Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Hurricanes, Mudslides

[Tempus Fugit 214]

.

[football_fan 42]

To be honest, I just don’t see them rebuilding New Orleans. 80% of the city is already under water and will have to be completely bulldozed and rebuilt from scratch. It is just too much of a monumental task, especially when you consider the billions of dollars and the many years that would be required to do so.

[Cerberus 302]

Death toll - Asian Tsunami ~250 000

Hurricane Katrina ~ 5 000

 

Hmmm.

Also, the victims of the Asian Tsunami had no warning..

To be fair, this is by far the biggest natural disaster that's hit the United States since the country came into being. It's entirely understandable that the US media will compare it with the Asian tsunami even if the numbers don't match up. Of course we all know that it wouldn't be getting the same blanket coverage if it had happened in, say, Bangladesh, but that's just the way the world is.

 

What would interest me is to know how it's all being reported in Arab countries, the Middle East in particular. Are they calling it "the revenge of Allah" or similar?

[honez 79]

To be honest, I just don’t see them rebuilding New Orleans. 80% of the city is already under water and will have to be completely bulldozed and rebuilt from scratch.

That's what happened to Old Orleans. Now that was a storm.

[Harvester Of Souls 40]

Bush's cluelessness is truly breath-taking.  Almost every decision he's made since invading Iraq has been baffling.

This link is off topic but it's an interesting read in light of the devastation across the south of the US...

 

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles...on_for_iraq_war

 

Apparently, the US should continue with the struggle to prevent Iraq's vast oil fields falling into the hands of the terrorists.

[Tempus Fugit 214]

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[Typhoid Harry 23]

This from a friend on another site:

 

WARNING

 

Some of the things I am about to say are going to be harsh. If you feel your sensibilities to be too delicate to handle the unfiltered opinions of this Bastard, don't bother reading any further.

 

If you continue reading now, and anything I have written offends you; your religion; politics; personal philosophy; perception of racial relations in America; sense of fairness; or any other of your poorly thought out positions on the state of the universe, or how it should be you have no one to blame for your anger but yourself. I've given you ample warning. If you choose to respond to my rant with anything other than a thoughtful counterargument, based on verifiable facts, here's a preemptive F**k off. Remember, when reality contradicts your deeply held beliefs, it's going to sting. That anger you feel is just the cognitive dissonance f*****g with you, you got to fight through that S**t.

 

Now, on with the rant.

 

Ample warning, something I tried to offer you, was also available in abundance to the fools who are responsible for the misery and death that are now ongoing. I'm not just talking about the weather forecasts, but the engineering analysis of the situation, which goes back years and years. I heard the NO Mayor bitching about the lack of federal dollars for the needed levee improvement. I have a single question for Mayor S**t For Brains: 'Did the city of New Orleans spend one goddamned penny on anything not pertaining to police; fire; life, health and safety code enforcement; and levee improvement?' The answer is (of course) yes. Just two little examples: the Super Dome (cost $163,000,000 in 1975, that is $566,000,000 in 2004 dollars) and football (the city and state guarantee the Saints revenue, and they are currently $10,000,000 short on payments), apparently, were more important to NO and LA, than protecting against hurricane floods. No one owns a bigger share of responsibility for the flooding disaster than the people who have served in the city and state governments who felt that the safety of their citizens was somebody else's problem. Say, the taxpayers of South Dakota. So, decisions have been made for decades, by idiot local politicians, to wait for some other government agency to take over the responsibility and cover the costs of their basic obligations to their constituents. How could the government of a city, built below sea level, on the shifting silt of the Mississippi Delta, that has a history of being the bulls eye for Gulf hurricanes have their priorities so f**ked up? My casual observation is that there is a warped 'dole mentality' that entirely permeates this society. Republicans and Democrats have been feeding this monster since (at least) the '30s, as a means of buying votes and consolidating power. Mayor S**t For Brains made it so clear – he was enraged. And why? Well, New Orleans had an obvious need, and no one outside of NO had serviced that need. He completely blanks out on the obvious: nobody inside NO had taken responsibility for those needs, because there were other 'fun' things to spend that money on.

 

Speaking of the 'dole mentality', and people refusing to take responsibility for their own needs. I lost count a couple days ago, of the number of (perfectly healthy, able bodied) people who (when faced with the TV camera) demanded 'Why hasn't anyone brought us food?' 'Why hasn't anybody brought us water?' Or 'Why'd we have to wait so long for somebody to get us off the roof?' That probably strikes some of you as perfectly innocuous, and justified questions from these victims of Katrina and the subsequent flooding. Wrong, see the above paragraphs. These people had ample warning of the storm's approach and ferocity; they had ample warning that there was urgent need to evacuate. They made choices to remain unprepared and in harm's way; and worse, many relied on government assistance in government provided shelters (woefully inadequate and ill supplied government shelters). Is this callous? Am I 'blaming the victims'? Of course not: unless you are incapable acknowledging people's prior irresponsibility due to their current plight.

 

It seems so obvious to me that much of the suffering in NOLA is a direct result of the law of unintended consequences. Government disaster assistance events (FEMA, shelters, etc…) have become so commonplace that no one seems to have any motivation to look after themselves, or perhaps more rightly, too many have given up on looking after themselves with the expectation that someone else will take care of them.

 

If you really want to help out your fellow citizens, plan ahead now for those times when you may be caught up in a disaster. We all live somewhere that could be afflicted by a disaster; anything from fire and flood, to earthquake, tornado, and hurricane, to volcano, tsunami, and meteor strike. Of all of those, a hurricane is the only one that you really get a good warning, so you can get out of the highest risk areas. Everyone should have an evacuation plan for their family, everyone should also have enough water and nonperishable food for every family member (and pet) to last at least two weeks, a tent (or at least tarps for temporary shelter), thermal blankets are a good thing to have too, and everyone should keep a couple hundred bucks, in small bills, in a safe, but easily accessible place. It doesn't matter how poor you are, you can easily put this together over the course of months if necessary, just add a little here and a little there and forego any luxuries (especially alcohol, drugs and smokes) until your family security plan is set up. If you don't care enough for yourself, and your family, to be a little proactive in seeing to your own well being why should anyone else be expected to give a S**t about you?

 

I hope the super-volcano at Yellowstone pops its cork and wipes this stupid species out soon, because I'm so disgusted I can't even look at it anymore.

[Harvester Of Souls 40]

A wonderfully written piece with sound advice for cheating The Reaper in times of crisis...

[honez 79]

This from a friend on another site:

WARNING

Some of the things I am about to say are going to be harsh. [snip]

What a load of crap. I thought this was going to seriously get stuck in.

Imagine my disappointment, after reading all the disclaimers, to find how easy (s)he took things with that laid back kind of attitude. I know it's all opinion, but come on, surely (s)he can do better than that?

Typhoid, can you pass the message on to ask her/him to give it some more oomph and have another go?

How about mentioning something about social fabric crumbling at the first sign of hardship?

How about the role that freely available guns and their use/abuse have played in this?

How about "citizens" sniping at rescue workers and hospitals, and what this says about the US psyche?

Come on, there's so much more (s)he could have said after such a good start with the "Warnings." Don't let 'em go to waste!

[in eternum+ 22]

This from a friend on another site:

WARNING

Some of the things I am about to say are going to be harsh. [snip]

What a load of crap. I thought this was going to seriously get stuck in.

Imagine my disappointment, after reading all the disclaimers, to find how easy (s)he took things with that laid back kind of attitude. I know it's all opinion, but come on, surely (s)he can do better than that?

Typhoid, can you pass the message on to ask her/him to give it some more oomph and have another go?

How about mentioning something about social fabric crumbling at the first sign of hardship?

How about the role that freely available guns and their use/abuse have played in this?

How about "citizens" sniping at rescue workers and hospitals, and what this says about the US psyche?

Come on, there's so much more (s)he could have said after such a good start with the "Warnings." Don't let 'em go to waste!

I agree with both honez and TH's anonymous friend. It's like people who live on fault lines, and then complain when there are earthquakes.

[in eternum+ 22]

Of course, having said that, I still don't think the US government's supremely shoddy reaction to the situation is excusable. But then... any excuse to critise George W is excuse-enough for me...

[Tempus Fugit 214]

.

[Magere Hein 1,400]

Not to mention the whole of the Netherlands, lets abandon them all. because in the long run they just aren't viable.

What I'll write may not go down well with my countrymen, but I agree. If the rise of sea level continues as it does, the western part of my country will become unsafe for living within a century.

 

I live in the western part of my country, about 4 m below sea level. I feel safe now, we've spent billions on those bloody dams. Solid engeneering, that.

 

Add another meter to sea level and I'm not so sure. I've read somewhere that if all land ice would melt, the beach would be in Paris. That may be centuries away, but climate trends are that way. In the long run my place will become uninhabitable.

 

The good news is: I won't be around.

 

regards,

Hein

[Typhoid Harry 23]

Ben Franklin Had the Right Idea for New Orleans

 

By JOHN TIERNEY

Published: September 3, 2005 (New York Times)

 

Why is New Orleans in so much worse shape today than New York City was after the attacks on Sept. 11?

The short answer is that New York was attacked by fire, not water. But then why are urbanites so much better prepared to cope with fire than with flooding? Mostly because they learned to fight fire without any help from the Army Corps of Engineers or the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

For most of history, fire was far more feared than flooding. Cities repeatedly burned to the ground. Those catastrophes occurred sporadically enough that politicians must have been tempted to skimp on fire protection - like levee maintenance, it was a long-term investment against a calamity that probably wouldn't occur before they left office.

But urbanites learned to protect themselves through two innovations Benjamin Franklin introduced to America. He started a fire department in Philadelphia, as well as its first fire insurance company. Other cities followed, often with the firefighters organized by insurance companies with a vested interest in encouraging public safety.

Their customers had a vested interest, too, because they had to pay higher premiums if they lived in homes or neighborhoods that were prone to fire. As fire insurance became a standard requirement for homeowners, they and their insurance companies kept pressure on politicians to finance firefighting and tighten building codes.

As a result, the risk of a fire leveling a city like New York is lower than ever. Although the number of fires has dropped so much that experts routinely advise cities to close firehouses, voters' fondness for the stations makes local politicians loath to close any.

But as we've learned this week, few people seem to care passionately about maintaining levees or preparing for a predictable flood. They've left that to Washington, which promised to hold back the waters and absolved coastal dwellers from worrying about hurricanes.

Starting in the 1960's, the federal government took over the business of insuring against floods. It offered subsidized insurance to people in flood-prone areas, encouraging seaside homes that never would have been built otherwise. Even at bargain rates, most people went without flood insurance - only about a third of the homes in New Orleans carried it.

People don't bother to protect themselves because they figure - correctly - that if disaster strikes they'll be reimbursed anyway by FEMA. It gives out money so freely that it has grown into one of the great vote-buying tools of the modern presidency. Bill Clinton set a record for declaring disasters, and then President Bush set the single-state spending record in Florida before last year's election.

Now it's New Orleans's turn. Since Washington didn't keep its promise to protect the city, the federal government should repair the damage and pay for a new flood-control system. But New Orleans and other coastal cities will never be safe if they go on relying on Washington for protection. Members of Congress will always have higher priorities than paying for levees in someone else's state.

The federal government has a role in coordinating flood control among states and in organizing outside disaster relief, but the locals should fight floods much the same way they fight fires. Fifteenth-century Dutch burghers didn't have the financial or technological resources of today's Louisianians, but they managed to hold back the sea without the Army Corps of Engineers.

Here's the bargain I'd offer New Orleans: the feds will spend the billions for your new levees, but then you're on your own. You and others along the coast have to buy flood insurance the same way we all buy fire insurance - from private companies that have more at stake than do Washington bureaucrats.

Private flood insurance has come to seem quaint in America, but in Britain it's the norm. If Americans paid premiums for living in risky areas, they'd think twice about building oceanfront villas. Voters and insurance companies would put pressure on local politicians to take care of the levees, prepare for the worst - and stop waiting for that bumbling white knight from Washington.

[Typhoid Harry 23]

Wow, I knew there were crybabies in local government in NOLA, but this is ridiculous.

[Captain Oates 21]

Wow, I knew there were crybabies in local government in NOLA, but this is ridiculous.

What are you trying to say TH?

 

That guy is clearly under enormous stress and probably exhausted.

Undoubtedly, the local governments can be criticised for having mis-spent in the past, but they are now compelled to do whatever they can to cope with a disastrous situation. And they have been badly let down by their national government.

 

Like the man says, "America needs strong leadership, NOW!"

 

That's something it's been needing for a while.

Instead, they have had a plutocratic baffoon posturing dangerously on the world stage while much of the country he "leads" disintegrates behind him.

[Guest Ross]

Of course, having said that, I still don't think the US government's supremely shoddy reaction to the situation is excusable. But then... any excuse to critise George W is excuse-enough for me...

wow thats a surprise, left wingers using tragedys and natural disasters to push their own bush bashing agenda, what a shock

[football_fan 42]

Not to mention the whole of the Netherlands, lets abandon them all. because in the long run they just aren't viable.

What I'll write may not go down well with my countrymen, but I agree. If the rise of sea level continues as it does, the western part of my country will become unsafe for living within a century.

 

I live in the western part of my country, about 4 m below sea level. I feel safe now, we've spent billions on those bloody dams. Solid engeneering, that.

regards,

Hein

It does look like the Dutch are revising their anti-flood plans.

 

Dutch to review anti-flood plans

[Anubis the Jackal 77]

The Onion.

America's finest news source...

 

Refugees Moved From Sewage-Contaminated Superdome To Hellhole Of Houston

 

HOUSTON—Evacuees from the overheated, filth-encrusted wreckage of the New Orleans Superdome were bussed to the humid, 110-degree August heat and polluted air of Houston last week, in a move that many are resisting. "Please, God, not Houston. Anyplace but Houston," said one woman, taking shelter under an overpass. "The food there is awful, and the weather is miserable. And the traffic—it's like some engineer was making a sick joke." Authorities apologized for transporting survivors to a city "barely better in any respect," but said the blistering-hot, oil-soaked Texas city was in fact slightly better, and that casualties due to gunfire would be no worse.

 

That's for you Inar.

[Guest IYG]

Hey, I've been to Texas City, a good friend of mine lives there and that place is a hell hole. Houston is ok, just too hot here. I'm not going near the Astrodome for months now.

[Guest Michelle]

I was wondering if someone could help me. I have a friend who is desperately looking for a Carolyn (might be Parks) who lived in Chalmette, La. He has been informed by a relative that Carolyn drowned in her house. She lived/lives with her daughter. She was/is a stubborn lady who wouldn't probably be convinced to leave her house very easily. She is 5'7", last time she was seen she had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. She was a security guard for the federal government. I know this isn't a lot of information to go on, but if someone knows her or even if she herself reads this, John DePriest is concerned. Please email me if you know anything. My email is: ldybayou4@excite.com.

 

Thank you,

Michelle

[The Yeti 14]

Although completely outside the remit of this forum ....

 

Try http://www.nola.com & www.wwltv.com

[Harvester Of Souls 40]

After his recent trip to New Orleans, President Bush has been severely criticised for his attitude to toward it's people.

 

[Clive's NOT Dunn 7]

After his recent trip to New Orleans, President Bush has been severely criticised for his attitude to toward it's people.

Poor simple creature, gapping mouth, lifeless eyes...and the fish doesnt look well either.

[Banshees Scream 110]

After his recent trip to New Orleans, President Bush has been severely criticised for his attitude to toward it's people.

Poor simple creature, gapping mouth, lifeless eyes...and the fish doesnt look well either.

What the American president enjoys durning a tragic hurricane

in New Orleans. Even his father shares the same taste.

 

He set's a good example.