How do you convince others that a repeat of Katrina is nearly impossible? (New Orleans: houses, tornado)

[Tiger Beer]

How do you convince others that a repeat of Katrina is nearly impossible?

I've tried to get it into people's heads, that it's nearly impossible. But, y'all in New Orleans must have this talk down solid already.

So, how do you quickly and easily (without writing a book on the topic), convince others that living in New Orleans doesn't mean that Katrina will be a repeat that you'll have to experience again?

[Mwahfromtheheart]

Well, the last time something like Katrina happened was Hurricane Betsy in 1965. People are still around in the city to remember that storm. I can't honestly tell you that.

But if I wanted to sell it to somebody: The hurricane itself didn't flood the city, the failure of the levees flooded the city. The levees have had a multi billion dollar rehab done to them since, so I think we're good for at least 50 more years.

Also, it took a storm with 30' storm surge - the largest in recorded history to hit the USA - to overwhelm that poorly maintained levee system.

We live here KNOWING that stuff may come. It's worth it to us....

[sconley9922]

I hate when people say why do you live in new orleans when it gets hit by hurricanes, but dont say the same about new york miami or houston....all of those places have been direct hits of major storms ...

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by sconley9922

I hate when people say why do you live in new orleans when it gets hit by hurricanes, but dont say the same about new york miami or houston....all of those places have been direct hits of major storms ...

Actually, people routinely say that about Houston. I know I have been considering a relocation back to Houston (where I'm from) on and off for years, and Hurricanes are the first thing people mention. Can't comment about Miami or other cities, though.

I think anyone who lives in these cities knows another storm could come at any time. It could be 50 years, or it could be next year. Every year, dozens of people die in the Midwest and NE from Winter storms. People in the West lose everything they own in wildfires, often with little time to prepare and evacuate. Every area has their deadly weather, but yes, sometimes it seems as though people in Hurricane prone areas get a constant "reminder" to that effect from others.

[Mwahfromtheheart]

Well, to be fair I can understand the argument. Even the people that founded New Orleans knew it would be a difficult place to live. In 300 years the city has been subject to more catastrophic devastation from storms, flooding, and disease than any other major city I can think of. But the nation keeps rebuilding it because it's an important city, the people that founded New Orleans knew that as well.

The houses here are raised for a reason. Another point is - there are a ton of houses in this town that have survived a long time through these catastrophic events. That says something about the overall durability of the city in my view.

Hurricanes also cause more widespread damage than anything else. Most of the top 10 most costly disasters in US history (that aren't droughts) involve hurricanes. Earthquakes don't happen enough in California to make people notice that they're living on bought time as well, and wildfires don't usually spread into major cities, so they don't really get any recognition because the dollar figure isn't (usually) very high.

Memphis is a city that should get just about as much crap as we do though, it floods there all the freaking time.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by Mwahfromtheheart

Well, to be fair I can understand the argument. Even the people that founded New Orleans knew it would be a difficult place to live. In 300 years the city has been subject to more catastrophic devastation from storms, flooding, and disease than any other major city I can think of. But the nation keeps rebuilding it because it's an important city, the people that founded New Orleans knew that as well.

The houses here are raised for a reason. Another point is - there are a ton of houses in this town that have survived a long time through these catastrophic events. That says something about the overall durability of the city in my view.

Hurricanes also cause more widespread damage than anything else. Most of the top 10 most costly disasters in US history (that aren't droughts) involve hurricanes. Earthquakes don't happen enough in California to make people notice that they're living on bought time as well, and wildfires don't usually spread into major cities, so they don't really get any recognition because the dollar figure isn't (usually) very high.

Memphis is a city that should get just about as much crap as we do though, it floods there all the freaking time.

Those are some really good points, which I hadn't thought about fully.

Having grown up in the Upper Midwest with Tornadoes, I always HATED those, and you can't escape or run away. Having also lived in California, I thought similar thoughts with Earthquakes, but Earthquakes were way more acceptable to me because they would happen so quickly and suddenly. Tornado warnings, and you just feel absolutely on edge all day long.

WHat I have always rationalized to myself about hurricanes, was that you would know for days in advance. So, you could plan and prepare for it, and go drive away for a few days as well. I don't know how realistic that is with work responsibilities and everything else though.

[Mwahfromtheheart]

I've only lived here since Oct 2012 so I can haven't seen a hurricane yet. I'm not sure how the city prepares, but from what I gathered most usually braved a storm. Katrina was different ... I lived in North Louisiana and I knew it would be bad. The thing was the size of Texas, and that's not an exaggeration.

I used to live in a place that had tornado warnings a lot too. This conversation brings up strong feelings for disaster relief for me, because while I *understand* the question "Should we rebuild?" - those questions will always come from a community that's been rebuilt by a disaster of some kind and KEEPS getting rebuilt. For example, Dallas gets tornadoes, snow, floods, or some other natural disaster - ALL YEAR LONG. Cumulatively they've wracked up a pretty substantial bill as well but nobody ever pays attention because it's not a staggering amount all at once like it is in New Orleans.

[siobhandem]

Katrina was barely a Category 3 when it hit landfall, far from being the most powerful ever. It wasn't the hurricane that did the damage. It was the faulty levees and workers not turning on pumping stations.

[Nopdgator]

The bigger problem is the constant sinking of our streets. Anyone that drives around NO (or South Louisiana for that matter) knows about our ever sinking substrate.

[Mwahfromtheheart]

Originally Posted by siobhandem

Katrina was barely a Category 3 when it hit landfall, far from being the most powerful ever. It wasn't the hurricane that did the damage. It was the faulty levees and workers not turning on pumping stations.

The storm surge was 30' high, which was a record for US landfall. The energy generated by that storm was extreme at landfall, despite the slowdown of winds before. Storm surge is responsible for most of the damage in hurricanes, not wind. That storm surge was funneled by the canals leading into the city (that we rarely use). That funneling effect lead to an amplification of force that caused a lot of problems that lead to the eventual collapse of the flood walls.