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My co-worker doesn't live near the Mississippi river but his home might get flooded because of opening flood gates along spillways to save homes and businesses in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
My co-worker doesn't live near the Mississippi river but his home might get flooded because of opening flood gates along spillways to save homes and businesses in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
I can't imagine that people living downstream from the Morganza Spillway don't get PO'd at the idea of sacrificing them to save New Orleans and the industrial complex between there and Baton Rouge. It's like saying Morgan City, Houma, Krotz Springs and other towns in the Atchafalya basin don't count.
On the other hand, take Houma, for instance. Or, all of Terrebonne Parish for that matter. There are parts of the parish and town which flood regularly, yet they go right back to the same spot and rebuild, only to be flooded out again and again. For instance, houses along the bayou's flooded during Hurricane Katrina, then Rita. Gustav came by 4 years later and flooded them again, followed by Ike two weeks later which flooded them once more. Now, if the spillway is opened (which it will be), they'll flood again. The same houses!
I understand that no place is immune from disaster, but some places are so prone to it that at some point, somebody has to say, "Not again. If you rebuild there, you're on your own." It's not a new concept, you know? For instance, the entire town of Pattonsville, MO was moved to avoid future flooding.
I can't imagine that people living downstream from the Morganza Spillway don't get PO'd at the idea of sacrificing them to save New Orleans and the industrial complex between there and Baton Rouge. It's like saying Morgan City, Houma, Krotz Springs and other towns in the Atchafalya basin don't count.
Yeah, it's a cruel choice, but it's a matter of
millions in damages vs. billions in damages.
But it's not really a choice. When the flow
reaches the trigger level they will open it.
Quote:
Lt. Col. Mark Jernigan said Wednesday that if the flow rate of the Mississippi River continues to climb as expected, it should reach the 1.5 million cubic feet per second rate at Red River Landing that the Corps has set as the level that would "trigger" opening the floodgates.
Having lived by the banks of that river for over half my life, and having witnessed 2 500 year floods within 30 years, and having fought long and hard to help save my hometown of Sainte Genevieve, the oldest town in Missouri.....
I have the grace to admit I agree with you for once. The picture is the flood of 93, in the middle of Sainte Genevieve.
During the 1993 floods, I was in Florida visiting family. My BIL gave me a book with headlines from the Miama Herald going back to 1900, and one of the pages from the first decade of the century was news about flooding of the Mississippi and how damage was estimated to be around one million dollars.
I have never seen the Mississippi River in person, but that river is something I would like to see before I die. I watched a fascinating travel show some years ago on a bike trip down the Mississippi that begins around the point where the river becomes navigable. While I'm not much of a bike rider, the journey sounded good.
During the 1993 floods, I was in Florida visiting family. My BIL gave me a book with headlines from the Miama Herald going back to 1900, and one of the pages from the first decade of the century was news about flooding of the Mississippi and how damage was estimated to be around one million dollars.
I have never seen the Mississippi River in person, but that river is something I would like to see before I die. I watched a fascinating travel show some years ago on a bike trip down the Mississippi that begins around the point where the river becomes navigable. While I'm not much of a bike rider, the journey sounded good.
The river roads along the Mississippi are an especially beautiful drive in the Fall when the leaves are showing off their color change.
As the delta floods I wonder if positive unintended consequences will be to purge the remaining oil slicks out of the wetland marshes and bayous and help heal them so the wildlife may sucessfuloly return in a few years to come. Let's hope some good can come of this anyway.
Yeah, it's a cruel choice, but it's a matter of
millions in damages vs. billions in damages.
But it's not really a choice. When the flow
reaches the trigger level they will open it.
None of the gates are automatic, it's a very manual process involving a couple guys on a crane manually lifting each gate panel. It's very much a choice to move the flooding from areas like Baton Rouge and New Orleans to much poorer and less populated areas in South Louisiana.
The Mississippi and vitrtually every river have historically flooded. Flood plains provide the natural area for this excess water to disperse and avoid the excessive, artifical "crests" like we now see with the Mississippi. Learn from history people, and stop building residential areas on flood plains. The federal government needs to radically reduce the federal flood insurance program, which rewards people for foolish behavior. Limit construction on flood plains to specific business/commercial needs associated with the waterway, and build those facilities to handle seasonal floods.
The Mississippi and vitrtually every river have historically flooded. Flood plains provide the natural area for this excess water to disperse and avoid the excessive, artifical "crests" like we now see with the Mississippi. Learn from history people, and stop building residential areas on flood plains. The federal government needs to radically reduce the federal flood insurance program, which rewards people for foolish behavior. Limit construction on flood plains to specific business/commercial needs associated with the waterway, and build those facilities to handle seasonal floods.
With this in bold I fully agree. Though, if you read the above linked article it mentions that 11 of the counties experiencing major flooding have more than double the national rate of poverty. Many folks make their living on or help sustain their lives from the river. River and bayou life in the deep South is a different world.
I disagree with commercial building along the river unless it is directly related to the river. Commercial enterprises along major rivers are infamous for dumping pollutants into them.
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