# New Orleans should be a valuable lesson to all of us **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 3, 2005, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862 "2005-09-03T05:15:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![contradancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@contradancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/contradancer)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/1 "2005-09-03T05:15:47Z")
This situation makes me realize that 3 days supply of food and water is totally unrealistic in a disaster. And if it was a big disaster, such as one that affected a large portion of the US, like a nuclear attack, we probably should, for all intents and purposes, expect to be on our own for months. So, I’m going to add to my water and food supply and hope that I never need them. I think it was unrealistic to expect help in New Orleans overnight or in even two days. The logistics involved, even after some sporatic contact was made with the city, understandably takes at least a couple of days, even if they were staged outside the city. I think, more than food, people need to know there is someone to protect them because there are always those creepy people who come out of their dark corners and prey on people as soon as they know they are vulnerable. And this includes all those drug addicts who do not have any source now. I think that should have been priority as soon as they were physically able to get into the city. That poor police chief in New Orleans is barely hanging on. In retrospect, all those school buses I saw standing in four feet of water, should have been used to evacuate those people who had no car or no money to go anywhere days before the storm. One last political observation: the Bush administration cut the funding that would have repaired the levees, It just seems like some of the billions pouring into Iraq could be better spent in the United States. I don’t feel any safer since we invaded that country, in fact I feel we are in more danger. ---
**Author:** ![ScoobyTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@ScoobyTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScoobyTX)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/2 "2005-09-03T05:36:52Z")
In addition to increasing my canned food & water stockpile (along with red wine and/or beers that taste good at room temp), I guess I should stock up on 7.62x39, 12ga 00 buckshot, and .45 ACP ammo? ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/3 "2005-09-03T05:43:44Z")
> [@ScoobyTX](#): > > In addition to increasing my canned food & water stockpile (along with red wine and/or beers that taste good at room temp), I guess I should stock up on 7.62x39, 12ga 00 buckshot, and .45 ACP ammo? Absolutely. ---
**Author:** ![kinoons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/4 "2005-09-03T06:17:52Z")
Freeze dried type camping food is great for this. While you’re at the camping store buy a water filter. Activated charcoal ceramic filters can remove damn near everything, and any bugs that do make it through can be boiled out. That also means you’ll be buying a camp stove and a good amount of fuel. Just think of a multi-day camping (even backpacking) trip and you’ll have a good idea where to start. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/5 "2005-09-03T06:20:35Z")
> [@contradancer](#): > > One last political observation: the Bush administration cut the funding that would have repaired the levees, It just seems like some of the billions pouring into Iraq could be better spent in the United States. I don’t feel any safer since we invaded that country, in fact I feel we are in more danger. Experts have been telling local, state and federal governments for years that it was a dangerous situation. None of them funded it adequately. Being political at this point is asinine. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/6 "2005-09-03T06:34:15Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Experts have been telling local, state and federal governments for years that it was a dangerous situation. None of them funded it adequately. True, but previous administrations didn’t slash the funding as sharply as this one has. And whose brilliant idea was it to appoint people with no experience in disaster management as the head of FEMA, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![zenith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zenith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenith)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/7 "2005-09-03T19:51:50Z")
Isn’t being learned anywhere in this country and probably never will. In 1964, I witnessed the devastation caused by the Papillion Creek in west Omaha. Everything within 6 to 9 blocks of the creek’s normal channel was wiped out. Did the “responsible local governments” do the right thing and simply disallow homes and businesses to be rebuilt along this creek? Of course not! A bunch of earthen dams were built, creating “recreational lakes” full of the runoff of fertilizers and pesticides from all of the chemically-overenhanced lawns of homes and businesses allowed back into the floodplain. The floodplain, now declared “floodproof” is developed far beyond what it was in '64. Oh, you do see the odd bit of greenspace where nothing more permanent than soccer goals and picnic tables exist along the creekbed, but lots more driveways, streets and parking lots dump right into the creek than did 41 years ago. I’m sure many on this board can look at really stupid floodplain development in their areas and wonder when the next mini-New Orleans is gonna hit. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/8 "2005-09-03T20:15:32Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > True, but previous administrations didn’t slash the funding as sharply as this one has. Far be it from me to defend Monkey Boy, but… I thought that the budget cuts for the levee system were for _next_ year, and that they did not affect this year’s budget. If that’s true, then Duhbya’s recent cuts were not a factor in this disaster. If I have been misinformed, I stand ready to be corrected. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/9 "2005-09-03T20:18:31Z")
I saw the head of the project that had its funding cut being interviewed this morning, and HE said that had they had all their funding, it would have made no difference because they would still be in the planning/development stages at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/10 "2005-09-03T21:28:42Z")
**The Lesson Of Not Overdeveloping Floodplains…** combined with: **The Lesson of Protecting the Nation’s Strategic Assets** Are Grand Coulee and Hoover dams so shoddily protected? Are the locks at Sault Ste. Marie left to crumble in november gales? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/11 "2005-09-03T22:43:33Z")
Isn’t it the Mormons who are required to keep a year’s worth of food on hand? Might not be a bad thing to emulate. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/12 "2005-09-03T22:51:45Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > And whose brilliant idea was it to appoint people with no experience in disaster management as the head of FEMA, anyway? George W. Bush, that’s who. :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/13 "2005-09-04T00:12:25Z")
> [@contradancer](#): > > And if it was a big disaster, such as one that affected a large portion of the US, like a nuclear attack, we probably should, for all intents and purposes, expect to be on our own for months. I’ve long had supplies for a nuclear attack. More than enough potassium cyanide capsules for me and a reasonable number of folks near me. Seriously. In the event of global nuclear war, I’ll quickly cash in my chips. After a global nuclear war, the living quickly will envy the dead ☹ ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/14 "2005-09-04T01:25:48Z")
I will say it has caused me to ask my husband to teach me how to operate the shotgun and rifle he inherited from his father, and to have a key to the cabinet made for me. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/15 "2005-09-04T11:46:51Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > I saw the head of the project that had its funding cut being interviewed this morning, and HE said that had they had all their funding, it would have made no difference because **they would still be in the planning/development stages at this point.** If you’re talking about the commander, that’s not what he said. He admitted that the projects had been underfunded, but then he made an assessment that it wouldn’t have made a difference. He did acknowledge that had the SELA project been finished, they could have more efficiently moved water out of the system. You can read details [here](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1089076&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/16 "2005-09-04T12:16:57Z")
> [@](#): > > Isn’t it the Mormons who are required to keep a year’s worth of food on hand? Might not be a bad thing to emulate. I’m not sure if the duration is right, but, yup. My landlords when I lived in SLC had a tiny apartment to themselves, but one room 3was stocked full of Rubbermaid-type containers hermeticall sealed and filled with food nd supplies. They also had essential things lik wheat grinders (when’s th last time you saw – or even hearc of – one of those?) in case they had to grind their own grain. It’s the resul of Mormons’ historic experiences, and the decrees of Church leaders who want to make sure they don’t get caught short. For many years it hasn’t been necessary (and has been the source of much joking. Cal Grondahl hd a cartoon of an LDS family eating “DRied Watermelon Rinds” out of their stock), but at times like this it looks like a good idea. Of course, if your backup supply was under twenty feet of water it wouldn’t do you much good. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/17 "2005-09-04T16:25:52Z")
Oh, I dunno about that… if it’s _just_ 20 feet I’m a strong enough swimmer to dive down, get a rope around a “hermetically sealed” rubbermaid container, and hoist it to the surface. If I had to. If it was a matter of life and death. Under debris or while having to fight off nature’s clean-up crew (alligators and other scavengers) that might a different story. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orleans-should-be-a-valuable-lesson-to-all-of-us/319862/18 "2005-09-05T06:15:31Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > Isn’t it the Mormons who are required to keep a year’s worth of food on hand? Might not be a bad thing to emulate. Two year’s actually. With a family of seven, we had a lot of wheat on hand growing up. 😛 My grandma’s supply of wheat was being stored in 50 gal. barrels, and recently it was discovered there was a huge mouse problem in her house. Turns out that the barrels were rusting out, and wheat was coming out like a giant bird feeder. The mice must have thought that they had died and gone to the great Mormon heaven! 😃 Now that I’m an ex-Mormon, and single in Tokyo, I’ve got a two-day supply of food counting all the peanut butter, Mayonnaise and soy sauce. And maybe a bottle of water or two. I figure that when the Big One hits, I’ll just have to loot, I guess. Actually, part of Tokyo’s emergency plans take into consideration that there’s going to be lots of commuters stuck in Tokyo without transportation back to their homes. They’ve contracted with convenience stores to provide water for their 25 km+ walks back. At least I live nearby.