Rebuilding New Orleans with science! [via 3qd]
posted by panoptican on Jan 6, 2006 - 7 comments

The Louisiana Superdome. The moment that thin white membrane flew off the roof to drown, the structure in the center of the storm became a metaphor. That sad, weathered, beaten, and war-torn roof represents the city and its plight.
posted by Jazznoisehere on Sep 3, 2005 - 16 comments

What if Hurricane Ivan Had Not Missed New Orleans? Author’s Note: This column was originally intended to be the final disaster in the “Disasters Waiting to Happen” series. As I was developing the hypothetical situation depicting a devastating hurricane striking New Orleans, Louisiana, the disaster waiting to happen threatened to become a reality: Hurricane Ivan, a category 4 hurricane (with 140 mph winds) fluctuating to a category 5 (up to 155 mph winds), was slowly moving directly toward New Orleans. Forecasters were predicting a one-in-four chance that Ivan would remain on this direct path and would be an “extreme storm” at landfall. In reality, the storm veered to the north and made landfall east of Mobile Bay, Alabama, causing devastation and destruction well into the central Gulf shoreline and throughout the Southeast and the Mid-Atlantic states.
posted by Postroad on Sep 2, 2005 - 7 comments

'Imminent threat', my arse. The U.S. will be attacked tomorrow! Lili is a Cat-4 hurricane with sustained winds of 145 MPH and gusts to 180 MPH. She's expected to be of Cat-5 strength tomorrow. (hint: they don't make them any stronger.) The first landfill is expected at Avery Island, (home of Tabasco sauce). New Orleans should be spared the worst of the storm, but Lafayette and Lake Charles may face catastrophic damage and flooding. Lili brings with it an anticipated storm surge of twelve to eighteen feet, which may be exacerabated by landing during high tide. Lili is the first hurricane to hit the US mainland since the category 4 hurricane Floyd in 1999. Floyd did over $1B in damage and killed over 40 people.
posted by insomnia_lj on Oct 2, 2002 - 38 comments