ceebeegee: (pumpkin1)
ceebeegee ([personal profile] ceebeegee) wrote2004-09-16 01:37 pm
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New Orleans is safe! Thanks, God--I know some people died in Alabama, but it could've been so much worse. NO is simply not equipped for a devastating storm.

What is it with all the hurricanes this season?
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[identity profile] minstrel70.livejournal.com 2004-09-16 10:44 am (UTC)(link)
An above-average hurricane season was forecast. The NOAA prediction explains the reasons in detail, but basically, it's a cyclical thing, and we're in the high part of a cycle.

I never knew before that New Orleans was so much at risk. I'm going to have to go there sometime soon...just in case.

[identity profile] ceebeegee.livejournal.com 2004-09-16 01:48 pm (UTC)(link)
New Orleans is way below sea level--in fact, I believe it's the largest city in the US below sea level. It's like Bangladesh.

[identity profile] minstrel70.livejournal.com 2004-09-16 02:02 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm aware of its elevation, and of the massive system of pumps and levees that keeps it dry. What I wasn't previously aware of was that officials in the city government expect that anything more than strong category-3 hurricane would overwhelm the system and destroy much of the city. I doubt most Americans had a clue that this was the case. To read the news reports about "50,000 body bags" and "we wouldn't rebuild" -- quoting city officials! -- was, frankly, shocking.
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