Flooding of NO in a hurricane or by breaching of levee banks is a basic disaster scenario that has been utilised in various high level training courses and seminars for years.<br /><br />But the paper from this conference deals with exactly the issues which some of the attendees are now trying to say they didn't anticipate and the consequences of which are somebody else's fault.<br /><br />As this example shows, there is no excuse for anyone, and in particular local authorities, not being ready for what happened.<br /><br />It's stupid to blame GWB, except to the extent he appointed an incompetent mate to run FEMA. <br /><br />The problem, and the recent unnecessary deaths and suffering, starts with local officials aware of the risks who were responsible for initiating local planning and then works up the chain of local, state and federal people and organisations who should have had contingency plans ready. <br /><br />No single individual can ever be blamed in these cases and it's pointless trying to say some are more responsible than others. It's a collective responsibility that demonstrates an appalling failure at every level of administrative rather than political organisation.<br /><br /><br />Presidents Forum on Meeting Coastal Challenges<br />Louisiana State University<br />Lod and Carole Cook Alumni Center<br />Baton Rouge, Louisiana<br />January 25th, 2005<br /><br />MODERATORS<br />Paul Coreil<br />Berwick Duval<br />Don Davis<br />Aaron Broussard<br /><br />SPEAKERS<br />Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco<br />LSU System President William Jenkins<br />LSU AgCenter Vice Chancellor Paul Coreil<br />King Milling Chairman of the Governors Advisory Commission<br /><br /><br />Using Technology to Illustrate the Realities of Hurricane Vulnerability<br />Dr. Ivor van Heerden<br /><br /> Current technologies integrate land loss information and rainfall amounts to examine<br />potential hurricane impacts in Louisiana.<br /><br /> Research has demonstrated the following realities if Hurricane Ivan had passed west of<br />Lake Pontchartrain:<br /><br />o Artificial levees, while beneficial for river floods, enhance storm surges<br />o Flooding of Bonne Carre Spillway<br />o 24 feet of water in Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parish<br />o Flooding of the Westbank<br />o Water will hit industrialized areas before flooding New Orleans, enhancing the<br />possibility of contamination.<br />o Water surges will reach Interstate 12<br />o 14-17 feet of standing water in New Orleans (assuming levees did not fail)<br />o Land where Barataria Bay used to be acts as a funnel for the storm surges<br /> <br /><br />Panel Two presented current problems and needs faced by coastal communities. The<br />following people spoke on the behalf of their communities:<br />o Tim Matte St. Mary Parish<br />o Charlotte Randolph Lafourche Parish<br />o Tina Horn Cameron Parish<br />o Randy Roach Calcasieu Parish<br />o Mike Bertrand Vermilion Parish<br />o Al Levron Terrebonne Parish<br />o Timothy Kerner Jefferson Parish<br />o Benny Rousselle Plaquemines Parish<br />o Yarrow Etheredge Orleans Parish<br />o Henry Rodriguez, Jr. St. Bernard Parish<br /><br /><br />Evacuation Concerns:<br /><br /> Need for coastal communities to be one step ahead of New Orleans and Baton Rouge when declaring evacuation due to concerns that once the larger cities declare evacuation the road will be too clogged for coastal citizens to leave<br /><br /> Concern for those citizens (100,000) in New Orleans who will not have the<br />transportation required to leave the city<br /><br /> Traffic concerns due to large number of citizens evacuating from southern Louisiana.<br /><br /> Concern that some evacuation routes will be impassable/dangerous due to hurricane<br />storm surges, for example the Manchac overpass on the north shore<br /><br /> Concern for at-risk populations during hurricane evacuation, including those in<br />nursing homes<br /><br /><br />Hurricanes:<br /><br /> Effects of hurricane landfall<br /><br />o Damage to property<br />o Loss of life<br />o Concern that existing levees are not high enough to protect form hurricane<br />storm surges<br /><br /> Public health concerns and implications that may emerge from hurricane-related<br />emergency situations<br /><br /><br />Lack of Awareness:<br /><br /> Citizens of New Orleans, may not be aware of how close the coast is to the city<br /><br /> Low national interest in the plight of coastal Louisiana communities<br /><br /><br />RECOMMENDED ACTION AND RESEARCH <br /><br />Evacuation:<br /><br />Action<br /><br /> Build a north south corridor from the Houma-Thibodaux area to Interstate I-10.<br /><br />Research<br /><br /> Develop a comprehensive evacuation plan for citizens of southern Louisiana. This<br />plan should outline effective and detailed evacuation procedures for those citizens of<br />southern Louisiana, with specific attention to efficient timing, improved contra lanes,<br />and education concerning alternate routes.<br /><br />Full paper at http://www.laseagrant.org/forum/docs/summary01-2005.pdf
