5 ms·
I think this is a little bit unfair. New Orleans has an incredible amount of infrastructure to prevent flooding compared to pretty much any other coastal city.
by taylorlapeyre 5y ago
I think this is a little bit unfair. New Orleans has an incredible amount of infrastructure to prevent flooding compared to pretty much any other coastal city. Spillways, levees, giant pumps, etc. Even if it fails, you can't really claim that they are "entirely unprepared for a hurricane". At this particular moment, though, some of that infrastructure is weaker than normal.
They definitely have corrupt politicians though, no doubt about that.
- MisterBastahrd 5y agoMost of New Orleans can happily drain what would put Houston under 6 feet of water. And no amount of drainage can do much when you are on the east side of a powerful storm. You can have pipes from here to the moon but there's nowhere for that water to go. Storm surge is concerning to the people in the know for a reason.
- taylorlapeyre 5y agoI lived in New Orleans for 24 years and personally went through Katrina - so I actually consider one of the people in the know. I still think New Orleans has done its share of preparation. Enough? Not sure. But it's not like New Orleans is ignorant of how to prepare their city for a hurricane.
- MisterBastahrd 5y agoYeah, I spent my birthday sleeping in a neighbor's gun closet after Katrina because he had AC in his apartment above his garage. LOL.
- jandrese 5y agoThe 20" of rain isn't nearly as scary as the 11 foot storm surge that is possible.
- dredmorbius 5y agoA storm dumping rain over the Mississippi drainage for 3--4 days is somewhat more fearsome than 20" in one spot for a few hours. All of that flows out through the Mississippi. I'm not saying it's worse than the storm surge. But it's going to be affecting the city for much longer. (As well as multiple locatons upstream.)