Iowa V New Orleans
Member
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 94
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From: Iowa
I couldnt help but think as I watched the news last night that Iowa is a example if what New Orleans could have done. I see no reports or lootings, gun shots or theft but I do see the community pulling together to save property and assemble sand dams. Everyone along the upper Mississippi has pulled together and worked with the govt instead of blaming them for all these problems. 
to everyone pulling the weight and making it happen rather than sitting back, complaining and waiting for the govt to come in and hand you everything on a silver platter
to everyone pulling the weight and making it happen rather than sitting back, complaining and waiting for the govt to come in and hand you everything on a silver platter
Member
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 94
Likes: 0
From: Iowa
I work in a building that is about 3 blocks from a levy. I was really happy the levy held. I could not help thinking about New Orleans that is built below sea level. I have to say that isn't some place I want to live. It just doesn't make sense to me, but many thing don't.
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 752
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From: North of Dallas, South of Frisco
Everyone has no idea about what really happened. For one Katrina was still a level 3 hurricane until it got really, really, really close to landfall. As far as I and just about anyone else back home is concerned; a level 3 is just a chance for a party.
By the time, they made the mandatory evacuation announcement, it was already too late. A 3 1/2 hour ride north took me somewhere around 11-12 hours to make it back up to north Louisiana where my grandparents live.
A lot of people stayed to prevent the looters from taking anything not damaged after the storm. They are the ones being rescued from the roofs of their houses.
The "9th" ward is pretty much the ghetto of N.O! Most of those people don't have anything and never had anything. Those are the ones that are on welfare without transportation.
They are also the ones that why others were breaking in to businesses stealing food and fresh water to drink, they were taking the tvs, clothes, shoes, etc...
Comparing the flooding that is happening in Iowa and what happened with Katrina is like comparing apples and oranges.
By the time, they made the mandatory evacuation announcement, it was already too late. A 3 1/2 hour ride north took me somewhere around 11-12 hours to make it back up to north Louisiana where my grandparents live.
A lot of people stayed to prevent the looters from taking anything not damaged after the storm. They are the ones being rescued from the roofs of their houses.
The "9th" ward is pretty much the ghetto of N.O! Most of those people don't have anything and never had anything. Those are the ones that are on welfare without transportation.
They are also the ones that why others were breaking in to businesses stealing food and fresh water to drink, they were taking the tvs, clothes, shoes, etc...
Comparing the flooding that is happening in Iowa and what happened with Katrina is like comparing apples and oranges.
The scope and scale of Katrina (440 miles wide) and what really happened is very different than the thunderstorms that have dumped on the north.
Imagine surviving a storm like Katrina, thinking the worse was over (not knowing the bridges were down), and the city didn't tak a direct hit- so it seemed NOLA had dodged a bullet. Then have the levee break on the north side of the city (A place where it was not expected as much) and flood 80% of a major city trapping all those who decided to ride it out. Imagine being trapped between Lake Ponchartrain and the Mississippi River.
Without a boat, you were F _ C _ ED, with no where to go, or run.
While there is no excuse for those that were stealing TV's & crap. The scale of what is happening u north is far from the devastation Katrina put on the Gulf Coast, not to mention additional flooding from Rita a week or so later. It's still a grand mess up there, and I applaud them for handling it so well.
Last edited by Bighersh; Jun 21, 2008 at 12:30 AM.