 29 2005, 11:10 AM
<!--QuoteBegin--Will@Aug 29 2005, 12:26 PM
I heard that this hurricane could be the United States&#39; version of the Indonesian tsunami. That&#39;s a horrible comparison but given the fact that towns were sunk in Indonesia makes the comparison plausible since New Orleans could sink in a matter of hours.
A terrible comparison.

The tsunami was unexpected and hit a very heavily populated area. And I mean, incredibly populated. It took the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Billions upon billions upon billions of dollars in damage.

The hurricane was expected and hit a less-heavily populated area. It&#39;ll probably cause a few billion dollars in damage and kill less or close to a dozen people.
Oh. I know.

I was just stating that I heard the comparison, and I was trying to explain it in my own words so that people knew what I was talking about.

I don&#39;t really agree with it, aside from the fact that towns were sunk in the tsunami and New Orleans has a high chance of being sunk as well.

That&#39;s all.
I know you didn&#39;t agree with the comparison, I was just sharing my disgust with whoever made that horrendous comaprison. :lol: [/b][/quote]
All right. I understand, now.

I almost passed out a couple of times while walking to my first class (actually, I was trying to find it, and got lost), so my mind is a little groggy right now.

My apologies.

[Todd]

Yeah, this hurricane is freaky. My sister moved down to New Orleans a few weeks ago for law school and Sunday had to evacuate and make the drive back home to St. Louis. She may not have a house or college campus when/if she goes back

[Derek The Infamous]

Originally posted by Will@Aug 29 2005, 09:56 AM
I heard that this hurricane could be the United States&#39; version of the Indonesian tsunami. That&#39;s a horrible comparison but given the fact that towns were sunk in Indonesia makes the comparison plausible since New Orleans could sink in a matter of hours.
Yeah they said that but look what happened, they didn&#39;t even get hit as hard as they thought they were going to...it went off to the east a little.

Sometimes I think these weather people live to overreact and pick the worst case scenario, I&#39;m sorry.

[Ronin]

i feel sorry for the residents who are going to get hit. i hope noone gets really hurt.

[Geki]

Last night I watched CNN for hours, I even woke up this morning at 6 AM to watch the hurricane. I feel really bad for the residents at in New Orleans, but at least 80 Percent evacuated. That last 20 Percent though, they can just pray and hope.

[Atsuzen]

This whole thing is so freaky. The reporters must be really brave going out there to cover it.

[Dedicated]

Originally posted by Atsuzen@Aug 30 2005, 04:02 AM
The reporters must be really brave going out there to cover it.
...Or just really stupid.

[Glenn]

In a way this is kind of like "The Day After Tomorrow." Experts have been warning the government for years about a situation like this.

I still feel really bad for the people stuck without homes. :(

[Derek The Infamous]

Well I take back that thing I said earlier. Things just went from bad to worse.

A levy broke and now much of New Orleans is underwater, the water level is rising and the death count isn&#39;t even fathomable yet, although officials believe there were many casualties.

This is really bad.

[Todd]

Originally posted by Derek@Aug 30 2005, 09:34 AM
Well I take back that thing I said earlier. Things just went from bad to worse.

A levy broke and now much of New Orleans is underwater, the water level is rising and the death count isn&#39;t even fathomable yet, although officials believe there were many casualties.

This is really bad.
I saw on the CNN front page that there are bodies floating around New Orleans :( Sad indeed. I&#39;m so glad my sister got out when she could because I&#39;m 99% sure her house is under water now.

[Dedicated]

Damn this is bad

[Derek The Infamous]

Originally posted by Todd+Aug 30 2005, 11:11 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Todd @ Aug 30 2005, 11:11 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--Derek@Aug 30 2005, 09:34 AM
Well I take back that thing I said earlier. Things just went from bad to worse.

A levy broke and now much of New Orleans is underwater, the water level is rising and the death count isn&#39;t even fathomable yet, although officials believe there were many casualties.

This is really bad.
I saw on the CNN front page that there are bodies floating around New Orleans :( Sad indeed. I&#39;m so glad my sister got out when she could because I&#39;m 99% sure her house is under water now. [/b][/quote]
What&#39;s terrifying is that they didnt get hit as hard as they thought they were going to be. Even with a downgrade in its strength, the hurricane still managed to hit New Orleans hard enough to &#39;sink it&#39;.

What&#39;s stupid is they said New Orleans wasnt even hit the hardest. Well maybe not, but New Orleans is 80% underwater, I dont think you can get hit any worse then that.. :unsure:

[Messy Marj]

Jeez the things I saw on tv freaked me out. O.O

[Dean]

On the news I saw a shot where the only thing standing was the giant Hard Rock Cafe guitar, which was weird. I don&#39;t know if it was New Orleans though, but still, it was fucked up.

[Mark]

Originally posted by Derek+Aug 30 2005, 02:04 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Derek @ Aug 30 2005, 02:04 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
Originally posted by -Todd@Aug 30 2005, 11:11 AM
<!--QuoteBegin--Derek@Aug 30 2005, 09:34 AM
Well I take back that thing I said earlier. Things just went from bad to worse.

A levy broke and now much of New Orleans is underwater, the water level is rising and the death count isn&#39;t even fathomable yet, although officials believe there were many casualties.

This is really bad.
I saw on the CNN front page that there are bodies floating around New Orleans :( Sad indeed. I&#39;m so glad my sister got out when she could because I&#39;m 99% sure her house is under water now.
What&#39;s terrifying is that they didnt get hit as hard as they thought they were going to be. Even with a downgrade in its strength, the hurricane still managed to hit New Orleans hard enough to &#39;sink it&#39;.

What&#39;s stupid is they said New Orleans wasnt even hit the hardest. Well maybe not, but New Orleans is 80% underwater, I dont think you can get hit any worse then that.. :unsure: [/b][/quote]
It&#39;s true that 80% of New Orleans is underwater, but the fact of the matter is that 70% of New Orleans is under sea level. It&#39;s quite obvious that a low-laying area like that would fill up and be devestated much easier than an above-sea level town. The 18-foot flood wall was overtaken and now much of the city sits underneath 20 feet of water. Map (http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/weather/0508/map.new.orleans/images/super.new.orleans2.map.gif).

Mississippi got the worst of the hurricane in terms of winds and power. 55 people are dead in Mississippi. It&#39;s just that New Orleans is so much more of an easy town to destroy by high waters and winds than it is in Mississippi.

[Whimsicality]

Does anyone know what happend to the people in the dome?

[Chris(tmas)]

Isnt New Orleans flooded instead of sunk? It was already below sea-level, so wouldnt it be flooded? :wth:

I havent watched the TV today, but I saw some footage yesterday and that was..wow

[Todd]

Now the governor is making evacuations manditory, that means everyone in shelters and the Superdome is being evacuated. Not looking good

[2xPutt]

this is horrible, they say no power for months, no school for months, thousands, probably millions without homes..... my prayers go out to all of those effected


and sorry this is a stupid question, but will the water that&#39;s flooding new orleans like evaporate over time? or does this 80% under water mean that new orleans is basically gone for good with the water?

[Tomi]

Well, New Orleans is...totaled. =&#092;

http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~s0522422/aftermath.wmv

[Mark]

Originally posted by Chris@Aug 30 2005, 07:00 PM
Isnt New Orleans flooded instead of sunk? It was already below sea-level, so wouldnt it be flooded? :wth:

I havent watched the TV today, but I saw some footage yesterday and that was..wow
You&#39;ve obviously never heard of the song. :lol:

The town will be pumped slowly and some water will evaporate or sink into the ground. Luckily, New Orleans isn&#39;t in a climate that gets alot of snow, so if the efforts were to last a few months into the winter, the town wouldn&#39;t become completely iced over.

[Tomi]

Originally posted by Mark+Aug 30 2005, 10:00 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Mark @ Aug 30 2005, 10:00 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--Chris@Aug 30 2005, 07:00 PM
Isnt New Orleans flooded instead of sunk? It was already below sea-level, so wouldnt it be flooded? :wth:

I havent watched the TV today, but I saw some footage yesterday and that was..wow
You&#39;ve obviously never heard of the song. :lol:

The town will be pumped slowly and some water will evaporate or sink into the ground. Luckily, New Orleans isn&#39;t in a climate that gets alot of snow, so if the efforts were to last a few months into the winter, the town wouldn&#39;t become completely iced over. [/b][/quote]
And if it did ice over, we could always rename it to "New Iceland". :whistle:

[palingenesis]

kinda like mexico city

[User Name]

Originally posted by Mark@Aug 30 2005, 08:00 PM
so if the efforts were to last a few months into the winter, the town wouldn&#39;t become completely iced over.
That sucks. I mean, that would make for a pretty mean game of street hockey, eh? :lol:

[Derek The Infamous]

Like I said to my friends, you guys are horrible. :lol:

Someone (who I wont say to protect him lol) said it&#39;s going to have to be "Girls Gone Swimming" now. Oh lord&#33;

[Dedicated]

Looting and stuff is happening now. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4205074.stm)

...And Bush has made his "dumbass comment of the month" already (http://www.aol.co.uk/webcentres/news/0.html)

[Will]

There is sniper fire in New Orleans, now.

For the record, it isn&#39;t coming from anyone who was deployed there to help in the rescue efforts.

[ChooseYourPoison]

To see such a beautiful city with so many people and so much history completely destroyed makes me sad. I really feel for those people because I can&#39;t even imagine what they&#39;re going through. Some of them have lost absolutely EVERYTHING except the clothes ont heir backs. It&#39;s just terrible. I was in New Orleans like..2 months ago too. I&#39;m so glad I got to see it before this happened, because it&#39;ll NEVER be the same. Even if they rebuild it, which might not happen. The city just might keep sinking because of the Mississippi river. :&#39;(

And personally, those news reporters are jackasses. Instead of standing around, watching the dead bodies float by them, they should fucking help the people that are stranded on houses without food or water. :wth:

[Chris(tmas)]

"Atleast we&#39;re getting a new beach." - Bush.

:wth:

[ChooseYourPoison]

Originally posted by Chris@Sep 5 2005, 11:46 AM
"Atleast we&#39;re getting a new beach." - Bush.

:wth:
:o what a jackass.

[The Outsider]

i think bush isnt trying enough to help the victims.
For gods sake they had a week&#39;s warning to get out of there...
The rescue missions are just stupid..what happened to the SES there?
Its really stupid that our troops (me bein aussie) arent doing anything because law forbids troops to interven with american troops.

[Anthony.]

LED ZEPPELIN LYRICS

"When The Levee Breaks"

If it keeps on rainin&#39;, levee&#39;s goin&#39; to break, [X2]
When The Levee Breaks I&#39;ll have no place to stay.

Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan, [X2]
Got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home,
Oh, well, oh, well, oh, well.

Don&#39;t it make you feel bad
When you&#39;re tryin&#39; to find your way home,
You don&#39;t know which way to go?
If you&#39;re goin&#39; down South
They go no work to do,
If you don&#39;t know about Chicago.

Cryin&#39; won&#39;t help you, prayin&#39; won&#39;t do you no good,
Now, cryin&#39; won&#39;t help you, prayin&#39; won&#39;t do you no good,
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move.

All last night sat on the levee and moaned, [X2]
Thinkin&#39; about me baby and my happy home.
Going, going to Chicago... Going to Chicago... Sorry but I can&#39;t take you...
Going down... going down now... going down....

...

[Link04]

Originally posted by The Outsider@Sep 6 2005, 01:57 AM
i think bush isnt trying enough to help the victims.
For gods sake they had a week&#39;s warning to get out of there...
The rescue missions are just stupid..what happened to the SES there?
Its really stupid that our troops (me bein aussie) arent doing anything because law forbids troops to interven with american troops.
Unfortunately, this isn&#39;t just Bush.

The government has, and will continue, to prove itself incapable and incompetant in its sole &#39;legitimizing&#39; feature, to protect its citizens. If you haven&#39;t noticed, most of the beneficial work has been done by private organizations, the Red Cross, bus companies, ect....and not FEMA or the National Guard. This is no surprise, and is only further testament not only to the fact that the government has no real incentive to do its job well (under the illusion of a choice in the democratic process), but it largely doesn&#39;t have your interest in priority at all.

Big surprise, eh?

[Holiday]

New Orleans is sinking, it is even more of dissaster than you may know. I think we should just abandon it. We have to actively pump water out of it on a regular basis to keep it from sinking even before Katrina hit, and the water isn&#39;t going down by its self.


and you know, all of this horribly horribly poluted water is just going right into the gulf. it is a wasteland and its completely toxic down there. the people just need to get out and stay out. Their homes are gone, thier lands are gone, its all gone. get out now before we spend an estimated 10 BILLON dollars on it.

Thats just my opinion.

[ChooseYourPoison]

The thing is, I don&#39;t feel sorry for certain people. I don&#39;t feel sorry for the people who knew the hurricane was coming, but chose to ignore it and now they&#39;ve lost everything. I feel sorry for the people who were visiting, and the people who were trying to leave, but couldn&#39;t.

[The Outsider]

its every man for himself over there.
with police have the right to shoot to kill.
it wouldnt happened if THEY HAD SES &#33;&#33;

[Chris.]

The thing about New Orleans is that it was just asking to be flooded by a hurricane. It&#39;s below sea level, therefore the city acts like a bowl. If the levee&#39;s broke, which one (or more I dont know) broke and it flooded the city, which they had to have known would happen sometime. People who live in New Orleans should have expected a natural disaster there sometime...but everyone thinks it&#39;ll never happen to them.

I&#39;m not trying to sound unsympathetic, trust me. My girlfriend has family in New Orleans, but they got out a few days before the Hurricane hit. She also has family in Mississippi which got hit pretty bad as well. I just think that living in New Orleans was basically asking to be involved in this.

Anyway. I hope they can continue to save more and more people.

[Holiday]

Originally posted by BuriedxTragedy@Sep 7 2005, 08:10 PM
The thing about New Orleans is that it was just asking to be flooded by a hurricane. It&#39;s below sea level, therefore the city acts like a bowl. If the levee&#39;s broke, which one (or more I dont know) broke and it flooded the city, which they had to have known would happen sometime. People who live in New Orleans should have expected a natural disaster there sometime...but everyone thinks it&#39;ll never happen to them.

I&#39;m not trying to sound unsympathetic, trust me. My girlfriend has family in New Orleans, but they got out a few days before the Hurricane hit. She also has family in Mississippi which got hit pretty bad as well. I just think that living in New Orleans was basically asking to be involved in this.

Anyway. I hope they can continue to save more and more people.
Yeah, i totally agree.

i&#39;m sorry to hear about your girlfriend&#39;s family.

[iamrighthereandnow]

Originally posted by BuriedxTragedy@Sep 8 2005, 03:10 AM
The thing about New Orleans is that it was just asking to be flooded by a hurricane. It&#39;s below sea level, therefore the city acts like a bowl. If the levee&#39;s broke, which one (or more I dont know) broke and it flooded the city, which they had to have known would happen sometime. People who live in New Orleans should have expected a natural disaster there sometime...but everyone thinks it&#39;ll never happen to them.

I&#39;m not trying to sound unsympathetic, trust me. My girlfriend has family in New Orleans, but they got out a few days before the Hurricane hit. She also has family in Mississippi which got hit pretty bad as well. I just think that living in New Orleans was basically asking to be involved in this.

Anyway. I hope they can continue to save more and more people.


the investments in levees has been underfounded, the very much needed repairs to the levees were not done.

new orleans wasn&#39;t asking for it, its not a well to do predominantly white city for the big boys in gov to care enough to put money to prevent situation like that.

[+ / –]

Originally posted by BuriedxTragedy@Sep 7 2005, 09:10 PM
The thing about New Orleans is that it was just asking to be flooded by a hurricane. It&#39;s below sea level, therefore the city acts like a bowl. If the levee&#39;s broke, which one (or more I dont know) broke and it flooded the city, which they had to have known would happen sometime. People who live in New Orleans should have expected a natural disaster there sometime...but everyone thinks it&#39;ll never happen to them.

I&#39;m not trying to sound unsympathetic, trust me. My girlfriend has family in New Orleans, but they got out a few days before the Hurricane hit. She also has family in Mississippi which got hit pretty bad as well. I just think that living in New Orleans was basically asking to be involved in this.

Anyway. I hope they can continue to save more and more people.
So you&#39;re pretty much saying that it&#39;s New Orlean&#39;s fault because it exists?

Maybe if they didn&#39;t exist, it wouldn&#39;t happen next time.

[Link04]

Originally posted by BuriedxTragedy@Sep 8 2005, 03:10 AM
The thing about New Orleans is that it was just asking to be flooded by a hurricane. It&#39;s below sea level, therefore the city acts like a bowl. If the levee&#39;s broke, which one (or more I dont know) broke and it flooded the city, which they had to have known would happen sometime. People who live in New Orleans should have expected a natural disaster there sometime...but everyone thinks it&#39;ll never happen to them.

I&#39;m not trying to sound unsympathetic, trust me. My girlfriend has family in New Orleans, but they got out a few days before the Hurricane hit. She also has family in Mississippi which got hit pretty bad as well. I just think that living in New Orleans was basically asking to be involved in this.

Anyway. I hope they can continue to save more and more people.
Friend, what you just described is the first failure of the government, largely the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Somehow....they had the lack of insight/foresight to firstly, build levee&#39;s high enough, secondly, strong enough, so sustain what isn&#39;t a rare event in the Gulf coast.

Yet, their sole legitimizing aspect is the protection of our lives and property. They&#39;ve proved over and over in this situation that they don&#39;t have the average person&#39;s interest in mind.

[JJ]

Originally posted by Minus Xero+Sep 8 2005, 07:22 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Minus Xero @ Sep 8 2005, 07:22 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--BuriedxTragedy@Sep 7 2005, 09:10 PM
The thing about New Orleans is that it was just asking to be flooded by a hurricane. It&#39;s below sea level, therefore the city acts like a bowl. If the levee&#39;s broke, which one (or more I dont know) broke and it flooded the city, which they had to have known would happen sometime. People who live in New Orleans should have expected a natural disaster there sometime...but everyone thinks it&#39;ll never happen to them.

I&#39;m not trying to sound unsympathetic, trust me. My girlfriend has family in New Orleans, but they got out a few days before the Hurricane hit. She also has family in Mississippi which got hit pretty bad as well. I just think that living in New Orleans was basically asking to be involved in this.

Anyway. I hope they can continue to save more and more people.
So you&#39;re pretty much saying that it&#39;s New Orlean&#39;s fault because it exists?

Maybe if they didn&#39;t exist, it wouldn&#39;t happen next time. [/b][/quote]
there are countless places in the world where natural disaster could occur. New Orleans just got hit real bad, its no ones fault.