Will New Orleans be hit by another major hurricane?

[Audrey2Katrina]

Well, another thing we can take VERY small consolation from is that we don't live (no offense meant to those who do) in the wake of the Yellowstone caldera. Again, they speak in geologic timescales, but that supervolcano erupts about every 600,000 years and its last eruption, according to a Discovery Science program I was watching, was over 650,000 years ago--so it's overdue. Again, could be thousands of years off, could be a lot less, in either case, when that puppy blows, it'll take a huge chunk of the US in that region out with it. From what I can recall the the pyroclastic flow from its last eruption solidified into a layer of rock that could have covered the state of Wyoming 13 ft. thick. The implications of such a blast on global climatology are staggering to say the very least.

Now that's scary!

A2K

[JonathanBelles]

gulp

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

YIKES!

[Ixolib]

Not to take things "too far" off topic, but at least one major newspaper is finally recognizing that "other" parts of the Gulf Coast (other than N.O.) took a significant hit from Katrina...

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-robinson_19edi.ART.State.Edition1.188f8861.html

But a sidebar article also contents that the "old New Orleans" is gone forever...

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-robinson2_19edi.ART.State.Edition1.188f7457.html

[Audrey2Katrina]

With all due respect, the sidebar article is written by Eugene Robinson who is notoriously slanted in his views, and has even lent credence to the likes of Farrakhan and his wild conspiracy notions while on Meet The Press with comments like:

"I was stunned in New Orleans at how many black New Orleanians would tell me with real conviction that somehow the levee breaks had been engineered," Robinson told NBC's "Meet the Press." "These are not wild-eyed people," Robinson insisted. "These are reasonable, sober people who really believe that."

His Op-Ed sounds more like a dirge over the loss of one ethnic group moreso than over the real "soul" of New Orleans. I don't wish to see any of the city's cultural mosaic be lost, and concede the point that much of the Ninth is destined for profiteering development--but it's far larger than his article suggests, and as we type/read there are many of those old structures in the L9th already being rebuilt. The city WILL be changed--that can't be avoided in a catastrophe of this enormity; but I am convinced the "old" New Orleans is alive and well. I would certainly hate to see this island of old world flavor become just another glass/steel/concrete menagerie--in which case I'd just as soon live elsewhere.

A2K

[Pearl River]

Yes, New Orleans does hog the news when it comes to Katrina. Here's why:

2) 108,000 homes with 4ft or more of water in them.
3) 465,000 pre-Katrina to approx 150,000 post-Katrina population.
4) 5th largest port in the world.
5) Gas and Petro-chemical gateway to the midwest U.S.

Yes, the MS coast has been all but forgotton in the news, but so has Plaquemines, St Bernard and St Tammany Parishes.

Oh, I forgot number 1:

1) Majority of population African-American

[Ixolib]

Yes, New Orleans does hog the news when it comes to Katrina. Here's why:

2) 108,000 homes with 4ft or more of water in them.
3) 465,000 pre-Katrina to approx 150,000 post-Katrina population.
4) 5th largest port in the world.
5) Gas and Petro-chemical gateway to the midwest U.S.

Yes, the MS coast has been all but forgotton in the news, but so has Plaquemines, St Bernard and St Tammany Parishes.

Oh, I forgot number 1:

1) Majority of population African-American

That statistic on #3 above still baffles me every time I see it.

On a lighter note, though, it is much more of a pleasure now-a-days "driving" through the city on the major highways including I-10 (except when things get backed up between Michoud & Hwy. 11), 610, the Westbank Expressway, and even the Causeway. Pre-Katrina, I was no big fan of any of those roadways...

And for #1 above, that ought to generate some interesting responses .

[MiamiensisWx]

In addition, Alabama has also been forgotten or ignored. Alabama also received very nasty surge damage.

[Opal storm]

In addition, Alabama has also been forgotten or ignored. Alabama also received very nasty surge damage.

I agree.Dauphin Island looked just as bad as what Pensacola Beach looked like after Ivan.

[HurryKane]

108,000 homes with 4ft or more of water in them.

I still don't understand how "water in the homes" trumps 70 miles of slabs, completely destroyed bridges, broken waterfront roadways, and wind damage almost 200 miles inland. But that's just me.

For the record, I have friends who live in NOLA, Slidell, Pearl River, and all along the MS Gulf Coast. I've been in NOLA quite a bit since the storm hit--largely because the nightlife has been resurrected there and all there was on the MS coast has been wiped out. I know how bad it is there and how some parts have come back to life. And I will still maintain that the physical damage is far worse in Mississippi.

We (MS) gripe about not being in the news because the news is what helps all of us get funding to get back on track. People outside our area assume the only place that needs help is NOLA. Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and St. Tammany have just as much of a gripe as we do. People who don't know have to be informed and reminded about how large an area was affected and how many people still need help.

The Sun Herald wrote an excellent op-ed piece about the Invisible Coast, you can read it here.

Normally I am a proponent of term limits but dang if political seniority isn't one of the major things saving our hineys here. Anyway.

I love Mississippi. And I love Louisiana. It hurts to see my coast demolished and my friends lose everything. It hurts to see my favorite shops in Pass Christian wiped off the planet. It hurts to see trailer after trailer in Eden Isles. It hurts to see my favorite sushi restaurant in Slidell completely washed out. It hurts to drive into NOLA and see the dead neighborhoods still full of flooded cars covered with silt.

We all need the help, so we all need the media attention.


Oops forgot the topic: I have a really bad feeling about 2006 for this area. Not based on anything scientific, just a gut feeling that came on when I was thinking about Christmas plans for next year. Bad gut! Bad gut!

[MiamiensisWx]

I agree.Dauphin Island looked just as bad as what Pensacola Beach looked like after Ivan.

Agreed. I saw many homes destroyed and areas washed away by Katrina's surge on Dauphin Island in Alabama.

[MiamiensisWx]

I still don't understand how "water in the homes" trumps 70 miles of slabs, completely destroyed bridges, broken waterfront roadways, and wind damage almost 200 miles inland. But that's just me.

For the record, I have friends who live in NOLA, Slidell, Pearl River, and all along the MS Gulf Coast. I've been in NOLA quite a bit since the storm hit--largely because the nightlife has been resurrected there and all there was on the MS coast has been wiped out. I know how bad it is there and how some parts have come back to life. And I will still maintain that the physical damage is far worse in Mississippi.

We (MS) gripe about not being in the news because the news is what helps all of us get funding to get back on track. People outside our area assume the only place that needs help is NOLA. Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and St. Tammany have just as much of a gripe as we do. People who don't know have to be informed and reminded about how large an area was affected and how many people still need help.

The Sun Herald wrote an excellent op-ed piece about the Invisible Coast, you can read it here.

Normally I am a proponent of term limits but dang if political seniority isn't one of the major things saving our hineys here. Anyway.

I love Mississippi. And I love Louisiana. It hurts to see my coast demolished and my friends lose everything. It hurts to see my favorite shops in Pass Christian wiped off the planet. It hurts to see trailer after trailer in Eden Isles. It hurts to see my favorite sushi restaurant in Slidell completely washed out. It hurts to drive into NOLA and see the dead neighborhoods still full of flooded cars covered with silt.

We all need the help, so we all need the media attention.

Amen! I completely agree. I feel exactly like you do.

[Ixolib]

It hurts to drive into NOLA and see the dead neighborhoods still full of flooded cars covered with silt.

That DOES continue to be an amazing sight. We call it the "Dead Zone" as it literally is....

[HurryKane]

I forgot to mention one other thing that hurts me: the awful traffic in Slidell. Yowza.

That DOES continue to be an amazing sight. We call it the "Dead Zone" as it literally is....

Sometime back in October we drove down there one evening to catch a band at Southport Hall. Back then there was still no electricity from the lake to the CBD. That was about the eeriest drive ever--no lights even on the interstate. It was like driving on I-55 in the middle of nowhere at midnight on a moonless night.

[MiamiensisWx]

I forgot to mention one other thing that hurts me: the awful traffic in Slidell. Yowza.

You also forgot to mention that Alabama received the surge just as bad as Mississippi did.

[HurryKane]

Sigh. My mind, it is on the fritz these days. Throw Alabama in my original statement, too, please.

[MiamiensisWx]

Sigh. My mind, it is on the fritz these days. Throw Alabama in my original statement, too, please.

OK... thanks, HurryKane! I sympathize with you, too.

[Ixolib]

I forgot to mention one other thing that hurts me: the awful traffic in Slidell. Yowza.

You also forgot to mention that Alabama received the surge just as bad as Mississippi did.

What part of Alabama? I heard Mobile had 11 feet (no comparison to MS). And if you're referring to Dauphin Island... Well, it IS an island and as such, WILL go under water in a landfalling hurricane.

Not to come across as insensitive, but folks who build on a barrier island and or in a city that is BELOW sea level should not be surprised when this happens. Actually, they should be surprised if it "doesn't" happen.

Of course, folks a mile up in Denver might say I'm a fool for living in coastal Mississippi, but at least my home is at 26 feet above sea level, although I still got 3 feet inside with Katrina.

[HurryKane]

Sigh. My mind, it is on the fritz these days. Throw Alabama in my original statement, too, please.

OK... thanks, HurryKane! I sympathize with you, too.

It's a mental block. I've tried, but I just can't love Alabama

[MiamiensisWx]

What part of Alabama? I heard Mobile had 11 feet (no comparison to MS). And if you're referring to Dauphin Island... Well, it IS an island and as such, WILL go under water in a landfalling hurricane.

Not to come across as insensitive, but folks who build on a barrier island and or in a city that is BELOW sea level should not be surprised when this happens. Actually, they should be surprised if it "doesn't" happen.

Of course, folks a mile up in Denver might say I'm a fool for living in coastal Mississippi, but at least my home is at 26 feet above sea level, although I still got 3 feet inside with Katrina.

I'm referring to Dauphin Island, Alabama. Sorry if I did not explain clearly enough!