The Lesson from The Big Easy
The floodwaters have taken taken over the city. Worse is yet to come as the storm is creating potential floods in the Ohio valley - which will eventually return to New Orleans.
Now, almost all have been evacuated. The rest are demanded to be out.
In the words of one tourist, "It's downtown Baghdad."
While we can ponder the causes, I think the most relevant is the effect - the long-term effect. one commentator today said "this means New Orleans will no longer be a major city."
He also suggested that housing prices there will plummet, because people will no longer want to be there. The highest point there is only six feet above sea level.
Lesser New Orleans has only 480,000 people. This is significant as it was once the largest city in the south - it was the Confederacy's largest city; when captured, it was a major blow to it. Although I do not have census figures, I doubt it is even one of the ten largest cities in that region. If the above statement of that commentator is true, that means New Orleans will shrink to the influence of a Modesto, a Yakima, or an Akron. Think about the implications here.
If one studies history - and I don't mean stopping at World War II, or the American Revolution, I mean the whole breath of it - one can see the fall of cities. Meaning the fall of civilizations. Cities that were once great become ghost towns - like Babylon, or Sparta, or Timbuktu. Or Pompei. Seattle, near where I live, can easily be destroyed by an earthquake that has not occurred in "historic times" (for this area), or by a volcanic eruption of the magnitude of Mount Mazama (today known as Crater Lake). I live twenty five miles from an active volcano, which could easily do my in. However, if the main volcano, Mount Rainier, erupts, rocks would fly over Seattle - as geologists have found - and a disaster of a much larger magnitude would happen.
As New Orleans is near the delta, there is a chance it could eventually disappear into the sea - literally. The hurricane may be the beginning of this process. This shows the transitory nature of our material creations. Which is why one needs to be prepared, in many different ways, for any disaster that happens. That includes stockpiling essentials (which would have been a big - albeit temporary - help to some of the people), and having a place to go if you become a refugee - which is now the description of some of the citizens down south. And I mean out-of-region. It also helps to stay out of the central parts of major cities, for the peril is greater, and you have an easier time evacuating. For mother nature is unpredictable, indiscriminatory, and disaster can strike easily without warning.
Now, almost all have been evacuated. The rest are demanded to be out.
In the words of one tourist, "It's downtown Baghdad."
While we can ponder the causes, I think the most relevant is the effect - the long-term effect. one commentator today said "this means New Orleans will no longer be a major city."
He also suggested that housing prices there will plummet, because people will no longer want to be there. The highest point there is only six feet above sea level.
Lesser New Orleans has only 480,000 people. This is significant as it was once the largest city in the south - it was the Confederacy's largest city; when captured, it was a major blow to it. Although I do not have census figures, I doubt it is even one of the ten largest cities in that region. If the above statement of that commentator is true, that means New Orleans will shrink to the influence of a Modesto, a Yakima, or an Akron. Think about the implications here.
If one studies history - and I don't mean stopping at World War II, or the American Revolution, I mean the whole breath of it - one can see the fall of cities. Meaning the fall of civilizations. Cities that were once great become ghost towns - like Babylon, or Sparta, or Timbuktu. Or Pompei. Seattle, near where I live, can easily be destroyed by an earthquake that has not occurred in "historic times" (for this area), or by a volcanic eruption of the magnitude of Mount Mazama (today known as Crater Lake). I live twenty five miles from an active volcano, which could easily do my in. However, if the main volcano, Mount Rainier, erupts, rocks would fly over Seattle - as geologists have found - and a disaster of a much larger magnitude would happen.
As New Orleans is near the delta, there is a chance it could eventually disappear into the sea - literally. The hurricane may be the beginning of this process. This shows the transitory nature of our material creations. Which is why one needs to be prepared, in many different ways, for any disaster that happens. That includes stockpiling essentials (which would have been a big - albeit temporary - help to some of the people), and having a place to go if you become a refugee - which is now the description of some of the citizens down south. And I mean out-of-region. It also helps to stay out of the central parts of major cities, for the peril is greater, and you have an easier time evacuating. For mother nature is unpredictable, indiscriminatory, and disaster can strike easily without warning.
posted by EricMatthew at 11:08 PM
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