The horror of Hurricane Katrina

The death toll will likely be in the thousands and the cost in billions. It may not approach the loss of 10,000 lives in the hurricane that leveled Galveston, Texas in 1900. However, weather reports were not nearly as predictable in 1900 as they are today.

It appears that the main reason for the excessive loss of life in New Orleans was due to the breeching of two levees that allowed Lake Pontchartrain to drain into the bowl that envelops New Orleans causing the water to rise after the hurricane passed through. I think it is inexecusable that measures were not taken to make sure that the levees could withstand a Category 5 hurricane. It was a gamble that was lost and resulted in the unnecessary loss of thousands of lives.

A friend of mine who is in contact with the Army Corp of Engineers said one of the engineers told him that the Corp can rebuild the levees stronger so that they can withstand a category 5 hurricane. I think it is ridiculous to attempt to rebuild New Orleans back into its original state. A plan should be developed to rebuild the city on higher ground somewhere else. Another storm will eventually wreak the same havoc as Katrina. Why waste money rebuilding something that may not withstand the next category 5 storm?

I and many other landlubbers have always wondered why the government continues to fund the restoration of areas that are flooded year after year. We are not going to overcome the forces of nature. Areas that are prone to flooding should not be encouraged to become dwelling sites.

Those of us who live in comfort in our cozy small towns or smart suburbs have no idea of the misery of the poor in our cities. They are the most vulnerable to natural disasters, the most dependent on government aid and the least able to affect government policy which may explain why the government didn't bother to spend the money to make sure the levees were strong enough to hold against a category 5 hurricane.

Unfortunately, poverty also results in a higher incidence of crime. I have a hunch that the reason so many people were not rescued is because potential rescuers were reluctant to enter certain areas because of the breakdown of law and order. The rescuers lives could have been in jeopardy.

No one could have predicted the terrible consequences of Hurricane Katrina. In its wake it revealed a government unprepared to deal with a catastrophe of this magnitude. The enormity of its effect was exacerbated by the poverty of the people caught in its rage. One thing that will come out of Katrina is the realization that in the richest country in the world exists great pockets of poverty that will eventually eat away at the heart of our country if we don't do something about it.

The shutdown of the oil fields and the ports at New Orleans has already resulted in significantly higher gas prices. This in conjunction with the real estate bubble, historically low savings and high personal debt, the shifting of jobs overseas, and the decline of the dollar does not give me a reason to be optimistic about the economic future of this country. A generation that has not known real hard times may yet get that chance. Often times critical turning points in the history of our country pivot on unforeseen events. It remains to be seen if Hurricane Katrina is such an event.