"The Worst Case Reality"
As the news became more and more ominous out of New Orleans, I was in overload and had to turn off the TV. It is hard to explain, but I'm having some strange sense of survivor's guilt. There's only so many times you can hear the broadcasted words: "It just keeps getting worse in New Orleans." This is storm garnering comparisons to the devastating tsunami event of late last year. As in that massive tragedy, NASA is giving us pictures from space showing the change in the landscape of south Lousisiana.
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LATEST CONDITIONS IN NEW ORLEANS
Widespread looting is being reported in all areas hit by the storm. It is in times of turmoil that we see the two faces of humanity: those who want to save lives and those who want to take advantage of others misfortune. The area just east of downtown New Orleans and the French Quarter, you may heard it referred to as the 9th ward, houses some of New Orleans poorest citizens. In a state of anarchcy, those who did not have the means to evacuate the city and are nowing seeing worsening conditions will resort to any means necessary to sustain their lives.
Where does New Orleans go from here? Where does the Gulf Coast go from here? The scope of this diaster is just beginning to emerge. This was no Hurricane Camille or Andrew (devasting storms in their own right.) 1969's Camille, effecting extreme costal Louisiana with eventual landfall in Pass Christian, Miss., was a tightly wound, compact storm. 1992's Andrew, although slightly larger, devastated parts of southern Florida and a modest blow to central, coastal Louisiana. Ironically the most damage in Andrew's Louisiana landfall was to my hometown of Laplace (25 miles west of New Orleans) which was hit by an F2 tornado from a feeder band as the storm approached. It cut an 11 mile path through this "River Parish" community.
Katrina will be a storm by which most future storms will be compared. Maybe it's time to turn the water against itself, use it to the advantage of the city. How about docking several cruise ships at the Port of New Orleans. They do it during Mardi Gras when hotels are at full capacity. At best, they can aid in transitioning the displaced to more permanent shelter. As far as the flooding of downtown, it's a reality now. It's time to realize that man is up against a force greater than itself. In other words, it's time for plan B.
In my opinion, rescue is still priority one. Bare in mind there are areas southeast of the New Orleans metro area such as St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes that are only now starting to see rescue efforts. Using the New Orleans Superdome to centralize the evacuation effort is a sort of a "Catch 22." At this time, efforts should be well underway in surrounding, DRY parishes west of New Orleans (St. John, St. James, Ascenion, Assumption, etc. to set up temporary shelters.
As far as the New Orleans metro area, it is now what "ground zero" was in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. It must be cleared of all survivors and secured for search and recovery. I hesitate to use the comparison as the events of 9/11 are almost sacred in the minds of most Americans. The fact is this: a major, metropolitan city in the United States has been struck by an event of epic proportions. It is ridiculous to place a time line on anything at this point. Water cannot be hauled away in trucks or cannot be cleared by industrial vehicles. It is going to take a mammoth effort even after the flood waters have drained or have been pumped out.
For our neighbor to the east in Mississippi, it is evident that extreme damage extends miles inland, further inland than the ravages of Camille. I take pause to wonder whether this storm will be reclassified as a category 5, if that even matters. Katrina will go down as one of the worst natural disaters to strike the U.S.
Widespread looting is being reported in all areas hit by the storm. It is in times of turmoil that we see the two faces of humanity: those who want to save lives and those who want to take advantage of others misfortune. The area just east of downtown New Orleans and the French Quarter, you may heard it referred to as the 9th ward, houses some of New Orleans poorest citizens. In a state of anarchcy, those who did not have the means to evacuate the city and are nowing seeing worsening conditions will resort to any means necessary to sustain their lives.
Where does New Orleans go from here? Where does the Gulf Coast go from here? The scope of this diaster is just beginning to emerge. This was no Hurricane Camille or Andrew (devasting storms in their own right.) 1969's Camille, effecting extreme costal Louisiana with eventual landfall in Pass Christian, Miss., was a tightly wound, compact storm. 1992's Andrew, although slightly larger, devastated parts of southern Florida and a modest blow to central, coastal Louisiana. Ironically the most damage in Andrew's Louisiana landfall was to my hometown of Laplace (25 miles west of New Orleans) which was hit by an F2 tornado from a feeder band as the storm approached. It cut an 11 mile path through this "River Parish" community.
Katrina will be a storm by which most future storms will be compared. Maybe it's time to turn the water against itself, use it to the advantage of the city. How about docking several cruise ships at the Port of New Orleans. They do it during Mardi Gras when hotels are at full capacity. At best, they can aid in transitioning the displaced to more permanent shelter. As far as the flooding of downtown, it's a reality now. It's time to realize that man is up against a force greater than itself. In other words, it's time for plan B.
In my opinion, rescue is still priority one. Bare in mind there are areas southeast of the New Orleans metro area such as St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes that are only now starting to see rescue efforts. Using the New Orleans Superdome to centralize the evacuation effort is a sort of a "Catch 22." At this time, efforts should be well underway in surrounding, DRY parishes west of New Orleans (St. John, St. James, Ascenion, Assumption, etc. to set up temporary shelters.
As far as the New Orleans metro area, it is now what "ground zero" was in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. It must be cleared of all survivors and secured for search and recovery. I hesitate to use the comparison as the events of 9/11 are almost sacred in the minds of most Americans. The fact is this: a major, metropolitan city in the United States has been struck by an event of epic proportions. It is ridiculous to place a time line on anything at this point. Water cannot be hauled away in trucks or cannot be cleared by industrial vehicles. It is going to take a mammoth effort even after the flood waters have drained or have been pumped out.
For our neighbor to the east in Mississippi, it is evident that extreme damage extends miles inland, further inland than the ravages of Camille. I take pause to wonder whether this storm will be reclassified as a category 5, if that even matters. Katrina will go down as one of the worst natural disaters to strike the U.S.
posted by Matthew Cortez at 8/31/2005 07:55:00 AM
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