New Orleans???????

[H2Andy]

if you only built where it was safe to do so, you'd only build...

well... all of Earth is an asteroid impact zone waiting to happen...

pretty much nowhere... if it's not tornadoes, it's earthquaes, volcanoes, tsunamis,
hurricanes, incoming asteroids, plague, pestilence, and the Rolling Stones new tour


"safety is an acceptable level of risk"

 

[Wildcard]

There are "safe" spots and there are suicide spots.

 

[MikeC]

Build it back, its my hometown and I love visiting and working there. Its a home to alot of people, not simply because their houses were there, but because of the atmosphere - you can't find New Orleans anywhere else in the world.

Part of the "atmosphere" was due to the 300-325 or so years of history there. Basically THAT is gone. Face it, those structures are dead. Few buildings, those who are the atmosphere, will survive.

What will be there whenever, 3-5 years? 10-20 years? Will not be the same even if some tries to build a clone city.

Another question is, who will return to live there?

I do wish I had been able to visit that place before.

 

[H2Andy]

There are "safe" spots and there are suicide spots.

about the only suicide spot i can think of is in the caldera of an active
volcano

everything else is a gamble

 

[H2Andy]

Part of the "atmosphere" was due to the 300-325 or so years of history there. Basically THAT is gone. Face it, those structures are dead. Few buildings, those who are the atmosphere, will survive.

nah... have some hope... the French Quarter is one of the highest places
in New Orleans... those buildings have suffered minimal damage. they'll be
repaired and ready to go soon enough

as for the Garden District, i'm not too sure how much damage there's been,
so you could be right there

 

[wetrat]

I think there is a lot to be learned from Katrina. Living in So Cal, I have been told over and over if there were to be a major earthquake, it could take at least three days for rescuers to get to me. Have I stored any fresh water or food rations? Do I have a portable stove or portable toilet? Extra blankets or even a first aid kit? No, no and no. Although my heart goes out to those who have had to go without food and water, I'm pretty sure they were just like me - "Oh, I need to get around to doing that."

Also, have to agree that rebuilding below sea level in a major hurricane corridor is NOT a good idea, but I expect it will be done. Perhaps engineering and technology will have improved enough we can avoid another epic disaster like Katrina.

wetrat

 

[Wildcard]

WOW! I hope this a lesson to some folks. Stuck here in Hawaii I feel traped. Im in a frantic search to get a gun. I have a few gallons of gas and camping gear but thats it. Home in Alaska I have hundreds of gallons of fuel, tools, food, water and the means to defend it and get what I need.
Come on people, be boy scouts here huh? If you can't take care of your self for even a few days then we are the weakest nation on earth.

 

[Kim]

about the only suicide spot i can think of is in the caldera of an active
volcano

everything else is a gamble

Wow Andy....and I thought you generally were good with your facts!!!!!

I just came back from a sightseeing trip with my brother who was visiting Japan. We went to visit the most active volcano in the world (more than 165 eruptions since 553AD) - Mt Aso on Kyushu island in Japan. It also has the largest caldera in the world (about 18 miles diameter).......there are three towns built within it. It was a bit of an anticlimax as we couldn't actually go up to the crater because the wind direction was blowing the constant SO2 emissions the wrong way - actually quite unusual.
In the case of a catastrophic eruption that blew the entire caldera plug it would probably destroy the entire island of Kyushu.......but there are also many people who think that all of Japan could just disappear into the Japanese Trench one day.

This is gambling.

Living beneath sea level in a region that will most certainly receive hurricanes every year for certain....with a strong indication that the severity of them will continue to increase due to climate change is also gambling. Living virtually or factually on the beach in such a place..............

In my mind though it's the difference between playing red on a roulette table........or Russian roulette with 5 chambers loaded.

 

[Charlie99]

I certainly never plan to build on a floodplain, barrier island, or good lord, below sea level. Ugh.

I have a house built 25' from the ocean's edge, on 12' stilts to get the floor level up to 18' msl. The 1938 hurricane had a 22' storm surge in this area. During hurricane Bob in '91 there was surf rolling beneath the house and hitting the houses across the street.

Am I an idiot?

Perhaps, but I look at it as more like a gamble. Everyday, I gamble by doing things like going for a ride in a car. Like with my beach house, I just look at the odds, look at the risk/reward, and make a choice.

Every location has its problems. My Silicon Valley home isn't likely to have a flood problem, since it's over 1,000' elevation, but OTOH, it's about 6 miles from the San Andreas fault and the Loma Prieta earthquake epicenter. (It did survive the '89 quake with just a couple minor bits of damage).

-------------

I believe people should, in most cases, make their own decisions on what risks they accept. I do take exception to the taxpayers repeatedly paying to rebuild houses in the same flood zone --- this is effectively what the Federal Flood insurance program has led to.

 

[Wildcard]

Why should taxpayers be held responsable for people that build on the coast, flood plains, hill sides or other places that WILL fail? And yes, taxpayers are the ones paying for your subsidised insurance.