ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area New Orleans...

I know this stating the obvious, but I see this as a MAJOR civil engineering failure. How (dramatic pause) can anyone, let alone many ones, plan a city this way? I know, it evolved into this, the history of which I'm sure has plenty of justification along the way. But I am still at an absolute loss to understand, especially in today's day and age with mentalities like OSHA, EPA, etc, etc. where you almost need precedure and permission to breath, and yet they would alow this gun to slowly be loaded, cocked and let mother nature pull the trigger. Where was the redundancy?? Was the contigency plan all along to abandon ship??

I am not a big fan of regulation, but I don't see how you can justify allowing to rebuild without MAJOR improvments. I'm sure it will get rebuilt, but I think it is irresponsible to allow something that will put the foolish and irrational at risk as well the the rational that will be called upon to rescue.

NOLA has a sorted history of drainage...

Long-story short, it was above sea level when built, and slowly sank. Some engineers came up with ways of saving it several times over, as it sank further over a few hundred years. FYI, they had plans to re-do the levees but I believe they lost funding... Several times.

Check out this: http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/history/NO_Drainage/NO_Drain_chap3.pdf

Another one: http://www.time.com/time/reports/mississippi/orleans.html

It seems to me that, if they're going to have a city where they have it, that they should have compartmentalized levees, just like a battleship is compartmentalized. That way, the failure of a levee only floods a small area, instead of the whole city. As JPS said, they need redundancy.

Had to re-size that... http://hurricane.lsu.edu/floodprediction/katrina25/images/overlayB.JPG

[This message has been edited by e57 (edited 09-01-2005).]

Glad to hear your friend made it through e57.
This thing only gets worse as the scope of the damage is revealed. Yesterday I was disgusted at the looting and last night there were reports of roving bands of thugs robbing and shooting at police!! I don't have much sympathy for people who ignore warnings and expect government to be responsible for meeting their every need. I do feel for those who lost everything. I keep thinking of that small electrical contractor who just lost his home, truck, etc. If he is able to work, how is he going to get materials, replacement tools, transportation, gas?? The challanges are almost overwelming. I'm going to make a donation to a relief organization today, how about some others on this forum join me?
KB

Beleive it or not - on one of the morning shows they interviewed a family, who despite the order for total and mandatory evacuation have vowed to remain in their destroyed house until they "can't stay anymore." The rescuers told them it was now or never as they will not be back. I guess you can't help those that don't want to be helped. But in reality, rescuers will have to put thir lives on the line again for these idiots in the not to distant future.

You can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves.

After watching alot of the news casts coming in, it is evident that alot of the people still there, don't get it. They don't have a clue. All they want to do is complain, about the government. Why this, why that?

The government itself was destroyed, emergency vehicles were destroyed, or can't get around. Hospitals were destroyed or can't operate. There is no quick fix here.

Even if the Government proposed to fly them all out of there, say to a military base, and provide shelter and food for them, and in return, the people had to pitch their own tents, clean up after themselves, until the situation got under control, I bet most of them wouldn't go. You can tell them all day long, that they are living in a polluted lake, with disease coming on, and all they would do is complain.

Don't get me wrong, I have a compansionate heart for the suffering of some of the people caught up in this disaster, but I am really getting ticked off at the absulote stupidty of most of what I see being provided by the media.

If my house was substantially intact and not "wet" they would have a hard time getting me to leave.

Why do we have wars when we have natural disasters?