Obama to visit New Orleans for a post-Katrina survey

[kpete]

Source: McClatchy

Obama to visit New Orleans for a post-Katrina survey

By Margaret Talev | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON -- When President Barack Obama visits New Orleans next week to survey how its recovery is going four years after Hurricane Katrina, he'll have a lot to tout about the help his administration's given -- and plenty to worry about as the nation's top Democrat in a city quaking with political change.

Obama's Oct. 15 visit could both energize and polarize New Orleans, a city with an African-American majority that voted for him, but also one in a Southern state that didn't. During the campaign, Obama said that New Orleans symbolized President George W. Bush's failures, and he promised to do better.

Greg Rigamer, a New Orleans urban planner, said that the president's coming "is a sign to many of the residents who are still struggling: 'You're not out of sight; you're not out of mind. I see you. I understand.'"

Obama gets high marks for his administration's aid to New Orleans so far, but he still must show that he can deliver a public hospital, rebuild levees and restore the coastline.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/76881.html

[merh]

1. Why isn't he going to Mississippi?

It was Mississippi that was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Katrina, the hurricane, directly slammed into and destroyed the Mississippi Gulf Coast. What we found after Katrina left was a war zone, as if an atomic bomb had leveled our towns and communities.

What happened to NOLA were the floods caused by the storm waters and surge of Katrina, the waters that had wiped out the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Remember, folks were sighing huge sighs of relief that NOLA had dodged the bullet and did not get hit by the storm. What happened to NOLA was caused by the failed levies, the Katrina flood waters had to have somewhere to go and when the levies failed, they went into NOLA.

The entire Mississippi Gulf Coast was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

NOLA's destruction was caused by the Katrina Flood that occurred after the storm had made landfall and had bypassed them, but their levies failed.

[WriteDown]

2. Why isn't he going to Detroit?

:shrug:

[uppityperson]

4. I didn't know Katrina hit Detroit like it did MS. nt

[WriteDown]

5. You haven't seen Detroit recently. nt

[merh]

6. Detroit was not affected by Katrina.

You really should follow the article that is the OP. The purpose of his visit is to inspect the areas damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

NOLA was not hit by the hurricane, it is a victim of the failed levies that allowed the storm waters to flood the region after Katrina had made landfall.

[WriteDown]

7. If you want to go to an area that has been ravaged...

then Detroit is your place. Sadly, I believe Detroit is worse than New Orleans at this point.

[merh]

8. Sadly, they are very similiar.

But that does not mean Detroit was impacted by a hurricane and should be part of the planned inspection of the hurricane torn areas.

[WriteDown]

9. Apparently....

Detroit is not going to be the target of any manner of inspection. Michigan in general seems to be on the chopping block.

[merh]

10. I understand your feeling that way.

But that has nothing to do with this thread.

You should go start your own thread in GD about it and see how many communities through out the USA feel the same way.

I think that is exactly what you should do.

[WriteDown]

11. I was just making a comment...

The other poster was also correct in saying that no focus is ever placed on MS where some areas look like a tactical nuke was detonated. I'll be in NO again this weekend, so I guess I'll be doing my own montly inspection.

[merh]

13. I am that other poster.

You may be surprised at how many slabs and overgrown lots and shelled apartments you find when you do inspect.

It won't happen if you stay in the French Quarter, that area was basically safe from the worst of the effects of Katrina.

Like I said, you should start a GD thread to discuss this. It may help you vent and it may help you share your frustrations with those in like situations.

[WriteDown]

15. Who says I stay in The Quarter...

I'm all over the place when I'm down there. I go to the ninth ward every other trip to check for any progress. I've thought about buying some property and moving to NO, but my girlfriend will never let me. :)

I'll do it later when I have more time. :)

[merh]

18. I'm glad to read that you investigate on your own.

I know a crazy conservative that boasts that he got a local taxi cab driver to take him on a tour and that the taxi cab driver, who was black and knew what he was talking about, went on and on about the lazy citizens of the 9th ward who wouldn't do for themselves and wanted only hand outs.

When I asked mr. crazy conservative if he tipped the man, he responded "why of course, handsomely". I then asked him, if he thought the taxi cab driver was putting on a show for the well dressed, white, conservative just so he could get that handsome tip. The conservative was outraged that I would even suggest such a thing. LOL, he couldn't believe that the taxi cab driver put on the performance he wanted just to be sure the tip was good.

[WriteDown]

20. I wouldn't doubt...

that there was some Black on Black racism in NO, but that story sounds totally made up. I do love that city. My 2nd home.

[merh]

21. No, I don't think it is a made up story.

I know plenty of cab drivers, performance art helps them supplement their income. They give the tourists what they want. The conservative wanted to hear that all the problems were because the lazy black folks just want hand outs.

He failed to realize that most of the homeowners in that region at the time had been relocated and could not afford to return. That is one of the games that the government played - they disbursed the population throughout the country and many couldn't return.

If I had not been able to return to my empty lot my efforts to rebuild would have been quadrupled. I insisted on being on my lot while I struggled for months with my insurance and fema claims, while I stood in line for the handouts. I was fortunate that I could return and was able to get a fema trailer as early as I did.

[blue_onyx]

48. Yep

Michigan/Detroit has been ignored for decades. We've lost more jobs than Louisiana did after Katrina but we got no federal aid. We'll continue to be ignored until 2012 when our votes are needed.

[gratuitous]

14. Didn't George W. Bush rebuild Trent Lott's porch yet?

Yes, the damage caused by Katrina wasn't confined to New Orleans, but it was the most visible, most populous area hit, and has become (for good or bad) the symbol for the hurricane.

[merh]

17. I could care less about Lott's porch.

So you have no problem with the continuation of the distorted truth?

NOLA was not hit by Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans dodged that bullet. The damage NOLA knows was caused by failed levies. That could have happened at any time the rivers and streams were filled with flood waters.

Those waters of Katrina that did cause the levies to break, had wiped out parts of Louisiana that are never mentioned. They had come after the storm winds and tornadoes of Katrina had devastated the Mississippi Coast and parts of the Alabama Coast. We were pulverized by the storm for hours before the surge waters came and brought more destruction, then we were pulverized some more until Katrina made her way inland. Every county in Mississippi knew the destruction of Katrina, all 82 were declared disaster zones entitled to federal assistance. The damage caused by Hurricane Katrina was not limited to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The fact that NOLA was made the poster city was the failing of the MSM and that you continue to accept their misdirection is sad.

Will Obama go into NOLA and applaud her citizens for their struggles and their efforts, for all of their success in rebuilding? If so, why doesn't he go tell Mississippians how valiant their efforts have been, how proud he is of their hard work?

[gratuitous]

22. Hanh?

Dial it back; you're among friends here. For now.

Our teeny tiny church and district in the Pacific Northwest has sent four work crews down to the area, two of them to Mississippi, one to Louisiana, and one that I don't remember where they went just offhand. We're preparing to send another crew down in January or February. I'm well aware of the damage the hurricanes (Katrina and Rita) have caused in the area, supporting work crews with my disaster relief dollars. Sorry if it hasn't been enough to suit you, but times are very tough all over.

If you have a problem with the way things are portrayed in the national media, may I suggest a re-direction of your vitriol toward a more appropriate target?

[merh]

24. You offered no understanding - you offered snark and sarcasm

that perpetuated the MSM's media's myths.

How am I to know that you are friend when you post the nonsense of foes?

Your "for now" threat was laughable. How petty of you to turn on someone who simply disputes your version of the truth.

[gratuitous]

26. My, my

And you didn't read the substance of the post at all. I said that New Orleans was the most visible symbol of the damage from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I fail to see where that is in dispute from your hostile posts. Bummer, that. But it's hardly my fault or President Obama's fault that that is the case. Throwing anonymous temper tantrums and lashing out at others on a message board hardly seems the stuff of correction, but maybe that's just me.

If I were to use your own logic, I'd mention how you've completely elided the damage from Hurricane Rita, and drawn a bunch of unfounded conclusions about your callousness towards folks affected by that disaster, perpetuating in your own way myths promulgated by the popular media. But I don't think that would be very edifying; it certainly wouldn't change how the media do their reporting; and would only serve to further alienate you, if such a thing is even possible anymore.

[merh]

28. Yes, of course, that is all you did.

That is why you posted the snark about Lott's porch.

Your animosity and insensitivity are as obvious as is your ignorance of the facts.

Easy game to play here. The purpose of Obama's visit is to tour the areas that sustained damage due to Hurricane Katrina. NOLA was damaged by the flood waters, not by the Hurricane.

Purpose is not to view all areas affected by hurricanes that is why your Rita nonsense is just that nonsense.

You tried to be clever in so doing you were insensitive, thus you failed. When called on it and your nonsense you went on the attack.

That shows how poorly you handle criticism.

[NOLALady]

16. Well hell yeah.

And why isn't he coming to Slidell? We also had a direct hit. :eyes:

[merh]

19. That was one of my points in a later post in this thread.

Poor Slidell and the communities surrounding her. No one ever mentions her. No one ever notices that there were areas of southeast Louisiana that were victims of the storm itself. It is as if they don't matter, as if they don't exist.

Had the levies held, had NOLA not known the flooding, would anyone have paid attention to Hurricane Katrina?

[NOLALady]

29. Maybe

less attention was paid to Slidell because there wasn't as much of a loss of life. Plus the entire world didn't watch Slidell die while our government offered piss poor help they also tried to hinder the help of others. Also, the glaring racism and classism on display in New Orleans was a sight that no sane person could ever forget.

In the chaos Slidell was forgotten. We were so cut off that no one knew if we were wiped off the map. All we heard on our portable was, "Has anyone heard from Slidell? Did they make it?" It was pretty scary listening to that.

But, I don't resent New Orleans getting the attention at this time. The world identifies New Orleans with Katrina. They are aware that the entire Gulf Coast took a hit. But, still the average person thinks New Orleans when the word Katrina is mentioned. Whatever aids they give to New Orleans will also aid the rest of us. It's all right. She is Slidell's sister.

[merh]

30. I don't resent NOLA.

I do resent the focus that was given to her while the rest of us knew greater damage.

I do resent the fact that he President will brag on the job NOLA has done while overlooking all of our hard work.

Is that petty? Yes, I suppose it is. I'm human. It hurts to be ignored and neglected.

[LuvNewcastle]

25. He's coming to Mississippi.

It's been on the local news here (WLOX). I'm going to try to go and see him.

[LuvNewcastle]

32. I take that back.

I was just looking for a link and I found this. http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=11287913 Looks like he's not going to make it after all.:-(

[merh]

33. When ?

WLOX did it's editorial this weekend complaining that he was not coming to the MS Gulf Coast.

Catch Dave Vincent's editorial comment from last night.

WLOX Editorial: Obama slights south Mississippi

10/12/09 - The Obama administration has announced the president will be visiting Hurricane Katrina affected areas of the coast later this month to assess rebuilding efforts. But according to reports from the White House, that visit will include only New Orleans.
Last Modified: Oct 12, 2009 12:12 PM CDT
http://www.wlox.com/Global/searchresults.asp?vendor=ez&qu=editorial

http://www.wlox.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=4205178&h1=WLOX%20Editorial%3A%20Obama%20slights%20south%20Mississippi&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=83900&LaunchPageAdTag=Search%20Results&activePane=info&rnd=60530459

Do you have a link to some news source that reflects he has changed his plans?

.

[LuvNewcastle]

34. I made a mistake. See post 32.

I was hoping he was coming -- I was gonna go see him. He probably doesn't want to be anywhere near our slimy, odious governor. I'll bet Haley's one of his biggest reasons for not showing.

[Retrograde]

50. He can only be in one place at a time? (n/t)

[Gman]

3. Health Care, Afghanistan, New Orleans, Israel/Palestine...

and on and on...

Why anyone would want the job of being president is beyond any rational decision.

[TomCanyon]

12. Good. The levies need reinforcement. Bush neglected them badly

It's good that much-needed attention is going to this, still a disaster zone.

[cbgb2112]

23. Patience

I agree; there needs to be a distinction between "Katrina" proper and the levees breaking. That aside, this man has not even been in the chair for a year and there is so much destruction, distraction and obstacles he needs to overcome. There is a long road ahead for us all.

[pitohui]

27. the by far greatest loss of life and treasure was in greater new orleans

while i fully sympathize w. the awful losses on the mississippi gulf coast, the overwhelming loss of life due to katrina occurred in greater new orleans, with over close to 1,600 deaths documented in louisiana alone

katrina DID make landfall in louisiana, it made landfall multiple times -- and it made landfall in this state at buras, louisiana -- to say katrina did not strike NOLA is not correct in any sense, because it was a still a strong cat 3 storm at NOLA -- it was cat 4 when it made landfall at buras

the levees were supposed to withstand cat 3 and they didn't, hence the anger, but NOLA is very much a victim of katrina and the damage would have been the most expensive natural disaster in usa history even if the levees had held because of the extent of the wind damage alone (EVERYONE had wind damage)

i agree w. the poster who says, who the hell would be president?, obama is not going to fix in a day or a few months what decades of corruption at the army corp of engineers has wrought, not to mention what decades of reagan/bush corruption and economic looting have wrought

instead of fighting amongst ourselves, can we not believe that obama has a very difficult job and very little time in which to do it?

obama has not ignored detroit, by all accts "cash for clunkers" was a huge success that helped many, but neither detroit, new orleans, or mississippi gulf coast are going to be rebuilt in a day, the extent of the natural and economic disasters visited upon us was too great

[uppityperson]

31. kick for Katrina recovery along the gulf coast and not for fighting about it

NOLA gets a lot of coverage because the levees breaking was widely covered. MS misses a lot of coverage even though the coast was devastated. Places south of NOLA in LA (Buras for example) also don't get coverage.

Any time the president wants to visit, any time anyone wants to do something positive and help the recovery, that is good for a k&r

[merh]

35. So, you think it is just nifty that the distorted truths are perpetuated?

You don't think that Mississippi deserves a fly over or a visit?

I guess you don't mind that the state remains a red state and doesn't need the attention of the president.

The poster above you misstates the facts, many have misstated the facts.

The levies broke after Katrina had made landfall, after she had moved inland. I've seen the footage of the news coverage where the Louisiana officials were all relieved that they had dodged the bullet. They didn't take the brunt of Katrina, we did. While they were all sighing and celebrating their good fortunes, we were being pulverized. Sure, the storm made landfall in Buras and, because a hurricane rotates counterclockwise, we took the worst of the storm because everything builds up in the northeast portion of the storm. We had the highest amount of rain and the strongest winds outside of the eye wall and we had that huge surge.

The other poster claims that NOLA lost more treasures, as if NOLA is a more important part of the nation because it was NOLA. We lost treasures and we lost life. We didn't loose as many lifes because we had prepared for the hurricane.

NOLA could not prepare for the levy failures, they had been assured that they would withstand a direct hit by a storm of greater strength.

When you continue the myth that NOLA was hit by hurricane Katrina, you allow the truth to get all muddied up. The government's responsibility is then downplayed. It is then easy to say "this was an act of God" and not "the deaths were due to government failure". Had the National Guard been available and not in Iraq fighting a war based on lies, could they have been on scene to try to repair the broken levies? Could they have been available to save citizens?

The truth is important if only to try to prevent the same disaster from happening again.

And some of us in Mississippi who rebuilt our lives and our homes would like it if the president could give us a moment of his time. We'd like a pat on the back from him.

We don't like being invisible or overlooked.

.

[Cha]

36. Have you written the White House, merh?

To request that PO visit? Sounds like something that would be very good.

[merh]

38. The White House won't respond to the local press

why would they respond to me?

http://www.wlox.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=4205178&h1=WLOX%20Editorial%3A%20Obama%20slights%20south%20Mississippi&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=83900&LaunchPageAdTag=Search%20Results&activePane=info&rnd=60530459

[Cha]

39. Oh, I don't know..bc even if they don't, you'll

have put it out there in the Universe and the more the Merrier.

[merh]

42. It is out there, not much more can be done than put it out there.

Many here see him as wanting to spend time with the mayor of the chocolate city, they don't see him caring much for the folks who suffered the effects of the hurricane.

[pitohui]

37. it is no "myth" that katrina struck new orleans

katrina was a strong cat 3 when it struck new orleans and that's a matter of historical record that anyone can learn from researching the records in a matter of moments

no one wants you to be overlooked but you won't help your case by pitting nose against face or by positing ridiculous claims that can be disproved in moments by anyone who cares enough to look -- and those who don't care wouldn't help you anyway

obama is not your enemy

new orleans "prepared" for the hurricane in an outstanding fashion -- we had the nation's highest compliance rate w. buying flood insurance (a fact which became important to mississippi where people were told they didn't need flood insurance and then cheated of insurance money because regular home owners didn't cover storm surge, for example) -- in federal projections it was guessed that we could evacuated 60 percent of the city and IN FACT we evacuated 80 percent of the city -- and so on -- the "hurricane pam" federal projections were that 60,000 would die in this storm, it's no thanks to bush and every thanks to the individual that the total was a fraction of this number...

the "myth" is that people didn't evacuate, the reality is that 80 percent of the city DID evacuate and almost all of them under their own steam, by car -- something that would be physically impossible if a katrina like storm ever hits in a larger city such as miami or houston

at the end of the day, more people died in new orleans than on the gulf coast because there is a bigger population here, you are comparing tens of thousands and their ability to drive out, to a greater new orleans area of 2 million people under evacuation orders -- keep in mind -- it wasn't just new orleans that was hit, jefferson (largest parish in the state) mandatory evacuation EVEN OF WORKERS ON THE FLOOD GATES-, st tammany, st. bernard (every residence in st. bernard parish was flooded, every town, every single damn house in every town in an entire county) and so on

it ain't a contest

what happened was bad for all of us, but there is nothing wrong w. the president landing his plane at the largest airport in the region and going on from there

i just can't see anything sinister in obama landing in new orleans first where so many died and often died needlessly as a result of bad bush policy plus army corp of engineers corruption

those who died in mississippi died because of a natural disaster (storm surge), that is terrible, but it is not the same as being in effect murdered so some corrupt contractors can put $$$ in their pockets

i don't wanna be the britney guy and start cying "leave obama alone" but come on, he's trying here, he's really trying...

do we want him to work or do we want him to photo op?

[azureblue]

40. The difference is, Bush destroyed New Orleans:

Katrina ruined the MS Gulf Coast, but MS got more money per capita and more money for business rebuilding than NOLA did. and, of course, the casinos came right back (gotta keep them Baptists at the slots).

But

New Orleans was ruined by failed levees. But here is the truth everyone seems to overlook- why did the levees fail? Why? There was a plan in place called SELA, mostly funded and in the beginning stages of operation, whose purpose was to inspect and rebuild all of the levees, both the River and the Lake, but the work was not done. In fact, work in progress all but stopped. Including work on the very sections of the levee that failed. Now, was it the Corps' fault? Yes, but in a sense, because as usual, the working phrase is "follow the money". Or in this case, the lack of it. The Corps could not do the work because they had no money to do it. Where did the money go to?

Now we come to the heart of the matter and the sick part- in sum, New Orleans was flooded because George Bush cut the levees rebuilding funds to as little as one fifth needed, for three years - 2001, 2002,and 2004. Why, you ask? Because he gave tax breaks to the top 5% of America's rich, and tried to balance the shortfall by cutting the SELA levee rebuilding program, and the ACOE budget. George Bush destroyed one of America's most unique cities, the birthplace of jazz, one of the few American cities not based on Anglo culture, so his rich friends could have a few more dollars in their pockets.


Bush also refused to put Emergency relief services, the National Guard, the Red Cross, in place before Katrina hit, unlike Presidents before him- Nixon, Clinton,and his Daddy Bush. Bush could have made one call to release the big choppers that could drop the huge sandbags in place, that would have at least reduced the flooding, but Bush refused to do that, instead, he decided to play guitar and eat cake.

For this, there is no forgiveness. Bush intentionally destroyed New Orleans, just as if he had ordered the city bombed.

And Bush had the gall to return to New Orleans and promise relief when he knew he wasn't going to do it, unless he could figure out how his buddies could make a profit off of it... I don't care how many times Bush went to NOLA- he lied each time, so why do people think that that is somehow a yardstick to compare Obama to? Obama has been in office mere months, while Bush had years to do something, and did as little as he could.

[Louisiana1976]

43. I think there's enough Bush did--or perhaps I should say didn't do--

regarding New Orleans and the federal flood to justify bringing him up on wrongful death charges regarding those who died in the flood.

[DatManFromNawlins]

44. Another tin-foil hat Katrina conspiracy

I bet Bush blew up the levees too.

Bush didn't design the levees. That would be the Army Corps. The levees didn't fail because they weren't maintained correctly. It takes relatively little effort to maintain a levee once built properly.

THE LEVEES FUCKING FAILED BECAUSE THEY WERE FUCKING BUILT INCORRECTLY.

And if the entire goddamned combined armed forces took every vehicle that could fly and stationed them all over the area, they still couldn't have stopped or mitigated the flooding.

BOTH parties deserve blame for this debacle. Blanco is a clueless fucking idiot who rose to political prominence because of her husband's ties. The fact that she was once a teacher shows just how low a bar teachers have to crawl over in this state. Nagin remains a useless menace to the city and will probably be indicted on corruption charges sooner or later. And Bush? Bush deserves all the negative criticism that can be afforded to him. But the blame isn't his alone by a long shot.

I refuse to let either party off the hook for their combined incompetence. All the fawning and bullshit that we saw after Katrina is meaningless because we STILL do not have the protection we require down here. And if Obama fucks up the same way that Bush did when it comes to protecting the people down here, my ballot will read "Anybody but Obama," and I won't be alone by any stretch of the imagination.

[EFerrari]

46. What is not tin foil is that the Bush White House knew those levees failed

for 24 hours before anyone was warned. That engineer who was just fired, van Heerden, at the Hurricane Center busted them for that to Greg Palast.

[merh]

41. It isn't a contest.

The facts are clear. Even NOAA's assessment found that NOLA's damage was due to the levy breaches and not the hurricane.
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/assessments/pdfs/Katrina.pdf

Had the levies held, NOLA would not have suffered the damage it sustained.

It is clear that NOLA has received the lion's share of the coverage and Mississippi is still be overlooked.

I deal with folks in Mississippi, they liked Nixon and Reagan and Bush because he gave Mississippi the attention.

Clinton ignored us, Kerry ignored us as he ran for office and Obama is ignoring us now as he makes his survey of the regions affected by Katrina.

It isn't easy to explain to Mississippians why they should vote for the democratic president or for any democrat when they ignore the state as they do. It is more than a photo op, it is a statement that he cares about Mississippians.

[NOLALady]

47. Do you think Mississippians

would be inclined to vote for Obama in 2012 if his decision was to visit Mississippi rather than New Orleans? I don't think his visit to New Orleans will influence Louisianians to vote for him. We had to turn the radio off in the car today because their was so much criticism about his visit.

I guess I was so wrong. I always thought Louisianians and Mississippians liked Regan and Bush because they could identify with their racism.

[merh]

49. I think that the republicans will continue to rule this state as long

as the democratic party ignores it.

Obama claims he wants to meet the needs of all citizens and that he will set aside partisan nonsense.

It won't look so good come 2012.

[merh]

51. Here you go, this article explains a huge part of the problem

Be sure to check out the comments section.

http://www.sunherald.com/local/story/1672230.html

[uppityperson]

45. No, I don't think it is ok that distortions are perpetuated & disagree with treasures/lives lost.

I am sorry that I didn't post that MS deserves at LEAST a flyover, my apologies as they do. Very much.

Regarding deaths in NOLA:
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southcentral/2009/05/18/100605.htm

A new study has found that 67 percent of the fatalities in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005 resulted from direct impacts of the flooding that occurred when the levees collapsed,
(clip)In all, 518 out of the analyzed 771 deaths in New Orleans resulted from direct exposure to the flooding, according to the results of the study "Loss of Life Caused by the Flooding of New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina: Analysis of the Relationship Between Flood Characteristics and Mortality," which is reported in the May issue of the peer-reviewed journal Risk Analysis, published by the Society for Risk Analysis....

Regarding damage in MS:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina#Mississippi

The Gulf coast of Mississippi suffered massive damage from the impact of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, leaving 238 people dead, 67 missing, and billions of dollars in damage: bridges, barges, boats, piers, houses and cars were washed inland.<53> Katrina traveled up the entire state, and afterwards, all 82 counties in Mississippi were declared disaster areas for federal assistance, 47 for full assistance.
(clip)
All three coastal counties of the state were severely affected by the storm. Katrina's surge was the most extensive, as well as the highest, in the documented history of the United States; large portions of both Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson Counties were inundated by the storm surge, in all three cases affecting most of the populated areas.<55> Surge covered almost the entire lower half of Hancock County, destroying the coastal communities of Clermont Harbor and Waveland, much of Bay St. Louis, and flowed up the Jourdan River, flooding Diamondhead and Kiln. In Harrison County, Pass Christian was completely inundated, along with a narrow strip of land to the east along the coast, which includes the cities of Long Beach and Gulfport; the flooding was more extensive in communities such as D'Iberville, which borders Back Bay. Biloxi, on a peninsula between the Back Bay and the coast, was particularly hard hit, especially the low-lying Point Cadet area. In Jackson County, storm surge flowed up the wide river estuary, with the combined surge and freshwater flooding cutting the county in half. Remarkably, over 90% of Pascagoula, the easternmost coastal city in Mississippi, and about 75 miles (121 km) east of Katrina's landfall near the Louisiana-Mississippi border, was flooded from surge at the height of the storm. Other large Jackson County neighborhoods such as Porteaux Bay and Gulf Hills were severely damaged with large portions being completely destroyed, and St. Martin was hard hit; Ocean Springs, Moss Point, Gautier, and Escatawpa also suffered major surge damage....

As far as "NOLA lost more treasure", I have no idea how, or why, that is in any way valid.


Long Beach, MS