Also, from 2002;
Washing Away - 5 part seriesWater is never far from New Orleanians. Just outside the city, saltwater intrusion is destroying marshes, including this one near the Bayou Bienvenue-Florida Avenue Canal between New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish. Now that cypress trees and other vegetation have died, erosion will accelerate, further stripping the region of its natural protections against hurricanes.snip
There currently is no defense against a surge from a major storm, a Category 4 or Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale used by meteorologists. Such storms can generate surges of 20 to 30 feet above sea level — enough to top any levee in south Louisiana. Sustained winds from major storms — 131 mph to 155 mph for a Category 4, even more for a Category 5 — can shred homes and do damage to almost any structure.
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If enough water from Lake Pontchartrain topped the levee system along its south shore, the result would be apocalyptic. Vast areas would be submerged for days or weeks until engineers dynamited the levees to let the water escape. Some places on the east bank of Orleans and Jefferson parishes are as low as 10 feet below sea level. Adding a 20-foot storm surge from a Category 4 or 5 storm would mean 30 feet of standing water.
Whoever remained in the city would be at grave risk. According to the American Red Cross, a likely death toll would be between 25,000 and 100,000 people, dwarfing estimated death tolls for other natural disasters and all but the most nightmarish potential terrorist attacks. Tens of thousands more would be stranded on rooftops and high ground, awaiting rescue that could take days or longer. They would face thirst, hunger and exposure to toxic chemicals.
"We don't know where the pipelines are, and you have the landfills, oil and gas facilities, abandoned brine pits, hardware stores, gas stations, the chemicals in our houses," said Ivor van Heerden, assistant director of the LSU Hurricane Center. "We have no idea what people will be exposed to. You're looking at the proverbial witch's brew of chemicals."
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But bravely, the Bush administration did nothing.
While New Orleans went to hell, George Walker Bush golfed and made speeches.
When the National Guard was needed more than ever at home, the Bush Administration has them spread around the Middle East for Oil and Empire.
Tell us again how opting out of Kyoto would 'negatively affect our economy'. That story is even better than 'My Pet Goat'...