our ports in the Pacific NW are in the most danger...
I felt a large earthquake - big enough to break bridges
(like Northridge or Oakland) would be a very real and
tragic event to prepare for. If there is enough supplies,
knowledge and direction plus education as you point out,
many people could survive. We should hope that we won't
see half of the police force quit because they are the
front line and as a community we shouldn't run away without our elderly and sick.
The more I read what DHS has been preparing for emergencies,
the more angry I get at the local and regional and state levels and less at FEMA and the Feds and military.
I have read where the Red Cross was not allowed into New Orleans and dropping food into the city would cause riots,
and the jailed were set free and no provision was made for
those without transportation which could only be made a each
local area. Even the community didn't care to police their own
area waiting (the story of those that did in the French Quarter would hopefully be what I mean).
I was struck by the story of Carl Quintinia(sp)(he use to be on CNBC) taking a ride on a city dump truck and begging the driver
to help those people on boats to get them on dry ground....
that fella was driving his boss to his boss's house to see how it was.... they could DO that but not help thier own was
probably the norm. Those that did help and stayed did so
heroically.
The one sided media not asking tough questions to those most
responsible is also telling, raising political and social fires than addressing the facts. I do remember the mayor
saying not evacuating will be perilous and you are on your
own. Just finished reading an article that saying the gov. of
LA won't sign over the control to the Feds because she thinks
its a political ploy-- these power struggles are not reported
enough.
I feel for those in Mississippi who have just as much loss and
damage but are probably getting less action and equipment in saving those that stayed in below sea-level soup bowl.
I would start a mandatory evacuation of everyone until this
hurricane season is over. Those levees were built and maintained long before this or the previous federal administratons were around. Rather than build dikes the corp of engineers became environmentalists concerned about wetlands
(read their mission statement in their history on their website):
THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS has served the economy and people of southern Louisiana with navigation improvements, flood control and, in recent decades, environmental stewardship.
Our 201 years of service have been an ever-evolving task. We made possible the flatboat and then steamboat trade that gave outlet to the Mississippi Basin’s bounty. After the Great Flood of 1927 on the Mississippi, the Corps assumed a far-larger role in flood control, with great works such as the Bonnet Carre Spillway and Morganza Floodway, and in the century's second half, the Old River Control Structure to keep the Mississippi on course.
Today's great challenges are the twin threats of hurricane destruction and coastal erosion. The latter is the main reason that environmental protection is looming larger than either flood control or navigation. However, in the imperiled, 20,000-square mile Louisiana coastal area the three tasks are inextricably linked. Historically comprehensive studies are now underway on coastal restoration and hurricane protection, and will require close coordination for maximum effectiveness.
The Corps of Engineers also maintains and applies guidelines and criteria for the conservation of cultural resources (archeological, historical, underwater and architectural) as part of implementation of all Corps active and planned projects. We maintain stewardship of federal land relative to cultural resources, recreational use, and other values.
The Corps of Engineers works hard to protect cultural resources, on which civil works projects such as levees can have major impacts. In addition to protecting archeological and historical resources, we exercise stewardship over federal lands to provide recreation and achieve other goals. In performing cultural and recreational work, we have developed information about local and Corps history in southern Louisiana.
mvn.usace.army.mil
I have been looking at their site for formal funding and
planning of raising the levees to stand a Cat 4 or 5 and
not found one yet. I did find the gov of LA press release
on the Corps coastal erosion work and how necessary that was
(this year)
and I did find the Corps press release on building a bridge
(and paying for it) over the 17th st canal levvee that gave way.
thinking about investing in mobile homes and trailers,
like FLE or CAV-- dog gone it, the smarts ones already
thought of them a couple of days ago. |
