If Gustav hits the big easy will the powers that be consider rebuilding on higher ground?

Question

New Orleans in under sea level. Thats a stupid place to build a city. Move it and quit wasting money on a big pond.

Answer 1

You are MUCH smarter than they are!

Answer 2

New Orleans HAS to be where it is located.  The city is a port, and - in case you didn't know - ports HAVE to be close to the ocean.

There is a widespread myth that New Orleans is "built below sea level”, but that is not true.

In any event, rebuilding New Orleans is not optional. History, architecture, culture, and the fact the city is home to many people are usually mentioned when the topic of rebuilding is discussed.  However, those factors (while significant) are NOT why NOLA is important to the rest of the United States.

First, New Orleans is a metro area of almost 1.4 million people – not some small town that could be easily relocated somewhere else.

More than 35% of America's energy is either produced in Southeast Louisiana or imported through here, and the infrastructure is focused on New Orleans. What may be the largest oil field on earth was discovered offshore of Louisiana in 2006, and it will be exploited via New Orleans.

The Port of New Orleans is the largest or second largest port in North America each year (tons of cargo) and one of the top ports in the world each year. The Port of New Orleans is not replaceable.

More than 25% of America's petroleum refining capacity is in the New Orleans area. That percentage will increase due to a new refinery already under construction and the planned expansion of existing refineries.

A large percentage of America's non-petroleum chemical industry is here.

New Orleans is one of only three principal east-west transportation points for the USA, and the resulting convergence of water, rail, pipeline, electricity, and highway links is not replaceable.

A large percentage of America's ship building & repair industry is in New Orleans.

NASA builds essential parts for the space shuttle in New Orleans, and will build components for the next generation of spacecraft here. Other manufacturers (ex. Bell-Textron) have factories in New Orleans.

A large percentage of America's seafood comes from SE Louisiana, and the distribution network is focused on New Orleans.

And so on….

It is theoretically possible to move the industry and the population, but only at horrific cost. The Mississippi river, Gulf of Mexico, and the oil fields cannot be moved. To even attempt to replace New Orleans would cost Trillions of Dollars and the attempt would fail.

In contrast, New Orleans can be protected from future hurricanes with the expenditure of about $15 Billion (that should have been spent before Katrina) spread out over a period of a decade.

Note that New Orleans is NOT "prone" to hurricanes or being flooded. The last one to hit before Katrina was in 1965 and before that was in 1947. Neither of those flooded the city proper like Katrina, which was the strongest storm ever recorded to strike North America.  

Realize that nowhere is without risk. NYC and Miami are at more risk from hurricanes than New Orleans. Los Angeles and San Francisco are at risk from earthquakes and fires. Seattle is threatened by volcanoes and Tsunamis. The Midwest is hit by tornadoes every year. However, I don’t hear anyone claiming New York, Florida, California, Kansas, or Washington (state) be abandoned, or even not rebuilt after the next disaster.

However, people routinely claim New Orleans should be abandoned, or that we somehow don’t deserve help after Katrina.

Why is that?

Answer 3

If you really stop and think about it is there a smart place to build a city?  Nearly everyplace has some kind of potential hazard associated with it.

Answer 4

Less than half of NOLA is under sea level, fyi.

Edit: Do not judge the entire city on the french quarter. "You've been here". Wow. Guess what, we live here. Should we burn down your house because its flammable? It's stupid to have a house when it can just catch on fire. Why should you have one?

Do you see the idiocy in your thinking?

You can't just take people's homes and their whole lives like that, it doesn't work that way buddy.

Answer 5

thats rude were not the ones who settled and built a town here and now there is historical significance, can you keep your comments to yourself because obviously you know nothing. if your town was built under sea level but you grew up there and so did every other person in your extended family would you leave because someone wanted you to?  

Answer 6

What higher ground?   Downtown NO was built on the highest ground around and the neighborhoods that flooded were recent expansion of population.  But if you shut down those neighborhoods, you are racist because they are mostly black.  

Answer 7

I agree with a person above. It is not just easy to forget about a whole city. Solution?...BUILD GOOD QUALITY LEVEES----LEVEES, LEVEES, LEVEES, LEVEES,LEVEES.....

Answer 8

No, definitely not. The levees still haven't been fully repaired. Therefore, if they won't even build the levees up to withstand the average sized hurricane, do you think they'd even try to rebuild the city on another location?  Yes, New Orleans has some incredible history to it, but it seems that history is all that it will have. Or history it may become.

Answer 9

I think Houston is a pretty stupid place to build a city, California is the best looking place in regards to a city but then it's earthquakes are not thrilling.

Best place would be Arizona but then again theres the heat stroke that it may reach 130 in the near future.