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Do you know what it means, to miss New Orleans, when that’s where you left your heart? Louis Armstrong. Robert A. Thomas Loyola University New Orleans http://www.loyno.edu/lucec October 5, 2005.
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Do you know what it means, to miss New Orleans, when that’s where you left your heart? Louis Armstrong Robert A. Thomas Loyola University New Orleans http://www.loyno.edu/lucec October 5, 2005
Friday night my family attended a Saints game in the Superdome. Katrina was expected to hit Apalachicola, Florida. Saturday morning, it was aimed at New Orleans.
WHAT DID CITIZENS DO? • Many evacuated before noon. • Many finished obligations: • I led an environmental orientation tour of New Orleans for new Loyola faculty • The Louisiana Children’s Museum held its fundraiser that evening • Most restaurants were open • Hundreds of thousands evacuated by Sunday • Tens of thousands ignored the storm
WHAT ARE OUR LEARNINGS? • Dire poverty exists in America, and we’ve simply looked away. • America is ignoring warnings that are based on scientific fact. • America’s great economy is not large enough to sustain major catastrophes. • America’s emergency preparedness is ill-equipped for large disasters. • If one knocks out our communications, we are inept. • Partisanship and personal relations don’t disappear during emergencies. • Americans are good people who pitch in to help one another.
WHAT CAUSED THE DAMAGE? • Inattention to priorities by certain public officials • Wind damage • Direct flooding – a 30 ft tidal surge • Indirect flooding – failed flood walls • Lack of preparedness • Loss of communications • Over time, the loss of components of our population
PLAUSIBLE RUMORS • The multitudes who remained did so because they had no way out • Some leaders disappeared • Prisoners were released • There are more than 10,000 fatalities • Bodies were being tied to telephone poles so they wouldn’t drift away
OUTLANDISH RUMORS • Gangs from other cities invaded New Orleans • Rapes and murders in the convention center and Superdome • The police killed several thousand bad guys • Snakes were envenomating people • Alligators were pulling people underwater • Sharks were attacking people • Environmentalists are responsible for NO not having proper levee protection
HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO PEOPLE? • This was a sudden storm – 48 hours warning • Most thought that they would be “inconvenienced” for 3-5 days • Many people are simply in denial
RESULTS FROM KATRINA? • Alabama coast is damaged • Mississippi coast is simply leveled – Waveland has lost most of its buildings • St. Bernard Parish (66,000 citizens) is gone – no livable homes, no open stores, no electricity/water/sewerage – nothing! • Most of New Orleans was flooded – possibly 60,000+ buildings may have to be bulldozed • Though there is much damage, Jefferson Parish is bustling with rebuilding.
RESULTS FROM RITA? • Southeast Texas is badly damaged – Port Arthur and Beaumont are mostly destroyed • Southwest Louisiana is leveled and flooded • All of coastal Louisiana was badly flooded and many small towns may be ultimately vacated – many people will simply move north.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS • 60+ oil spills • Flood waters contaminated with bacteria & viruses • Sewerage failure & associated water contamination • Lead/asbestos/etc and loosening of EPA regulations to accommodate their disposal • Various chemicals in the water and soil • Lake Pontchartrain again polluted from draining the city • New Orleans at greater risk because of additional loss of coastal wetlands
WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS? • Not allow a rebuilding of New Orleans • Allow rebuilding at owners’ expense • Recognizing the strategic importance of New Orleans, the government assists in its rebuilding • Make every effort to rebuild the old New Orleans • Rebuild a new New Orleans that better serves the national interest while retaining the charm, character, and culture that Americans love about the city
BASIC DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONS • Who evacuated? • Who will leave? • Who has gone to your city? • How are the FEMA parks affecting communities? The people who live in them? • Who will return – now or eventually? • How will the demographic changes affect voting? Poverty? The workforce? The focus of the economy?
CENTER FOR PROGRESSIVE REFORM SUGGESTIONS: • Address the source, not the victims • Reduce ignorance – democracy demands disclosure • Better safe than sorry • Be fair • Public resources belong to everyone • Make government work http://www.progressivereform.org/Unnatural_Disaster_512.pdf
WHAT CHANGES ARE BEING “TALKED” ABOUT? • New NO will be gentrified – no place for poorer people • Most small businesses will close due to no employees and no customers • There should be a major thrust for exporting what we do – wetlands restoration, oil field technology, etc. • NO’s lower cost of living will allow “in-sourcing” businesses to compete with work now being exported overseas
OVERRIDING ECONOMIC FEARS • Our convention business will fade • Literally thousands of small restaurants will close for good • Can New Orleans capture new forms of business? • San Antonio Saints • Oklahoma Hornets
OVERRIDING SOCIAL FEARS • Will our beloved “gumbo” culture disappear? • Will there be forces pushing for gentrification? • Will we lose our funky architecture that spans centuries? • If the Lower 9th Ward doesn’t repopulate, will we lose our music? • Will fishing communities dissolve? • Did we treat our citizens with dignity and respect? • How will today’s politicians react to the possibility of a white majority?
OVERRIDING ENVIRONMENTAL FEARS • Have we lost the critical mass of our coastal wetlands – America’s WETLAND? • Were these storms enough to decimate our fisheries diversity? • Will the contaminants in the water leave a nasty legacy? • Will the loosening of environmental regulations have a lasting effect?
ACCEPT THAT . . . • Large natural disasters usually disrupt the national economy and always have a devastating impact on citizens’ lives • It is in the national interest to be prepared for these inevitable natural disasters, so DO IT NOW!
DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT DISASTER PLANS FOR ALL THREATENED ZONES IN THE U.S. • Hurricanes • Tsunamis • Volcanoes • San Andreas Fault • New Madrid Fault • Yellowstone • Tornado allies • Alluvial flood zones
OF PENDING AMERICAN DISASTERS, HURRICANES ARE DIFFERENT - One can see them coming and (presumably) prepare.
FOR THE SHORT-TERM, WHAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED? • Better inform the citizens about calls for evacuation • Reduce the number of sources giving advice • Organize and enforce a workable evacuation plan, including provisions for the poor • Prepare certain evacuation centers in advance (food, water, cots, etc) • Make sure all existing levees are stronger than before
FOR THE LONG-TERM, WHAT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED? • Elevate the levee system to handle a Category 5 storm • Place flood gates at all canal entrances • Build a rapid transit system connecting New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette (allows for evacuation and for people to live inland and work in New Orleans) • Construct an improved drainage operation • Create and enforce more stringent building codes • Privatize flood insurance
WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE MONTHS TO COME? • New Orleans will re-gather her citizens • “Reconstruction” will begin - again • We will have a Mardi Gras – it will be mostly for New Orleanians and will be our first family celebration of continuing traditions • We will host the best Jazz Fest ever that will allow the city’s fans to return and hug her culture
