New Orleans Weighs Evacuation Plans

[snopes]

With hurricane season less than two months away and memories of Katrina less than two years old, city leaders are still trying to sort out how they will evacuate residents this year if another storm approaches.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...ION?SITE=FLTAM

[hambubba]

Interesting.

I see they are planning to plan but have no plan.

All is well.

[llewtrah]

Originally Posted by hambubba

Interesting.

I see they are planning to plan but have no plan.

All is well.

I'm sure we will see something on The Onion soon

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

That link crashes every time I try to open it on any computer. If anyone else is having trouble, try this source.

No shelters in the city?

That's the stupiest thing I've ever heard. Are they seriously considering trying to move 20k+ people to Baton Rouge every time a storm threatens? Even a little Cat1? That's just...mind boggling.

If they had had adequate shelters in the first place, the post-Katrina mess wouldn't have been nearly as big of a deal. And now, for fear of the mess that not having shelters made, they have decided not to have shelters.

Instead they are going to try some miraculous feat of public transportation the likes of which has never been seen before.

I can't decide whether these people are pathologically stupid or pathologically incompetent.

[Astra]

Before Katrina, the city wasn't going to have shelters either. They thought having shelters would encourage people to stay. Then enough stayed that it was obvious shelters were needed, so the "shelters of last resort" popped up and the people made the convention center into a makeshift shelter.

This "plan" really doesn't sound like it's accomplishing much.

[Lainie]

Originally Posted by Kutter

I can't decide whether these people are pathologically stupid or pathologically incompetent.

It's my understanding that neither New Orleans nor Louisana has a particularly impressive record of honest and/or competent government.

If I'm mistaken, I hope any area snopesters will correct me.

Originally Posted by Kutter

No shelters in the city?

The problem is much of the city (as seen on TV) is below sea level. Unless they want to put shelters on very tall stilts (how much fun that would be in hurricane force winds), the only solution is to get the people out of N.O.

[snapdragonfly]

Originally Posted by Lainie

It's my understanding that neither New Orleans nor Louisana has a particularly impressive record of honest and/or competent government.

If I'm mistaken, I hope any area snopesters will correct me.

I live next door to Louisiana and it's rather well known for corruption.

My husband's company is trying to do some construction there - you would not BELIEVE the stories concerning the beaurocracy. It beats all.

[Lainie]

IIRC, investigations into why the levees collapsed revealed shoddy construction that was probably due to corruption.

Originally Posted by Doug4.7

The problem is much of the city (as seen on TV) is below sea level. Unless they want to put shelters on very tall stilts (how much fun that would be in hurricane force winds), the only solution is to get the people out of N.O.

It's not a solution at all.

Not only will it not work on a logistical level, it is going to lead to a scene just as ugly as post-Katrina as 20k storm panicked people vie for space on the next vehicle out. Think of the worst general admission concert you've ever been too, then add a combine slowly approaching the rear of the crowd. That's what it is going to be like.

Now imagine the storm hits Mobile. 'Cause that's what's probably going to happen the first time. And there probably won't be a second time.

As for the shelters, you don't have to have stilts. Just put the shelters in interior rooms on the second floor of sturdy buildings.

Shelters are not optional. You have to have them.

I don't think all the shelters in the world would do any good unless there's common sense involved from the start - and there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of that in this state...