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Aug. 31st, 2005 09:57 amSo, here's why the flooding disaster hit after the hurricane passed N.O. If you look at the path once it hits land, Katrina is passing over numerous rivers and streams, dropping at least 1/2 inch of water on them(that's what we got here, so I assume that down south of us they got more). These swollen streams rush faster than normal and all of them, every single one, feeds eventually into the mississippi. As ALL of the water of the tropical storm gets fed into the water system, the Mississippi swells.
Here's the thing about the Mississippi. For decades now, the Mississippi has been trying to change its banks, to run along a different path, which all rivers do from time to time as they fill up their channels with silt. The US army corps of engineers has been trying to stop this, to tame the river by keeping it caged with levees and dikes. The appropriate metaphor for this is a fierce dog, trying to go running being put behind a fence. Now, imagine that dog gets shot full of methamphetamines and steroids, that is what happened with the Mississippi.
Man tries to control nature, nature simply builds up its power and releases it all at once. The worst part about this is that the ones in the path of the water are never the ones who are trying to control it. The army corps of engineers doesn't live downhill of the levee, poor people do. Poor people who the government has assured of the safety of the levees and dikes.
And we see what happens.
Here's the thing about the Mississippi. For decades now, the Mississippi has been trying to change its banks, to run along a different path, which all rivers do from time to time as they fill up their channels with silt. The US army corps of engineers has been trying to stop this, to tame the river by keeping it caged with levees and dikes. The appropriate metaphor for this is a fierce dog, trying to go running being put behind a fence. Now, imagine that dog gets shot full of methamphetamines and steroids, that is what happened with the Mississippi.
Man tries to control nature, nature simply builds up its power and releases it all at once. The worst part about this is that the ones in the path of the water are never the ones who are trying to control it. The army corps of engineers doesn't live downhill of the levee, poor people do. Poor people who the government has assured of the safety of the levees and dikes.
And we see what happens.
