Would you guys go back to New Orleans to rebuilt your life again? I mean if you were the victim of Katrina. I wouldn't go back at all. The area is at high risk and the govn't refused to build up the dam to withstand category 5 hurricane.

*laughs* A class 5 hurricane, any earthquake over R6, tornado of any size, these are things that you can't design something to stand in front of and say with a straight face that it WILL survive.

Probably survive, sure. But when you build on a fault or below the flood plain, there are certain risks you are assuming. I know too many civil engineers who laugh at suggestions like a completely reliable levy to do anything but laugh with them. There are too many variables that come into play to say what kind of natural event a human structure will withstand. Survive the winds, sure, they don't stick up all that much. Survive the storm surge, probably. But you have no idea how fast or in what direction a hurricane will move until has moved, and the rain it will drop is what will get the levys.

It doesn't really seem that many of the problems in NOLA can be fixed, including their government. Why go back and wait for it to be hit again, with probably the same results? Mt. St. Helens had a man named Harry Truman who wouldn't leave after the first (lesser) eruption. They never found his body. Ask for trouble and you'll probably get it.

Oh, that meant "NO", okay? <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Sue

Heh - I've seen designs for stuff that will handle R6 earthquakes and Tornados - and shrug, Of course you and I could not afford them - something about doors multi feet thick, in 6 ft thick concrete walls - dome shaped - think reactor containment buildings - they are designed to take BIG earthquakes and tornados and shrug

They could be fixed, but political posturing and the need for individual power will probably corrupt the process. Not all of this will be intentional, but just a by product of the way humans interact.

Alot could be done, but it will have to be things the government insists on. Things like stronger levees and better pumps (pumps were earth 20th century technology, parts could only be made, not purchased! Okay, not a big thing, anything over 20 years probably has to have parts made).

Perhaps the biggest thing would be increasing trust in local government. I have heard stories of corruption in New Orleans and Louisiana, but I don't know that for sure, as I've never lived there. If there is in fact, people aren't going to trust anything their local government says. "You better evacuate, because it's going to be real bad" "Yeah, right, just like you said that other thing was real bad. Turn out to be nothing. I've lived here for XX years, and nothing has happened". Oh, and educating ignorant people about things.

It can all come back together and be better, but it starts by accepting personal responsibility for your actions. This goes for the Mayor, Governor, and individuals. If everyone had done their part, this mess would not have happened. You can point fingers in every direction, but at some point an individual has to make a decision. Sometimes you just have to go it alone!

In a word, no.

There will be more hurricanes, more floods, and more breaches of the levees.

Why the devil go back and rebuild just to risk loosing it all -- AGAIN?

-- Craig

I wouldn't go back, and not just because of the geography.

I would think most "survival minded" folks would not live below sea level. Or if they did they would have better and more efficient emergency preparedness plans to deal with "the next one...."

Good point! Let me ammend my statement:

They will never be built becuase the politicians don't want to cough the money.

But, no offense, I stand by my statement that nothing is 100% relable.

isn't there a survival rule not to build your shelter in a flood plain?

People in NO whose buildings were destroyed by water should not be allowed to rebuild on the same site. I don't see any good purpose in the taxpayers paying for storm costs just to have it happen all over again later. People living below sea level that close to the ocean should have a their heads examined.

Yeah, -but Harry Truman lived and died at his Beloved Home! It sometimes does come down to the What, Where, and How of your Living, -not merely Surviveing. (Sammy Davis speaks well of this in one of his songs).

I'm not an Orleansian, -but if I were, -chances are at least even, -that I would *not* want to go back, -in such circumstances as are / can yet again be.

Heck, -I reasonably think that I may have to someday do a Dunkirk type BOB out of my Beloved USA! And that implies nothing against this Land or my Love for it! Or what it can, should, and often is all about. This only concerns the actual, all round Survival Aspects, on it.

Balancing the two considerations, -I *may* well enuff stay at a Truman type Spirit Lake, -but not in the floodplain of the Big Easy! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]Susan[/email]

The only way the levees could be built to withstand the surge from a cat 5 storm would require making the bases 3-5 times wider than they are now, which would destroy much of the city. IMHO, what needs to be done is that the the levees need to be rebuilt to their original design specifications (not what was built) and that a storm surge control structure, capable of withstanding a 40+ foot surge be built at the mouth of Lake Ponchatrain. Such protective structures are relatively common across Europe (Holland in particular). But (and there's always a but) dealing with the enviros will be a big problem. The enviros (and yes, poor planning) stopped a Lake Ponchatrain surge gate in the 1970's.

JimJr - Only 200 miles north New Orleans

Enough postulating.

I am a native New Orleanian. So is my wife. We grew up in, and our parents still lived in, the Lakeview neighborhood. My parents house is half a mile from the break in the 17th Street Canal; my In-laws were about a half a mile east of that. My parents had 8 feet of water over the slab; my In-laws had 10.5 feet. From our home in Baton Rouge, we are down there at least once a week to clean up and tear out at our parents houses.

Let me respond as one who has been dealing with this for seven months.

1. New Orleans WILL survive. Why? Because it is New Orleans. The city has a hold on it’s citizens that subsumes those who live there – that is a strength, and one of its greatest problems. New Orleans calls you – and, if you’re taken, you will return. Floods, tornados, hurricanes, crime, poverty – to a New Orleanian, that is the price we are willing to pay to, well, be there. There is nothing logical or rational about it. It just is. Is anyone suggesting New Yorkers stop building high-rises? Didn’t think so.

2. Should the levees be reinforced? Um….yep. Will it happen anytime soon? No. Wider levees are necessary, and should be looked at. At the 17th Street Canal, they should perhaps look at expropriating all of the houses on the west side of Bellaire Drive to widen the levee.

3. New Orleans is NOT a bowl all below sea level. Remember, the French Quarter, and most of the city along the Mississippi River, did NOT flood. That is natural high ground, as is the Metairie Ridge and Gentilly Ridge. In some areas, the variation in elevation is more then 13 feet.

4. The charges of incompetence and indecision of the state and local governments, and with FEMA, are well founded and true. If there is anything hindering rebuilding, it is that no one really knows. Worse, no one wants to make a decision. Can we rebuild? If we do, will the city services be restored in our area? Will our area be condemned? Will our property be expropriated? In short, when can people go home? No one has an answer. There are LOTS of plans floating out there (I didn’t know there were so many architects and urban planners out there with an opinion), but pretty master plans, visions of light rail systems, and “community charettes” are doing nothing to get my parents home. Clean, safe streets and working utilities will.

More on this later, if you want. I have had seven months to think about this.

…..CLIFF