If New Orleans gets destroyed AGAIN, why waste the money to keep rebuilding and throwing money away?

Question

replanting trees and paying for a doctor to cure your illness doesnt cost billions of dollars every 3 - 4 years

Answer 1

Yeah dude, Stormy's right.  Besides that, it's a very important port city, strategically located at the bottom of the Mississippi River.   You may not live somewhere where it's as apparent, but a LOT of imports and exports go up and down that river -- it's a HUGE trade route.

(Not to mention all of the cool food and music and culture that comes out of that city.)

Answer 2

Because as humans, that is part of what we were made to do. In the Garden, God told Adam and Eve to multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Part of that is building cities and societies. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, sin was introduces into the world, and affected every part of creation (which is why we even have things like hurricanes and tornadoes and other natural disasters in the first place). So now our job is more difficult, but it is still something we are driven to do. We feel we have to subdue nature and reverse the effects of the Fall (redemption), even though we will never be able to do that completely (though God will at the end times, when He will create the new heavens and the new earth). If we just leave the rubble and move elsewhere, we feel that nature and the bad things in this world (the Fall) have overcome, and we lose hope. If we rebuild, we feel as though we have triumphed and overcome.

Answer 3

Dude, don't question the U.S. government on what they are doing. They have a perfect plan going on:

1) Build a city below sea level.

2) Fill it with *******.

3) Having recurring high level hurricans repeatitly hit the city every year.

******' genius!

Answer 4

I don't think the people who live there share your POV. San Francisco was rebuilt after the huge earthquake and fire of 1906, Galveston was rebuilt on higher ground with a seawall after they were devastated in 1900, and on and on; if we gave up on places that suffered a catastrophic event we'd have a very dismal landscape.

Answer 5

for the same reasons that we replant trees after a wildfire, rebuild homes in other parts of the countery after floods, wildfires, earthquakes tonados, The same reason when you get sick you go to the Dr,. maybe you shouldn't you'll just get sick again so why waste all that money?

Answer 6

Let's see, since New Orleans became a US city in 1803 how many times has it had to be rebuilt?  Oooh, aaaah, ummm - ONCE (Katrina in 2005).  The city-proper would not have flooded during Katrina if the levee system had not been negligently built by the federal government.

In any event, 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.  

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

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 7

If someone wants to build a home in a risky area I absolutely believe they should be allowed to. HOWEVER I most definitely believe if they are that DENSE that they should incur the cost of the destruction! Why should I pay for someones stupidity. And as to the "nice comment on the anniversary of Katrina" remark... Give me a break! I'm human and I feel for every family effected by ANY disaster but that doesn't excuse a lack of common sense. Hate me if you will but this country needs to STOP PAYING for people to re-build in ANY area of the country that is routinely hit by natural disasters!