Today is the 5-year anniversary of the 9-11 attacks, and I have switched the template colors accordingly for the day. I hope to put up my attempt at a meaningful post later in the day, but it may not happen.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
- Posted by at 12:21 AM
Hurricane Katrina has certainly exposed problems in the evacuation procedures down in the gulf coast, especially New Orleans, and the long-term preparations for such a disaster.
With respect to the evacuations, any time a city is ordered evacuated, the usual result is clogged interstates, broken down cars, and people who either can't or won't get out. I think part of this is due to the fact that civil authorities never really map out a plan for getting people out. If people are only told to leave, the natural result is that most people will have the same idea - the Interstates or other major highways, leading to a panicked frenzy.
I have no real knowledge of exactly what plans were already in place or considered, but here are some ideas that came to mind while thinking about it.
Civil planners might want to consider employing the procedures used in public schools to evacuate the building fast - specific routes out for each and every classroom. In this way, it's possible to get people out fast with a minimum of congestion. Might it not be worth the effort to map out evacuation plans that break municipalities down into individual neighborhoods or zones and give each one a specific route out? It probably wouldn't totally solve congestion, but I think it could speed up the evacuation a bit. Plus, the mere fact that officials have a specific plan for any given citizen might cut down on the panic factor.
I'm not sure exactly what the road plans are like in an evacuation, but if they aren't already doing it, blocking off intersections on major roads and onramps/offramps could work too. The quickest way to get people from A to B is by having a long, straight run with as few delays as possible from traffic lights, people trying to turn on or off at every little side-road, and people making a mess with onramp merging or offramp congestion.
For those who can't get out, the same idea of regions/zones could be useful. City school districts manage to bus thousands of people to schools every day, so copying the model might be a possibility. Establishing a list where people who have no way of getting out in the event of disaster can put their name down would allow an emergency busing plan to be set up. Even if a list is too tedious, just setting up neighborhood locations and sending buses there might be workable.
Of course, evacuations really depend on time and cooperation. If the order comes too late, not all the efforts of heaven and earth are going to empty the place in time. If people choose to be stupid, it's necessarily going to slow everyone else down.
As for long term preparations, there's really not much that can be done about a city built on a lousy location to weather a hurricane. Common sense says urban areas should not be built on floodplains or right by low-lying coastal areas, but common sense tends not to direct urban planning, as my own native city can attest quite well, the process tending to be subverted by politics and money.
Rebuilding New Orleans only really makes sense if it gets rebuilt on higher ground which won't end up sinking like the land the city was on heretofore. Otherwise, all we'll be doing is literally rebuilding a Venice doomed to be wiped out again, with the result again being huge loss of life (particularly of the more impoverished residents) and property.
Updated 9/4
- Posted by at 11:11 PM
Now that Hurricane Katrina has caused a wide swath of devastation down in Mississippi and Louisiana, the residents down there could definitely use some help. I'll put a banner up sometime later today, but for now, I'll put up a link to Catholic Charities' relief effort.
For more news on Katrina, Brendan Loy and nola.com are both full of information.
- Posted by at 3:58 PM
Real Name: Rob
Age: 23
E-mail: justice (at) justiceknight (dot) com
AIM: StBlogsCrusader
Residence: Steubenville, Ohio
Currently: Studying for an MA in Theology
Welcome to my blog! My posting is often erratic and unpredictable, but I hope you find something worth reading here. Feel free to leave me comments.
