Report: New Orleans' population nears 300,000

[TexasSky]

I was not aware the Dutch had hurricans?

The problem New Orleans had was a levee breaking.

While the Dutch may not have hurricanes, they do have a danger should their dyke ever break.

 

[Avatar]

Maybe New Orleans should invest in houseboats on trailers instead of camp trailers.
Then people can have a home to live in next time the
city is flooded.

How about implanting the residents with artificial gills?

 

[horuhe00]

Actually, strange as it may seem to you, there are many areas below sea level that drain naturally. Death Valley in California is below sea level but I don't believe anyone there worries about the area turning into a giant lake.

Mentioned in a previous post.

As for New Orleans, it was founded long before levies and the majority of the city, in particular the high population areas, are located above sea level and the city itself is 105 miles upriver from the Gulf of Mexico, it does not sit on the coast.

The city has been sinking since its inception. What was ok 300 years ago might not be all that good today. It has the Mississipi river crossing so close that levies were built. Not exactly Death Valley. Not being next to the coast doesn't realy matter, as 2005 confirms.

While you can design to help make structures survive earthquakes and hurricanes, there is little chance of making any structure either earthquake or hurricane proof.

True.

In fact, during Katrina, many cities entirely above sea level that were on the sea coast had "the waterline splashing on your last row of shingles" (27 foot high storm surge), including the Mississippi coastline. Experts also worry about the effects of a 7.5 or greater earthquake, particularly it it ends up being greater than 8.0, that is expected in California.

I'm sure that a house in New Orleans below the water level has a much bigger risk of flood damage than one on the coastline.

In fact, if you want to make an argument of where not to rebuild, it might make more sense that we do not rebuild the Mississippi coast. It has been destroyed twice in 50 years by hurricanes (Camille in 1969 and Katrina in 2005).

The US Government has been buying up previously levied and developed land beside the Mississipi river since the 1993 floods. Maybe you're on to something.

 

[Maren]

Mentioned in a previous post.



The city has been sinking since its inception. What was ok 300 years ago might not be all that good today. It has the Mississipi river crossing so close that levies were built. Not exactly Death Valley. Not being next to the coast doesn't realy matter, as 2005 confirms.



True.



I'm sure that a house in New Orleans below the water level has a much bigger risk of flood damage than one on the coastline.



The US Government has been buying up previously levied and developed land beside the Mississipi river since the 1993 floods. Maybe you're on to something.

But that is just it, as I showed a house near the coast is historically in greater danger of flooding than in New Orleans. As I mentioned in my previous post, the coastline along the Gulf of Mexico in Mississippi has been hit by over 25 feet of water twice in the last 50 years. There are areas of Florida that have been hit by hurricanes (and the associated storm surge) even more frequently.

As for not building on the Mississippi coastline, I was referring to the Gulf Coast of the state of Mississippi which keeps being flooded by hurricanes and not the coastline of the Mississippi river. Though honestly, I'll agree that some areas of New Orleans (the ones most below sea level) should be reverted to flood plain rather than rebuilding.

One interesting thing I found, of the 10 most vulnerable places in the United States for a hurricane to hit (based on economic loss).

 

[horuhe00]

One interesting thing I found, of the 10 most vulnerable places in the United States for a hurricane to hit (based on economic loss).

​

Rank

1 Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, FL
2 New York City, NY
3 Tampa/ St. Petersburg, FL
4 Houston/Galveston, Texas
5 New Orleans, LA
6 Mobile, AL
7 Boston, MA
8 Biloxi/Gulfport, Miss.
9 Myrtle Beach, SC
10 Norfolk, VA

 

[clarksided]

Maybe New Orleans should invest in houseboats on trailers instead of camp trailers.
Then people can have a home to live in next time the
city is flooded.

eww, new orleans =/= manchac