SaveBigEasy Blog - Upgrade New Orleans Levees

Hurricane Predictions for 2007

2007-04-09T00:58:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately, top hurricane forecasters are predicting a large amount of hurricane during the upcoming season after a very calm 2006 season. For the period from June 1-November 30 2007, Colorado State University forecaster William Gray predicted that there will be seventeen tropical storms, nine hurricanes, and five Category 3 or higher hurricanes. Gray is a closely followed hurricane expert, and his predictions were mirrored by the respected London-based forecaster Tropical Storm Risk. Gray also forecast a 74% chance that a major hurricane will hit the United States, which is much higher than the 20th century risk of 52%.

It is important to note that Gray also predicted an active hurricane season last year but his predictions were incorrect. He attributed his inaccuracy to the presence of El Nino conditions in the Pacific Ocean that have now disappeared.

I hope that he is wrong again, but I hope even more fervently that the federal, state, and city governments have prepared as best as they can and have improved their emergency procedures since Katrina and Rita hit in 2005.

New Orleans Levees Petition

2007-03-18T02:54:00.000-04:00

It is definitely time for the Corps of Engineers and the Federal Government to stop messing around in New Orleans. The Corps' latest gaffe came recently with the revelation by the Associated Press that the Corps installed 34 defective pumps at three critical drainage canals before the onset the 2006 hurricane season. The defective pumps, which experienced problems like broken hoses and engine overheating, were installed just as the government was telling New Orleanians that it was safe to return to the city. The kicker to the whole sordid story, aside from the former business partnership between Jeb Bush and the pump company's owner, is that an engineer in the Corps voiced the reservations she had about the new pumps in a 2006 memo. Lt. General Carl Strock told the Senate that he never saw the memo.

First of all, I agree with http://www.levees.org that it is high time for an unbiased investigation into the levee failures after Katrina and the subsequent failures to repair the New Orleans levees. It is high time that the New Orleans levees be strengthened so that they can actually protect the city. Almost two years after the storm, the federal government continues to play games with funding repairs and upgrades to the New Orleans levees while the state and city governments are still trying to invigorate recovery programs. In spite of the recent pumps report, federal Gulf Coast hurricane recovery czar Donald Powell claims that the city's hurricane protection system is, "better than it has ever been." I hope that he was just trying to instill a false sense of security in New Orleanians like last year and that he does not actually believe that New Orleans is ready for a major hurricane.

The time to take action on the New Orleans levees is coming in 2008. Not too long ago, Senator Barack Obama led a Congressional delegation down to New Orleans to hold hearings about the recovery while former Senator John Edwards launched his Presidential campaign from the 9th Ward. The nearly 18,000 people who signed this petition are a powerful statement that Americans want to build a Category 5 hurricane and flood protection system for New Orleans and that such a system must be on the front burner for the next President of the United States.

Time Running Out for New Orleans Residents?

2007-02-10T00:40:00.000-05:00

I recently came across a very troubling article from the Associated Press titled "New Orleans Residents Bailing Out". The article discusses a survey conducted by University of New Orleans political scientist Susan Howell. Howell found that 32% of the New Orleans residents polled are considering leaving the city within two years. Howell summed up the feelings of many New Orleanians perfectly when she said that, "People are in a state of limbo. They're asking, `Is it worth it for me to stay? Is it worth it to invest?' If you don't feel safe, from crime or the levees, and you see destruction every day when you drive, it becomes discouraging."

The article also mentions that figures from three of the country's largest moving companies show that more people left the New Orleans area moved in last year.

It is clear that if the federal government does not take significant action to strengthen the levees, and the state and local governments do not get their acts together with programs such as Road Home, then New Orleans' recovery will be seriously jeopardized. Who is going to start a family in a place where bickering between state and city officials has precluded distributing half of the$750 million in federal money allocated for badly needed infrastructure projects? What business is going to invest in a city that has, at best, hurricane defenses that leave it as vulnerable to hurricanes and floods as its predecessors that failed during Hurricane Katrina?

The Democratic Congress needs to keep its promise that New Orleans will be a "front-burner" issue and finance the construction of a Category 5 hurricane and flood protection system. At the same time, the state and city governments need to implement the bureaucratic changes that will give Congress the confidence it needs to allocate the large sums of money that are needed for such a project.

New Candidates, Same Questions

2007-01-22T14:56:00.000-05:00

First, I would like to applaud the incredible season that the New Orleans Saints had. Their grit and determination on the field reflects the city that they represent.

Secondly, this past week saw Illinois Senator Barack Obama and New York Senator Hillary Clinton officially enter the race for the Democratic nomination for President in 2008. They are two distinguished figures with enormous clout on the national stage. Right now, their rhetoric is focused on Iraq, but the Gulf Coast's problems need to be addressed as well. I have contacted Sen Clinton's and Obama's offices and am waiting on responses as to what their positions are regarding a Category 5 levee system for New Orleans. New Orleans and the Gulf Coast must remain on the agenda for policymakers in Washington, and we must work to keep them there.

Latest New Orleans Population Figures

2006-10-06T13:12:00.000-04:00

A new survey conducted by the Louisiana Public Health Institute announced that 187,525 people currently live in New Orleans. That is 41% shy of the the city's pre-Katrina population of 454,000 people. The survey was done for the Louisiana Recovery Authority and involved survey takers going door to door in neighbrohoods throughout the city. Louisiana Recovery Authority spokeswoman Natalie Wyeth stated that the results are "the definitive, most precise set of numbers we've seen." The population figure greatly differs with Mayor Ray Nagin's estimate. He has concluded that the city will have 300,000 people by year's end.

The figure is significantly less than the pre-Katrina population of the city. It is an indication that New Orleanians scattered throughout the country do not believe that the quality of life situation in the city merits a return. Moreover, the neighborhoods in which the 187,525 people reside is significant for the determination of where and what to rebuild in New Orleans. It will determine where to build new homes, schools, hospitals, etc. Next session, Congress must immediately take up greater hurricane and flood protection because with every day that passes with no action New Orleans' future is thrown deeper into doubt.

New Orleans, One Year Later

2006-08-30T13:52:00.000-04:00

It has officially been one year since Hurricane Katrina made landfall just east of New Orleans. One year ago, 1,800 people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands were displaced due to the storm's intensity, the failure of the city's flood defenses, and the government's bungled response.
After the storm, we saw incompetence and compassion, frustration and determination, in New Orleans. To date about 250,000 New Orleanians have returned home and billions of dollars have been channeled into the city and the Gulf Coast for relief and recovery. Volunteers have poured into the city to help the beleagured residents rebuild. Many Americans have contributed some form of aid to New Orleans.

However, New Orleans faces many urgent challenges that must be tackled immediately and effectively if the city is to truly recover. The city's hurricane and flood defenses must be strengthened to the point where they can repulse Category 5 hurricanes and the flooding that can accompany them. It is crucial for long-term investment and settlement in the city. That new system must incorporate restored wetlands that will provide a buffer during future hurricanes. Furthermore, violent crime must be ended. The gruesome headlines of murder after murder in New Orleans are hurting the city's image at a time when the city is carefully trying to craft an optimistic image. The NOPD must be given the resources it needs, and the direction from capable officials at the top, to end the violent crime. In addition, New Orleans needs to shore up its school system to attract young families. Finally, the state of Louisiana needs to get its fair share of offshore energy royalties that are currently kept by the federal government. This money would do wonders for New Orleans.

A lot of people are not optimistic when assessing New Orleans' chances at fully recovering and regaining its former glory. Many say that not enough is being done. The damage from Katrina is still visible; some places have still not been cleaned up. The city is still underpopulated. While more certainly needs be done, I believe that the city will ultimately come back stronger. New Orleanians are determined to bring their city back, and the American people do not want to see New Orleans fail. One year later, the recovery has been set in motion but there is still much work to be done in the Big Easy.

Spike Lee and "When the Levees Broke"

2006-08-25T14:06:00.000-04:00

While watching Spike Lee's documentary "When the Levees Broke" several thoughts came to mind. He did an excellent job in showing the destruction, both the physical and the emotional, of New Orleans. His questions during interviews with notable figures in the tragedy were dead on and brought out interesting and differing perspectives on the storm and its aftermath. The importance of drawing the distinction between when the storm's damage ended and when the man-made damage caused by the failure of the city's defenses and the federal government's response began cannot be underestimated.

However, all those things being said, I strongly disagree with the notion that the levees were "blown up" by the federal government. It was raised in the documentary and the fact that it has some proponents baffles me. I understand why the African-American community would distrust the federal government after so many years of injustice, but the claim that explosives were set to breach the levees so that African Americans would be flooded out is simply ridiculous. It would be impossible to flood just the predominantly black Lower Ninth Ward without also flooding predominantly white Chalmette and other areas of St. Bernard Parish. After any major tragedy, conspiracy theories always abound in an attempt to explain how something so tragic could have had happened.

This documentary is important in telling the world what happened in New Orleans on August 29, 2006 and in the days and weeks afterward. However, we must continue to look forward to the day when New Orleans will be rebuilt with strengthened hurricane and flood defenses.

Results of Meetings on Future Bill with Members of the Louisiana Congressional Delegation

2006-08-07T14:14:00.000-04:00

I just returned home from my meetings in New Orleans with members of U.S. Senator David Vitter's staff and Congressman Bobby Jindal's staff. Both meetings were productive and went very well. We discussed SaveBigEasy.org's ideas for a bill in Congress in regards to the creation of a comprehensive Category 5 hurricane and flood protection system as well as a board that would oversee its construction.

Currently, the delegation is focused squarely on two bills that would give the state of Louisiana a percentage of all offshore energy royalties gained from oil drilling near its coast. If passed, the measures would provide the state with a large, annual sum of money. These bills have worked their way to a conference committee between the House of Representatives and the Senate. After those two bills are merged into one and its fate is determined, we will have further discussions about the proposal of a Category 5 hurricane and flood protection bill. In the meantime, SaveBigEasy.org will continue to work on behalf of New Orleans for upgraded hurricane protection to strengthen itself for the future.

Overall, the meetings were successful in that we were able to make new connections and gauge the position of some of Louisiana's representatives in Congress. In addition, SaveBigEasy.org received support for its goals and its work.

Giant Leap Forward for SaveBigEasy.org!!!

2006-07-01T13:33:00.000-04:00

A big step toward protecting New Orleans from future hurricanes has occurred. I will be traveling to New Orleans for meetings with Congressman Bobby Jindal (R-LA) and a high-ranking member of U.S. Senator David Vitter's (R-LA) staff. We will be discussing what a potential bill in Congress will look like, a timetable for its proposal, and a strategy to ensure its success.

With the start of hurricane season and the approaching midterm elections in Congress, now is the time to make the case for New Orleans in front of the nation. Now more than ever, we need you to spread the word about SaveBigEasy.org's petition and the need for Category 5 hurricane protection and more effective flood protections.

-Dan Hyman

The National Guard Returns

2006-06-21T00:49:00.000-04:00

The National Guard returned to New Orleans today in an effort to help the beleaguered police force. The deployment follows the tragic murders of five teenagers in an apparently drug or revenge motivated dispute. Mayor Ray Nagin and City Council President Oliver Thomas supported the move. Thomas, speaking on "The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch" said that security is the most important thing for the city right now. "Without safety, no one is going to come back," he said.

One hundred Guardsmen arrived in the city, and an additional two hundred will arrive later to patrol neighborhoods that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina. This will free up the NOPD to patrol more populated areas of the city. Many citizens applauded the move, and rightfully so. New Orleans cannot tolerate a rise in crime that would be disastrous for the recovery effort. Most of these Guardsmen were stationed in the city after Katrina, and their presence will be a security blanket both for current residents and those planning on returning or visiting New Orleans.

Check out the St. Charles Avenue Magazine

2006-06-12T19:27:00.000-04:00

The June issue of the St. Charles Avenue Magazine ran a great cover story about SaveBigEasy.org and the efforts of other groups to help New Orleans. The magazine's website is www.saintcharlesavenue.com.

The cover can be seen here:
coverAVE0606.jpg

Hurricane Predictions Are Out

2006-05-28T15:03:00.000-04:00

It may be another tough hurricane season for residents of the Gulf Coast, particularly New Orleans. The National Hurricane Center said that there could be as many as 16 named storms this season, with up to six major hurricanes. A major hurricane is one that is Category 3 or higher. New Orleans is the city predicted to be the most at risk this season as well, in part due to the weakness of the levees and in part due to the predicted paths of the storms. The predictions came as an independent report criticized agencies responsible for the levees at all levels, saying that they have been poorly funded and improperly maintained.

On the positive side, 2006 should not be as destructive as last season's record year. Last year saw 28 named storms, 15 of which were hurricanes, seven of them Category 3 or higher. FEMA is not taking any chances though, with new director David Paulison saying that some Gulf Coast families living in FEMA trailers will have to evacuate if winds reach 39 mph.

New Orleans must brace for this hurricane season and do the best it can to make it through. Any action now on significantly upgrading the levees is not likely to do much good. However, after this season, a major program of strengthening and upgrading the levees must be undertaken to restore public faith in the viability of New Orleans as a place to live and work.

Nagin's Victory

2006-05-21T18:55:00.000-04:00

In last night's runoff election for mayor, Ray Nagin defeated Mitch Landrieu by winning approximately 52% of the vote compared with Landrieu's 47%. Voter turnout was about 38%. Mayor Nagin has convinced the people of New Orleans that he is the right man to lead this city out of the depths of destruction toward a better, hopeful future. After a contentious election, he must rally all New Orleanians to unite and rebuild together. Secondly, he must do all that he can to develop and effective plan for the city government to rebuild the city and then execute that plan. This will lead the rest of the nation to be more inclined to aid New Orleans in its recovery. In addition, Nagin must serve as New Orleans' chief PR man and representative to the world. He must become the symbol of a stronger-than-ever New Orleans in the minds of Americans in much the same way that Rudy Giuliani did for New York after September 11, 2001. As a popular and strong leader, he will find it easier to convince the federal government to take an active role in the city's rebuilding.

Once again, the most important priority has to be the levees. All signs indicate that it is going to be another tough hurricane season, but New Orleans can survive the storms. However, what it will not be able to survive is the perception that it is taking no action to protect itself. Mayor Nagin must take action to strengthen the city's hurricane and flood defenses.

Confusion About Levees Status During Storm

2006-05-10T16:13:00.000-04:00

More emails obtained by the Center for Public Integrity, a watchdog group, demonstrate the incompetence of FEMA and its former chief, Michael Brown, during the onslaught of Hurricane quatrain.

At 9:50 a.m. on August 29, 2005, a local New Orleans TV station reported that a levee breach had occurred near the Ninth Ward neighborhood. The information was relayed by a FEMA staffer at the National Hurricane Center. Over two hours later, Brown denied that report and said that levees had been overrun but had not been broken. As a further embarrassment to Brown, the emails show that at 6:21 a.m. on the day Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Brown was preparing for an interview and e-mailing with his then-deputy, Patrick Rhode. "Yea, sitting in the chair, putting mousse in my hair," Brown told Rhode in an email.

The episode underscores a major problem faced by U.S. national emergency agencies; difficulties in communication and obtaining and sharing accurate information. FEMA, or any agency that replaces it, must have better information-gathering and sharing capabilities. For a local TV station to have better information than FEMA, who has the resources of the U.S. government, is unacceptable. Accurate information must also be conveyed much faster. The confusion about the status of the levees hampered efforts to stop the floodwater and save lives. As the most important line of defense, the levees must be carefully monitored in future storms.

The End of FEMA?

2006-04-28T16:23:00.000-04:00

The U.S. Senate panel investigating the government's failures during and after Hurricane Katrina released their report yesterday. The panel was led by Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut). It called for the complete dissolution of FEMA, which they said is flawed beyond repair. The inquiry suggests creating a new, stronger authority called the National Preparedness and Response Authority, which would have stronger powers but would remain within the Homeland Security Department. The report also calls for a clear delineation of who is in charge of maintaining New Orleans levees, which is vitally important. The title of the report says it all, "Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared."

Hurricane season is too close to the beginning for any bureaucratic shakeup to have a real effect. Therefore, the nation is still stuck with the bumbling FEMA for this season. However, in the long run an overhaul is definitely necessary. FEMA is a bureaucratic mess and it needs to be remade in an improved form. As Senator Collins said, "that doesn't mean that we should continue in the long term to operate with a system that's failed, that is so clearly flawed." These reforms, however, must be legitimate if they are to have any real effect. They must create a new culture of leadership, effective coordination, and accountability if this effort is to be more than just a name-change.

Petition Page Problems Fixed

2006-04-27T13:01:00.000-04:00

In the few days, several people have sent concerned emails wondering about the status of the petition. The page had been functioning very slow of late because as the number of signatures approached and then passed 10,000, the software that handles the petition became slower. Fortunately, the problem has been fixed. The petition is held in something called a guestbook, and we capped the first one at 10,000 and then started a new one. Everything should now run smoothly. Thanks for your concerns.

Update

2006-04-19T15:18:00.000-04:00

In the past few weeks, SaveBigEasy.org has made real progress. We currently have 11,532 signatures. Supporters stretch from the USA all the way to Australia. High profile signers who have signed in recent days include Paul Michael Glaser, who starred in the hit TV series Starsky and Hutch and is currently the honorary chairman of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and director Jay Russell, who directed the films My Dog Skip and Ladder 49. In addition, SaveBigEasy.org was profiled in the Baton Rouge Advocate, a newspaper with a daily circulation of over 100,000.

On Saturday, April 22 SaveBigEasy.org will be at the New Orleans buildsmart expo at the Ashe Cultural Arts Center. We will be discussing our organization, its goals, and collecting signatures.

DMI Blogger Makes the Case

2006-04-05T22:21:00.000-04:00

Drum Major Institute guest blogger Mike Klein made an eloquent argument for action and leadership in his post titled "Responding to the Perfect Storm." With the permission and approval of Mike Klein, I have put the link to his post here.

Mayoral Debate at Tulane

2006-04-05T21:17:00.000-04:00

On April 10, candidates for Mayor of New Orleans will be debating at Tulane University. The event will be held in the McAlister Auditorium and doors will open at 6pm and close at 6:45pm. The event is free and is open to the public so please attend if you can. I do not know if questions will be asked from the crowd at the event. However, I do know that questions are being taken before the event.

Please, send your questions about the levees and the future safety of New Orleans to questionsformayor@yahoo.com. This is our chance to be heard. I will be there and will attempt to make contact with several of the candidates. This is a great opportunity to hopefully get straight answers from our potential leaders about the levees and the city's preparedness for the upcoming hurricane season.

Savebigeasy.org goes to North Carolina

2006-04-05T17:14:00.000-04:00

The Blue Banner student newspaper at the University of North Carolina at Asheville recently did a story profiling Savebigeasy.org. It was a very well-written piece, and can be viewed here at http://www.unca.edu/banner/060330/index.html

Dams More Important than Levees?

2006-03-29T00:54:00.000-05:00

Apparently, before Hurricane Katrina, the federal government believed that dams were just that, more important than levees. Bob Marshall of the Times-Picayune exposed shocking differences in the level of standards for dams as opposed to levees. The National Dam Safety Act requires that dams be built to higher standards than levees and subjected to much more rigorous peer reviews and safety checks. "There is a National Dam Safety Act that sets out specific requirements to make sure dams won't have these problems, that they are safe for the people who live around them. There is no similar legislation for levees," said Larry Roth, deputy executive director of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Had the levees been held to the same standards by the Corps of Engineers as dams are, the catastrophic flooding of New Orleans would most likely have been significantly reduced, if not prevented altogether. This is one more piece of evidence that illustrates the mistakes made by the Army Corps of Engineers and, therefore, which solidifies the federal government's responsibility to fix this problem.

"We're hoping one of the good things that comes out of Katrina is that the country finally recognizes the fact that levees protect as much human life and property as dams," Roth concluded. I most certainly agree. The more one investigates the events leading to the failures during Hurricane Katrina, the more one realizes that there problems that were foreseen and should have been dealt with. As I have said before and will keep saying, Katrina was as much a man-made disaster as it was a natural one.

Technical Difficulties

2006-03-23T22:41:00.000-05:00

Due to technical problems with the website, the petition has been malfunctioning and unavailable at certain times. The website should be back and running perfectly very soon. Keep checking back. Thanks for your patience.

Nagin Okays Rebuilding Plan

2006-03-21T01:31:00.000-05:00

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin approved the rebuilding plan sponsored by the Bring New Orleans Back Commission, which he started after Hurricane Katrina. Nagin, facing reelection pressures, announced that hard-hit areas like the Lower Ninth Ward will not be turned into parks. However, while saying that residents in those areas had the option of, "rebuilding on [their] own," he advised them to be cautious. Nagin underscored the lack of adequate levee protection and how residents were still endangered. The plan was criticized by citizens from some lower income areas who charged that the city does not want them to come back.

The Mayor acknowledged the importance of the levee system to the recovery of the city. Without Category 5 levees, rebuilding might be for naught. That is why it so important for the levee system to be repaired and upgraded as soon as possible.

"Experts warn fixes to broken levees are falling short"

2006-03-13T21:35:00.000-05:00

A very interesting article in the March 7 edition of The Washington Post by Joby Warrick discussed in depth the federal government's shortcomings in trying to repair the levees around New Orleans to pre-Katrina, Category 3 strength. The Army Corps of Engineers is allegedly using sub-standard materials and taking other shortcuts in an effort to complete levee repairs on time for next hurricane season. In addition, levees and floodwalls that were not breached by Katrina are not being repaired in spite of the fact that they were weakened by the storm. The accusations were made by engineers from a National Science Foundation-funded panel and a Louisiana team appointed to monitor the rebuilding. The Corps denies the charges.

The problems with this approach, if true, are manifold (and lab tests support the engineers). As the old saying goes, "if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right." The shocking manner in which the repairs to the levees are being conducted is setting the city of New Orleans up for another catastrophic disaster. If these levees are not built right, there may not be a city to come back to. The federal government needs to stop nickel-and-diming New Orleans and needs to allocate the proper funding so that the project can proceed in the right direction. In addition, the state and city governments need to shape up and develop a clear plan on how to tackle some of the problems that caused the levees to be improperly maintained and money to be wasted.

Louisiana Gets $4.2 Billion

2006-02-16T20:28:00.000-05:00

Governor Kathleen Blanco and Mayor Ray Nagin returned from Washington with the promise of an additional $4.2 billion in block grants from the federal government. The money will be spent on improving housing. However, Blanco hinted that the money will be used for housing in areas that are not vulnerable to flooding.

Once again, the levees are put on the back burner. This new housing is not going to matter very much if the levees are overwhelmed again. Furthermore, this money is not going to help rebuild devastated areas; it appears that the city of New Orleans is willing to sacrifice the people in the outer areas of the city in an effort to make the city smaller. The neglect of both the levees and the people in heavily flooded areas of the city is unacceptable and will surely be regretted later on.