I'm Really Disappointed that I've not Heard Anything About Hurricane Katrina as We Approach the Anniversary!
You would think by now that somebody, somewhere would have put together a documentary or retrospective on the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. But no, so far, nothing, zip, nada.
Oh wait, I just realized I've been off in a parallel universe. In this universe, there are plenty of documentaries and retrospectives about Hurricane Katrina. In fact, I cannot tell you how pleased the good folks at The Weather Channel must be these days now that they have Hurricane/now TS Ernesto to distract them from the replay of Katrina. These people are having their own version of a "Weathergasm" in that they are in the middle of hurricane season and haven't had anything but last year's storms to harp about. Thank God for Ernesto to deliver them from that "storm video rerun" wasteland. It seems just about every weather person on a national platform is practically drooling over Ernesto. One person actually let it slip about how excited she was about Ernesto. The young woman on the Weather Channel was looking at the forecast path for the storm and how it was approaching the Caribbean Islands of Jamaica and Cuba and how "it was bad news for those who wanted the hurricane to strengthen" since the storm would lose strength over land. Who but a deranged weather person and perhaps a demented news director wants a hurricane to strengthen?
I watched a 60 Minutes piece tonight on New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin and how the recovery of the Big Easy is going. Having visited there and the Waveland, MS area back in April, it still brings tears to my eyes at what happened to those sections of the gulf coast. Everyone needs to travel to those areas and look around to see what the devastation looks like. The pictures you see on TV, in the newspapers and the internet don't do it justice. Seeing things first hand will humble you.
So far I've managed to avoid any of the "where are they now one year later" stories. I can tell you where they are. Not very far along from where they were not long after the storm hit.
Oh wait, I just realized I've been off in a parallel universe. In this universe, there are plenty of documentaries and retrospectives about Hurricane Katrina. In fact, I cannot tell you how pleased the good folks at The Weather Channel must be these days now that they have Hurricane/now TS Ernesto to distract them from the replay of Katrina. These people are having their own version of a "Weathergasm" in that they are in the middle of hurricane season and haven't had anything but last year's storms to harp about. Thank God for Ernesto to deliver them from that "storm video rerun" wasteland. It seems just about every weather person on a national platform is practically drooling over Ernesto. One person actually let it slip about how excited she was about Ernesto. The young woman on the Weather Channel was looking at the forecast path for the storm and how it was approaching the Caribbean Islands of Jamaica and Cuba and how "it was bad news for those who wanted the hurricane to strengthen" since the storm would lose strength over land. Who but a deranged weather person and perhaps a demented news director wants a hurricane to strengthen?
I watched a 60 Minutes piece tonight on New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin and how the recovery of the Big Easy is going. Having visited there and the Waveland, MS area back in April, it still brings tears to my eyes at what happened to those sections of the gulf coast. Everyone needs to travel to those areas and look around to see what the devastation looks like. The pictures you see on TV, in the newspapers and the internet don't do it justice. Seeing things first hand will humble you.
So far I've managed to avoid any of the "where are they now one year later" stories. I can tell you where they are. Not very far along from where they were not long after the storm hit.
posted by Joe Larkins at 5:03 PM
9 Comments:
Spike Lee made a documentary which is reportedly brilliant.
Gee Joe, is there anything out there you do like? That is, besides taking shots at the local TV industry that decided not to renew your contract or hire you once you non-compete clause was up?
There was a very good one on the Discovery Channel last night.
Joe,
I've been down on the coast and I have to say it didn't humble me. I did say to my wife, I'm glad I don't live on the ocean. If I did I promise you I would have the proper insurance and not expect the rest of the country to rebuild my home if I didn't. My point is, I do live in West Tn. on the fault line. Do I have earthquake insurance? YES!!! If I didn't would I expect the rest of the country to rebuild my house if there is an earthquake, NO!!!!.
Why do these people live on the coast and not have insurance that covers flood damage. I for one am tired of fixing the same houses over and over again with tax dollars. I don't have my coffee in the morning while sitting on the deck and looking at the ocean. If you need to do that, TAKE OUT THE PROPER INSURANCE.
Your neighbor at State Farm. (just kidding)
The reality of the Katrina episode is that we are not ready for a disaster of any sort.
I was amazed at Volunteer State College in Gallatin TN during their tornado last spring semester.
The administration there had drills, rehersal, team captains, and preparation plans prior to the tornado.
Well it worked! No deaths and no major injury (outside of hear attack or anxiety.
The question is, are we ready for another disaster. I would guess, we are even less ready.
There was a very powerful, 4 hour, Spike Lee documentary on HBO last week. "When the Levees Broke". You can watch it on HBO-on-Demand starting Wednesday.
Hi Joe,
Just a note for your poster who talked about people on the coast not having insurance. Some things to consider...
1) Hundreds of people in Mississippi who flooded from storm surge lived outside of the FEMA flood zone, so they were not required to have flood insurance... and many of those areas were very far inland and had never flooded before... and had never seen that kind of storm surge, even during Hurricane Camille in the 60's, which everyone used as the benchmark for hurricanes...until Katrina.
2) The percentage of people in New Orleans who had flood insurance is actually much higher than most people think,,,but flood insurance only covers up to a certain amount ...that left a lot of people holding the bag if there damage was higher than the flood insurance limit. To not offer some assistance to bridge that "insurance gap" would leave tens of thousands of families with no financial means to repair their homes...think about if you could dig into your own pockets for $40-or$50-thousand dollars to fix your house...
3) New Orleans is protected by a levee system designed and built by the federal government, which took over that responsibility back in the 1930's. Most of the experts now agree that poor engineering designs lead to the failures that flooded New Orleans...if the levees had stood up as they were supposed to, then most of the New Orleans would have been just fine.
My wife is from Memphis, and I have told all of our friends up there that Katrina should be a wake-up call for everyone in the Memphis region. If the New Madrid fault ever cuts loose, you may see the same kind of wide-spread destruction that we saw down here....and even having earthquake insurance won't prepare you for what it's like to live in a disaster zone.
I know it sounds crazy, but take some time Tuesday and make your own disaster plan...do you have enough food and water in your home to last 5-7 days? ( that's how long it took outside help to reach us)...do you have food that doesn;t need to be cooked?...Do you have a generator at your house?...if not, how do you plan to live without electricity for several weeks?...trust me, it's tougher than it sounds...no way to keep food cold, no lights after your batteries run out, etc...Consider what you would do if you suddenly lost all communication...no phone or cell phones...what if your wife is across town shopping and your kids are at school, and you can;t reach them because the streets are blocked?...does your family have a designated meeting point out of Memphis to gather if you get seperated? It happened to thousands of families down here...they were scattered to the winds...and even when they got out of New Orleans their cell phone wouldn;t work because they had local numbers...and it took weeks for many families to gather back together because they couldn;t find each other.
And as for the poster's comments about the rest the country paying to rebuild New Orleans...please keep in mind the economic importance of the entire Gulf region...it's the home base for the largest part of nation's domestic oil and gas supply...and New Orleans ( if memory serves me correctly) is the second biggest port in the nation...without it, thousand of farmers in the midwest who ship their grain through New Orleans to overseas customers would lose their market for their product.
But mostly...it's important to help folks down here because that's what Americans do...we help our neighbors when they are in need.
Mike Ross
Reporter
WWL TV, New Orleans
hey mike ross..since you said new orleans is "the home base for the largest part of nation's domestic oil and gas supply," then why doesn't big oil let loose of some of the record setting profits to help re-build NO?
Another comment on insurance..
A friend of mine has earthquake insurance; his deductible is $17,000.00! Yep, a 17 grand DEDUCTIBLE for earthquake insurance; not that he would be left to pay it....
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