Buying a home in New Orleans is dangerous business.

[Benjamin Strange]

This place is a mess. We've still got homes that haven't been touched since Katrina. The Road Home program is a disaster. People are still fighting insurance companies to get even a small amount. NOAH (New Orleans Affordable Homeownership Corp.) was just raided by the FBI under suspicions of serious corruption. House values (and rents) are still through the roof, even though we've got thousands of houses sitting on the market for over two years now.

And now this:

City Accidentally Demolishes Couple's New Home.

Wow... just wow. Reading the news in New Orleans everyday is becoming very bad for my mental health.

[Slapp Addict]

I hope things eventually get better down there. So sad.

[Gard]

...damn shame, just a damn shame.

I really miss pre-Katrina southern Louisiana/New Orleans, but it appears my "hometown" is no longer what it once was, and it will be a long long time before it ever is again.

[Chunk-O-Funk]

I think Katrina is the greatest example of us, the USA, not being the country we once was.

Finger pointing, corruption and people just taking advantage of a bad situation. Sad indeed.

City Accidentally Demolishes Couple's New Home.

Not sue how something like that could happen. It's ridicules.
Good luck to them getting anything back from the city.

[Benjamin Strange]

From where I see it, it's not going to get any better any time soon. Our so called leaders, from local to federal, are screwing us every way they can. Tearing down citizen's houses (and churches!) is just one of the many services they offer.

Interesting fact: if all the money that had been earmarked for citizen's recovery was actually given to the citizens themselves directly, each New Orleanian would have received a check for over $500,000. Instead, billion and billions and billions have been squandered - and we STILL have people without a place to live.

[wazzel]

Every thime I go back to visit family I am amased at how little has been done. It took my brother in law about 18 months to get back in to a house. I am so glad we left when we did and were able to sell out house.

[hbarcat]

Are they still planning to allow people to rebuild in the same neighborhoods that are ten feet below sea level or has someone with some sense started making decisions down there?

[fenderhutz]

Originally Posted by hbarcat

Are they still planning to allow people to rebuild in the same neighborhoods that are ten feet below sea level or has someone with some sense started making decisions down there?

+1

I know the place has history, but, it shouldn't have been there to begin with. I have said it before, make it like Venice, do it right. But don't build houses below sea level again and learn the lesson.

[Benjamin Strange]

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

+1

I know the place has history, but, it shouldn't have been there to begin with. I have said it before, make it like Venice, do it right. But don't build houses below sea level again and learn the lesson.

I guess we should just completely abandon California too then, huh? Those idiots have been building on one of the worlds biggest fault lines for years. Kansas should also be abandoned - tornadoes are just too risky. We should also evacuate any city anywhere close to the Mississippi, as it seems to flood a lot. Come to think of it, we should abandon New York city - those guys get attacked by terrorists all the time.

Come on, man. Really. There are risks no matter where you live - condemning an entire city just because something bad happens is completely ridiculous.

[fenderhutz]

Originally Posted by Benjamin Strange

I guess we should just completely abandon California too then, huh? Those idiots have been building on one of the worlds biggest fault lines for years. Kansas should also be abandoned - tornadoes are just too risky. We should also evacuate any city anywhere close to the Mississippi, as it seems to flood a lot. Come to think of it, we should abandon New York city - those guys get attacked by terrorists all the time.

Come on, man. Really. There are risks no matter where you live - condemning an entire city just because something bad happens is completely ridiculous.

Totally different. California might have earthquakes, Kansas might have tornados that happen time to time.

New Orleans is built below sea level. You can't live there without artificial means to keep water out. It's setting yourself up for disaster, again.

[hbarcat]

Everywhere that is built below sea level where hurricanes frequently come ashore WILL eventually flood. It's amazing to me that so many residents of New Orleans think that the newly rebuilt levies will be hurricane proof. BULL! They will fail the next time a category 5 hurricane hits and the entire city will be flooded again. And people will cry that the government didn't do enough to protect them and they will demand another 120 billion dollars to rebuild....again.



And just wait until the next big earthquake hits near St. Louis. Most of the city will fall down and catch on fire because none of the buildings are quake resistant and everyone will be surprised and then the finger pointing will begin.

[hbarcat]

Originally Posted by Benjamin Strange

I guess we should just completely abandon California too then, huh? Those idiots have been building on one of the worlds biggest fault lines for years. Kansas should also be abandoned - tornadoes are just too risky. We should also evacuate any city anywhere close to the Mississippi, as it seems to flood a lot. Come to think of it, we should abandon New York city - those guys get attacked by terrorists all the time.

An earthquake in California won't level the whole state. A tornado in the Midwest won't level a whole city. A terrorist attack in New York won't bring down every building. However, the next strong hurricane to hit New Orleans will flood almost the entire city.

But you're right that it's stupid to build homes on the Mississippi and expect that the levees will protect them. The next time they get flooded out they should be prevented from rebuilding there.

[NOLA Bass]

You guys have to understand that the catastrophic flooding was due to one main thing, and that is faultily designed and built levee systems that collapsed do the lack of engineering, common sense, solid construction, etc. People tend to think all the flooding was from the storm, when there was very little as the storm rolled through. Once the levees failed, different story. That levee system is designed and built by the federal govt. (army corps of engineers specifically).

[Benjamin Strange]

Originally Posted by NOLA Bass

You guys have to understand that the catastrophic flooding was due to one main thing, and that is faultily designed and built levee systems that collapsed do the lack of engineering, common sense, solid construction, etc. People tend to think all the flooding was from the storm, when there was very little as the storm rolled through. Once the levees failed, different story. That levee system is designed and built by the federal govt. (army corps of engineers specifically).

Agreed. The disaster that was Katrina was not a natural one - it was man made.

Not to get overly political, but there's a certain internationally known, super powerful politician on the federal level that said, "I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." Bull. EVERYBODY here always talked about the levees breaching, EVERY hurricane season. We all knew it was only a matter of time, yet nothing was done to fix the situation. Some don't seem to realize that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure - we're spending far more to rebuild New Orleans than we would have if we had just protected it in the first place.

And just you wait until a big quake hits San Francisco - it's going to make our disaster look like a walk in the park.

[NOLA Bass]

My above point was that alot of the flooding was not due to b/c things were built below sea level (this whole area is) but b/c of the levee issue, loss of coastal wetlands that need restoration, etc.

[hbarcat]

Wrong. There is no such thing as a fail-safe levee. No matter how well they're built. No matter how well they're maintained. No matter how much government money is shoveled into them. No matter how honest and efficient the local, state and federal governments. No matter whom the President of the United States happens to be. No matter what. If New Orleans is rebuilt as before, protected only by a system of levies, then it will flood again when a strong enough storm hits, exactly as it did in 2005.

[NOLA Bass]

Originally Posted by hbarcat

Wrong. There is no such thing as a fail-safe levee. No matter how well they're built. No matter how well they're maintained. No matter how much government money is shoveled into them. No matter how honest and efficient the local, state and federal governments. No matter whom the President of the United States happens to be. No matter what. If New Orleans is rebuilt as before, protected only by a system of levies, then it will flood again when a strong enough storm hits, exactly as it did in 2005.

Believe me I agree with you, there is no failsafe. I am disgusted that more thought hasn't gone into how and where to rebuild, but the problem is what plagues all politicians these days: no one wants to make the tough decisions (i.e. you can rebuild and you can't). Trust me, you'd have the same problem anywhere in the U.S., no politician is willing to risk alienating that many voters. It's sad really.

As far as levee construction, you are correct in that none are "flood proof" so to speak. However, look into this joke of a system the corps built for us. Compare it to what the Dutch built.

I guess my point was we get a little disgusted when someone like Ted Stevens (the now in big trouble Alaskan Senator) came down here and said "Why would you want to rebuild?". He is from Anchorage which sits on a major fault line and was completely destroyed by an earthquake about 100 years ago (forgive me if I'm off on the dates a bit there).

The bottom line is you can't abandon this area b/c if nothing else, the port and entrance to the Mississippi River are here. Look at the impact of the river being closed for a few days b/c of the oil spill a few weeks back from the barge accident.

[NOLA Bass]

hbarcat,

I'm sorry if I sound a bit defensive, but I know that we often feel like alot of folks "blame us" for Katrina yet no one blames the folks in Iowa (not should they). In fact, there are blowhards like Rush Limbaugh talking about how pathetic we are vs. the industrious people of Iowa in an attempt to somehow shift the blame for the horrid response by our federal govt. to the catastophy.

[hbarcat]

All very good points.

This is also a great opportunity because much of New Orleans is starting from scratch and with the right "vision" the city can be much greater than it once was (though smaller). But governments being what they are (city, state and federal) common sense will lose out and stupid decisions will be routine (as evidenced by the story in the original post)

[funkometer]

Funny you dont hear much on the news bout Nawlins anymore,considering how bad it is.