I think they’re letting the wrong place flood.
A steel, 10-ton floodgate was slowly raised Saturday for the first time in nearly four decades, unleashing a torrent of water from the Mississippi River, away from heavily populated areas downstream.
The water spit out slowly at first, then began gushing like a waterfall as it headed to swamp as much as 3,000 square miles of Cajun countryside known for small farms and fish camps. Some places could wind up under as much as 25 feet of water.
I’m sure the people that will be under water are very impressed with all that flood control work. All those billions of dollars wasted trying to control a river that can not be controlled. Sooner or later it’s going to move and nothing will stop it.
Anyone that thinks the Mississippi can be tamed is a fool.
After they re-elected Ray Nagin, I lost all sympathy. Let it burn down, wash away, or dry up and blow away for all I care. Although I must say that the Corps of Engineers did pay for the privilege of flooding farmland and such in case of emergency when the levies were built. Those who bought and built on land that’s part of a flood control plan had to have known that their land lay in the area the Corps planned to flood.
One thing’s for sure: the people in the Atchafalya basin won’t succumb to the disaster. They’ll rebuild and flourish; unlike many in New Orleans.
Personally, I don’t think I could stand another constant media bombardment about the “unfortunate” people in New Orleans. I had my own problems from Rita and Ike. Not only me, but millions – and not one of us lived in New Orleans. Other than a few bylines on the Weather Channel, our efforts were mostly ignored, so I have little sympathy any longer.