How do you rebuild New Orleans?

[Justin Turcotte]

Assuming we get the worst case scenario here: Is it worth the effort to rebuild sections of New Orleans that get sunk? The buildings will have water in them for weeks. Mold will be terrible, human waste, chemicals, and oil floating about, structural integrity in question. I understand the historical nature of the area but would it even be possible to preserve it and risk a future storm or should the city start over on higher ground, and effectively kill what crumbs will be left of the tourism industry? Either option will cost a tremendous amount of money. Tourism makes up a tremendous portion of the city economy. This area could be in for very hard times. NO without the French Quarter is like Vegas without casinos.

10PM CDT IR loop continues to show a storm heading perilously close to NO. A sad day that was advertised years in advance.

 

[Tim Vasquez]

If that happens I think the most likely scenario is them building up the city on millions of tons of sand. This very thing was done after Galveston was wiped out in 1900. Not sure what the groundwater/pollution impact would be though.

Tim

 

[Brandon Clement]

Worse case scenario would knock out all the bridges going into the city and it would be months before anybody could drive into or out of NO. Another thing is the draining system would be shot and under water. I don't know how they would be able to locate problem areas and fix them. In the mean time every afternoon thunderstorm that drops and inch or two of rain just adds to the problem. Mesquito's the diseases they cause would get out of control in a week or two. Insurance adjusters, Red Cross, Fema, etc. would have severe difficulties getting into the area to help people. The folks that evacuated will be homeless or staying in a hotels for months. There would be chemicals to clean, mud would be so thick that driving would be out of the question even after the water resides. The possibility of the Ms river re-routing itself is also there. You may laugh, but it is a real possibility. Buildings would be collapsed. I could go on and on. Worse case scenario I don't think it would be possible to rebuild and don't see to much of a point since most people would not want to move back and tourism would be gone for years. There are not any major corporations to help drive the rebuilding process. I just don't see how, but they built a major city in a swamp so I guess it could be done again.

 

[Eric Friedebach]

Follow the money. The “cashinosâ€￾ will rebuild.

I’ve been to NO a few times over the years. The whole place has a weird vibe that I cannot explain without going OT.

In this country we have a tendency to move forward in the face of adversity.

 

[Ben Cotton]

"How do you rebuild New Orleans?"

You don't.

 

[Bob Hall]

I have to agree with Ben on this one. I’m not sure that you do rebuild. I work in the call center business. We have been discussing staffing and disaster recovery planning with Federal officials for days.

Literally, New Orleans is completely lost. I am gravely concerned for those that chose to “hunker down.â€￾ I project the loss of life will exceed 20,000 souls.