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Originally Posted by spunkmaster
1. It's been known for decades that the New Orleans levees could only survive a catagory 3 hurricane. What did previous Democrat administrations (and and the democrat- controlled Congress) do about it in those decades?
2. Weather experts have been saying since 1996/1997 (during the Clinton Administration) that the North Atlantic/Caribbean has entered a much more active phase (which occurs naturally in cycles, and is expected to last decades)and much more violent hurricanes were predicted throughout the region. Why wasn't it done then. And don't try to tell me that Clinton was proccupied with attacks from the vast right wing conspiricy. GWB has been dealing with attacks from the much-more-evident vast left wing conspiricy since BEFORE DAY ONE.
3. Knowing all this, why did the state and city not do anything?
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Let's see Scientists have known for a long time...
That a direct hit from a category 5 hurricane would destroy pretty much every city in the US.
That a 8.0 earthquake would decimate pretty much any city in the US.
A mega-tsunami could wipe out the entire east or west coast.
A nuclear bomb detonation wouldn't go over too well.
Volcanos exploding are bad.
etc. etc. etc.
You can't protect against every potential disaster. They're going to happen no matter what. In hindsight focusing money on New Orleans levees would have been a great use of it. But here's what happens. A disaster happens, everyone says we were ill prepared, and then they spend a bunch of money towards preventing it, cutting the budget from other things.
So for example.
The original money for category 5 proofing NO was directed towards early warning tsunami systems after Thailand. Tsunami money before then had been cut to 757-proof highrise buildings. 757 money had previously been diverted towards "trucks full of fertilizer" proofing skyscrapers. Anti-Bomb truck money was diverted towards earthquake proofing double decker freeways, and so on and so on.
The big reaction for NO is going to be tons of money diverted to the levee system which will result in the budget for other projects to be dropped. In 3 years we'll be bitching about the budget cut for something else.
Disasters are going to happen and you can't stop all of them.