Louisiana's going to get some rain, looks like.
This tropical storm Gustav is about to enter the Gulf of Mexico, which is known for supercharging summer rain showers into Category Eleventeen Hurry-canes. We figure that, since it's already about to go all cyclonic before it hits Cuba, it's bound to be a bad mamma-jamma by the time it makes continental landfall. Looks kinda likely that N'Awlins is about to see some of that.
Let the over-reactions and under-reactions begin!
Labels: get ready, in the news, speaking of the weather
posted by Matt G @ 1:57 PM
2 Comments:
Just when the Katrina debacle was almost over. I guess we get to support the good folks of New Orleans for another 3 years if this one hits. At least there won't be any gun grabbing from law abiding citizens this time.
It amazes me that we can get several bad hurricanes down here in Florida in a year and we have recovered usually within 2 or 3 months after the hurricane.
I wonder why the good people of New Orleans can't figure that out. Why does it take them over 3 years to recover from one hurricane.
Sounds like it just might be a cultural problem that has to do with the sense of entitlement some folks have these days.
I wish them luck and I pray that the hurricane passes them by or at least goes easy on them but if it don't, I hope they have learned some lessons on what to do and what not to do when the next one strikes.
Joe
The big difference is that Florida is ABOVE sea level, whereas N'awlins is BELOW. Katrina did not damage the city very much at all. The vast majority of the damage came from the storm-surge induced flooding. Our infrastructure took some serious damage which, by its very nature, takes forever to rebuild.
Was it stupid to build a metropolitan center and major port facility below sea level in a flood plain? Yes. Is it feasible to move the port facility and surrounding city? No.
Are there cultural issues delaying the rebuilding of New Orleans? Absolutely. Foremost among these is the governmental corruption that is so deeply seated in Louisiana culture.
But it takes a while to rebuild a city. Ray Nagin's comparison to the World Trade Center site isn't a joke--look how long it took New York to clean up one building, and expand that to cover an entire city.
Have lessons been learned from Katrina? Absolutely. More and better pumping stations, lots of work done on levees, and, on a personal note, a Glock 23 and CCH permit after I realized that sometimes there's just no law west of the Pecos (or east of the Mississippi).
I'm sure I speak for the rest of New Orleans when I express my sincere gratitude for all the help that the rest of the country has given us. Hopefully our storm plans will be sufficient to the task this time, and we will not need to come begging again.
That said, when a natural disaster destroys your home, come stay with us. The shelter we find you may be hot and humid, the food may be too spicy, but we'll throw you a hell of a party.
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