PTS Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 I don't know how to even phrase this question because of the shear magnitude, but here goes... What happens to New Orleans? Right now, the city is dead. The 1.3 million people of Greater New Orleans have left or are being evacuated and won't be back for months. Thousands of companies are now non-operational. This is such a social-economic disorder that can't be described because it has never happened. The people will move on. My guess since people can't live there for months, they will move to another city, get a job and start over. They'll only come back to N.O. to get their insurance check. What happens to the businesses? They have to go on right? And for the physical structures? It's my belief that most if not all will have to be leveled once the water is gone. Are they better off just leveling the city, filling it in with dirt and raising it above sea level so they can rebuild? So many questions and I can't figure out where to even go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crap Throwing Monkey Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 I don't know how to even phrase this question because of the shear magnitude, but here goes... What happens to New Orleans? Right now, the city is dead. The 1.3 million people of Greater New Orleans have left or are being evacuated and won't be back for months. Thousands of companies are now non-operational. This is such a social-economic disorder that can't be described because it has never happened. The people will move on. My guess since people can't live there for months, they will move to another city, get a job and start over. They'll only come back to N.O. to get their insurance check. What happens to the businesses? They have to go on right? And for the physical structures? It's my belief that most if not all will have to be leveled once the water is gone. Are they better off just leveling the city, filling it in with dirt and raising it above sea level so they can rebuild? So many questions and I can't figure out where to even go. 425921[/snapback] Wish I knew. I don't know that anyone knows, really. They have to pump out all the water before they can really begin to assess the damage. And clean out all the bodies. Even if the city's completely abandoned for all time (unlikely, I think), you still can't leave the corpses there to rot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reuben Gant Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 I don't know how to even phrase this question because of the shear magnitude, but here goes... What happens to New Orleans? Right now, the city is dead. The 1.3 million people of Greater New Orleans have left or are being evacuated and won't be back for months. Thousands of companies are now non-operational. This is such a social-economic disorder that can't be described because it has never happened. The people will move on. My guess since people can't live there for months, they will move to another city, get a job and start over. They'll only come back to N.O. to get their insurance check. What happens to the businesses? They have to go on right? And for the physical structures? It's my belief that most if not all will have to be leveled once the water is gone. Are they better off just leveling the city, filling it in with dirt and raising it above sea level so they can rebuild? So many questions and I can't figure out where to even go. 425921[/snapback] This is an environmental disaster. Sludge, debris, heavy metals, toxins, etc. are probably going to make the Love Canal clean-up look like a picnic in comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerjamhead Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 What happens to New Orleans? Undo the stupidity of giving Vieques back to Puerto Rico. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 This is an environmental disaster. Sludge, debris, heavy metals, toxins, etc. are probably going to make the Love Canal clean-up look like a picnic in comparison. 425939[/snapback] Why do people keep bringing up the toxins (chemical)? That is the least of the problems. MAY affect you in 20 years. Important thing is to get people on ground and feed them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crap Throwing Monkey Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 Why do people keep bringing up the toxins (chemical)? That is the least of the problems. MAY affect you in 20 years. Important thing is to get people on ground and feed them. 425981[/snapback] Some may affect you sooner, particularly if you're swimming in them. And it's going to make rebuilding (which is the topic of this thread) a nightmare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 The only historical comparison I can think of right now is Hurculaneum. I don't think the Romans rebuilt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 The only historical comparison I can think of right now is Hurculaneum. I don't think the Romans rebuilt it. 426237[/snapback] Then again, the Romans learned from their mistakes. Except for that last one where they didn't have anyone in Rome to fight off the invaders.... Next to how the Incas built Macchu Pichu and the Egyptian pyramids, they probably had the finest architectual people with vision, and the builders who could execute that vision, in the history of the world. Some of that stuff, we can't do or have a hard time doing now, even with all of our technology. Raising the city above sea level will take a hell of a lot of fill. It was built over marshes, which, I'm sorry, but you're just asking for trouble. I'd say the structures that are still standing will need to be leveled. And if it were up to me, if you really have to build N.O. again, you go inland and leave the part that is flooded as a marshy break zone like it was before. Since this is the politics forum, I hope this isn't too crass to be asking at the moment, but what are the political ramifications of this? With refugees moving from the city of N.O. to NC, Miss, Texas, etc, I would guess that Louisiana is now firmly a red state. It's a Democrat diaspora. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemur King Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 I don't know how to even phrase this question because of the shear magnitude, but here goes... What happens to New Orleans? Right now, the city is dead. The 1.3 million people of Greater New Orleans have left or are being evacuated and won't be back for months. Thousands of companies are now non-operational. This is such a social-economic disorder that can't be described because it has never happened. The people will move on. My guess since people can't live there for months, they will move to another city, get a job and start over. They'll only come back to N.O. to get their insurance check. What happens to the businesses? They have to go on right? And for the physical structures? It's my belief that most if not all will have to be leveled once the water is gone. Are they better off just leveling the city, filling it in with dirt and raising it above sea level so they can rebuild? So many questions and I can't figure out where to even go. 425921[/snapback] There's a lot of stuff here- I'll just pick out the civil engineering aspects. You can't raise the city of New Orleans above sea level. Jeezus Friggin Cripes. That would be a multi-trillion dollar project. Keep this in mind when you think of things like this: moving the earth is REALLY REALLY expensive. That's why roads are narrow little things and built only a little above their natural elevation. And I can't even imagine where you'd get a few trillion tons of backfill. So scratch that. Regarding the Love Canal Comment- you're right. Love Canal was a few square blocks. This is several areas of several square miles. My former environmental clean-up company is headed down there en masse, but no one on the planet has ever tried to do an environmental clean-up like this. Razing the blocks that are the worst is almost a given. Whether to rebuild- who knows? Those hundreds of thousands of people? They can't just "go get jobs other places." This is an unprecedented job loss spike. Our economy can't just easily absorb those folks who want to work. And what about the hundreds of thousands of poor people who had nothing and still ahve nothing? Where are they going to go? What city wants a hundred thousand people displaced from the ghetto? What's about to happen: big recession. This jolt makes 9-11 look like a fuggin kid's game. On 9-11, the US lost a building and some confidence. Last weekend, we lost one of the biggest US cities and several key ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTS Posted September 2, 2005 Author Share Posted September 2, 2005 There's a lot of stuff here- I'll just pick out the civil engineering aspects. You can't raise the city of New Orleans above sea level. Jeezus Friggin Cripes. That would be a multi-trillion dollar project. Keep this in mind when you think of things like this: moving the earth is REALLY REALLY expensive. That's why roads are narrow little things and built only a little above their natural elevation. And I can't even imagine where you'd get a few trillion tons of backfill. So scratch that.426321[/snapback] So how did Boston do it 200+ years ago? Downtown Boston stands now where rivers and harbors were. They moved dirt in from the mountains in New England and filled it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gross Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 There's a lot of stuff here- I'll just pick out the civil engineering aspects. You can't raise the city of New Orleans above sea level. Jeezus Friggin Cripes. That would be a multi-trillion dollar project. Keep this in mind when you think of things like this: moving the earth is REALLY REALLY expensive. That's why roads are narrow little things and built only a little above their natural elevation. And I can't even imagine where you'd get a few trillion tons of backfill. So scratch that. 426321[/snapback] Do you mean they can't just put a big "Clean Fill Wanted" sign next to the entrances to the city? It certainly will be interesting to see what they try to do....port operations obviously need to be restored, but beyond that, what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 So how did Boston do it 200+ years ago? Downtown Boston stands now where rivers and harbors were. They moved dirt in from the mountains in New England and filled it up. 426647[/snapback] if a hurricane on the scale of Katrina hit Boston, they would be under water too. For all of Mankinds scientific achievements, our massive cities, sending a man to the Moon, and even HotPockets®, we still are at the mercy of the forces of nature Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 if a hurricane on the scale of Katrina hit Boston, they would be under water too. For all of Mankinds scientific achievements, our massive cities, sending a man to the Moon, and even HotPockets®, we still are at the mercy of the forces of nature 427019[/snapback] Most of the people in Boston act they are under water. Does that count for something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 Ted Kennedy is perfect for running Boston disaster plan if they get flooded. He has experience being underwater! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 Ted Kennedy is perfect for running Boston disaster plan if they get flooded. He has experience being underwater! 427544[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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