Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Katrina veered East instead of West. But then...
A New Orleans levee, holding back Lake Pontchartrain broke and water is pouring in. This makes me very sad. No, I don't think New Orleans is more important than other areas necessarily, but it's unique geological & geographical situation makes this more devastating than flooding in other areas. The city of New Orleans lies below sea level and they expect it could be under 20 feet of water. Everything is housed above ground because of their low position - graves, gas tanks, chemical storage plants, etc. This means the city will not only be under water, but will likely become a "toxic soup".
"The city of New Orleans is in a state of devastation. We probably have 80 percent of our city underwater. With some sections of our city, the water is as deep as 20 feet."
I love New Orleans and was hoping to get back there next May. Hopefully it won't lose all its charm, but I don't think it will be the same.
Link added: CNN
30 August 2005
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4 comments:
I can't find that news anywhere. (Not that I'm questioning you.) Only thing I could find was that one of the canal levees failed in a neighborhood northeast of the city. And neighborhoods south were reporting generalised flooding, probably from the river. So far, downtown and the French Quarter look OK. Not great, there was a hurricane, after all. But most of it is still standing.
Mornin Sunshine! I added a link to the story. The "toxic soup" comment was from yesterday from some "worst case scenario" predictions. They went away after the levees held, but now...
Hopefully the 20% of the city they said could be under water is the French Quarter. Keep your fingers crossed.
Looks like the Quarter held up pretty well. Like you, I'm a big fan of the city.
Actually the Quarter is flooding as I type this...
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