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The New Orleans disaster reminds me of the song, I fought the law and the LAW won! Just replace law with nature.
As I watch the news on New Orleans I keep wondering if the city can survive. Predictions are that in some parts of the city the water level will rise another 15' to 20' today. All effort is being made to seal the broken levies with what appears to be little progress.
From what I can ascertain the city will remain flooded for at least another two days at least and in my estimation probably another 5 to 7 days.
How long can building foundations and streets remain submerged before they are damaged beyond repair? Assuming they can even be repaired would it be economicly feasible to do so. What about private homes? Will they have to be knocked down and rebuilt because of damaged foundations?
Will New Orleans become a ghost town? An archaeological theme park? A salvagers dream come true?
Nature - not man - makes the rules. AND nature is not often polite when reminding us of that.
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I predict that they will funnel in billions of our tax dollars to repair the city.
Then they'll do it again the next time a hurricane hits. I also predict that the idiots in charge who clearly were totally unprepared for this event will get reelected.
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Aside from the houses, think of the problem of dealing with furniture, clothes and bedding. Vehicles. Electrical/electronic stuff. That's an immense landfill.
Somewhere in the coverage it was said that if everything is working, and no more water comes in, it would take at least a month of fulltime pumping to get the water out. Before the pumping can begin, some sort of effort is needed to get motor-generator sets in, since it will be weeks before they can get the regular electric supply set up to the pumps.
I guess it's a cold-blooded view, but they might as well start the dredges and fill the bowl and start over, some years from now.
The human factor is that of dealing with a million refugees for some unknown period of time--and not a short time.
Art
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Disease.
It's going to be awful down there. 90°+, stagnant water, rotting corpses (human and animal), rotting food etc, etc. They've got to get that area evacauted.
Still waiting to hear from a friend who was visiting family in Eastern LA/western MI.
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I predict that they will funnel in billions of our tax dollars to repair the city.
Then they'll do it again the next time a hurricane hits. I also predict that the idiots in charge who clearly were totally unprepared for this event will get reelected.
+1
I'm watching video right now from Biloxi, btw. The houses are all gone. Looks like Andrew all over again.
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If the town needs rebuilt, at least rebuild it above sea level this time.
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If the town needs rebuilt, at least rebuild it above sea level this time.
+1
After everything has been underwater for weeks, nothing will be salvageable anyway. Fill it in and rebuild on top.
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After everything has been underwater for weeks, nothing will be salvageable anyway. Fill it in and rebuild on top.
+1 And leave a couple of time capsules in the fill so that archaeologists from some future civilization that digs it up will know from our lips what was done, and why.
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I concur..fill it in (just demolish enough of the levees and let the water take it's course) and move up North of Lake Ponchitrain and start over again.
All of those very old houses in the East end of the French Quarter will have to be bulldozed.
I pity the poor folks who have to recover the bodies that they're bound to find up in attics all over town.