---------------------
(from my housemate, who works for the WH military office. i'm using my fake account so he/she won't get in trouble for sharing this. trust me when i say, this is the straight dope and can be taken at its word.)
- approximately 8000 people have been evacuated from rooftops, levees, and other outdoor sites so far.
- between 12,000-15,000 still remain to be evac'd, not including Superdome and other refuge sites -- just the uncovered locations.
- many deaths predicted in the next two or three days from squalid conditions and no medical supplies among those still stranded.
- estimate between 500-1000 murders in the city since Tuesday.
- estimate an equal number of rapes.
- many of these are abduction-rape-murders of young children (NOLA has the highest per capita of convicted pedophiles in the US).
- big concerns about the number of dead families trapped in attics of submerged houses -- those who couldn't punch through the roof as waters rose.
- GW Bush is touring the sites today; huge military convoy will accompany.
- Cheney was supposed to be on a hunting trip in Canada (as mentioned on another thread) but he canceled and is back in DC "dealing with shit."
- 20,000 National Guard troops on their way into NOLA and surrounding areas today, many of them just returned from Iraq; charged with restoring order at all costs, then securing the area -- meaning EVERYONE MUST LEAVE.
here's where things get REALLY intense:
- NOLA has a vast level of contamination -- way beyond habitable conditions.
- these include: ruptured gas/oil pipelines, flooded refineries and oil-related industry, contaminated lake and Gulf of Mexico runoff, medical waste in flooded hospitals, floating gas from submerged vehicles and fill-up stations, noxious chemicals that don't mix well with water (e.g. ammonium nitrate, which is believed to have been in the railway cars that exploded this morning), and thousands of dead, floating bodies and animals.
- potential cleanup of these areas will be akin to the EPA's Superfund cleanup initiative [www.epa.gov] that has run since the 80s.
- in other words, the soil contamination is on par with a hazardous waste dumping site.
- this will require most buildings and infrastructure to be COMPLETELY razed and the demolition sites decontaminated, and THEN a second decon project will need to strip 3-5 feet of ground soil from the top surface before any rebuilding can occur. even buildings that are structurally sound will probably be demolitioned.
- given that the New Orleans basin is already 6 feet below sea level avg., there are questions about whether such a cleanup and rebuild is cost-efficient enough to warrant the federal government's involvement. discussions are being held about whether to fund any large-scale redevelopment directly, or let tax-subsidized organizations bid on contracts to do so.
once the greater New Orleans area is sealed, estimates are that real work on this decontamination won't really happen for 6-8 months in the more suburban areas, and 3-5 years within the city itself.
I think Javier has it right. I don't think there's been a natural disaster that has affected an urban area like this in some time. Northridge did a lot to LA but the city was up and functioning again with the year. For New Orleans, the challenge is going to be to arrive at an intelligent method of re-development. I think the city will rebuild- it just won't be the same city it once was. It is going to be on a massive scale and there will be some very interesting battles being waged between historical preservationists and "Blank slate" style developers. Lets hope the cities architectural herritage is saved and not over-run with mediocre, Fed-funded redevs.
you got it leander..all of us are here praying and wishing well in archinect (from many posts) regardless of race, religion or class. everybody is upset at this tragedy. one thing to cheer you up is,
that your family is intact.
katrina related
from another board:
---------------------
(from my housemate, who works for the WH military office. i'm using my fake account so he/she won't get in trouble for sharing this. trust me when i say, this is the straight dope and can be taken at its word.)
- approximately 8000 people have been evacuated from rooftops, levees, and other outdoor sites so far.
- between 12,000-15,000 still remain to be evac'd, not including Superdome and other refuge sites -- just the uncovered locations.
- many deaths predicted in the next two or three days from squalid conditions and no medical supplies among those still stranded.
- estimate between 500-1000 murders in the city since Tuesday.
- estimate an equal number of rapes.
- many of these are abduction-rape-murders of young children (NOLA has the highest per capita of convicted pedophiles in the US).
- big concerns about the number of dead families trapped in attics of submerged houses -- those who couldn't punch through the roof as waters rose.
- GW Bush is touring the sites today; huge military convoy will accompany.
- Cheney was supposed to be on a hunting trip in Canada (as mentioned on another thread) but he canceled and is back in DC "dealing with shit."
- 20,000 National Guard troops on their way into NOLA and surrounding areas today, many of them just returned from Iraq; charged with restoring order at all costs, then securing the area -- meaning EVERYONE MUST LEAVE.
here's where things get REALLY intense:
- NOLA has a vast level of contamination -- way beyond habitable conditions.
- these include: ruptured gas/oil pipelines, flooded refineries and oil-related industry, contaminated lake and Gulf of Mexico runoff, medical waste in flooded hospitals, floating gas from submerged vehicles and fill-up stations, noxious chemicals that don't mix well with water (e.g. ammonium nitrate, which is believed to have been in the railway cars that exploded this morning), and thousands of dead, floating bodies and animals.
- potential cleanup of these areas will be akin to the EPA's Superfund cleanup initiative [www.epa.gov] that has run since the 80s.
- in other words, the soil contamination is on par with a hazardous waste dumping site.
- this will require most buildings and infrastructure to be COMPLETELY razed and the demolition sites decontaminated, and THEN a second decon project will need to strip 3-5 feet of ground soil from the top surface before any rebuilding can occur. even buildings that are structurally sound will probably be demolitioned.
- given that the New Orleans basin is already 6 feet below sea level avg., there are questions about whether such a cleanup and rebuild is cost-efficient enough to warrant the federal government's involvement. discussions are being held about whether to fund any large-scale redevelopment directly, or let tax-subsidized organizations bid on contracts to do so.
once the greater New Orleans area is sealed, estimates are that real work on this decontamination won't really happen for 6-8 months in the more suburban areas, and 3-5 years within the city itself.
pompeii
I think Javier has it right. I don't think there's been a natural disaster that has affected an urban area like this in some time. Northridge did a lot to LA but the city was up and functioning again with the year. For New Orleans, the challenge is going to be to arrive at an intelligent method of re-development. I think the city will rebuild- it just won't be the same city it once was. It is going to be on a massive scale and there will be some very interesting battles being waged between historical preservationists and "Blank slate" style developers. Lets hope the cities architectural herritage is saved and not over-run with mediocre, Fed-funded redevs.
i am from mississippi. my family has nothing left. regardless of race, religion, class - pray for survival. i cannot stop crying. GOD HELP US ALL.
you got it leander..all of us are here praying and wishing well in archinect (from many posts) regardless of race, religion or class. everybody is upset at this tragedy. one thing to cheer you up is,
that your family is intact.
leander, nothing i have read re: katrina has touched me more than your post.
We may see a repeat of the "100 meter line" that was imposed in Tsunami-affected areas, where some areas are just off-limits for development.
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