You know what is absent in the coverage of this storm?

[Skidmore]

Something we heard ad nauseum during the great floods of the Midwest and Katrina was an incessant chorus from early on in the coverage demanding to know why those people live there. This was in spite of the fact that, at least here, there were areas that flooded which had never flooded in recorded history. Nevermind that historically people have tended to settle around water sources for various reasons essential to the survival of the species. We were just noting the absence of this over dinner now and I just wanted to mention it. Perhaps both politicians and media will now realize, since so many of them are now being affected in a large concentration of population, that none of us are truly beyond the reach of natural disaster no matter how much money and effort are thrown at preventing it.

[Louisiana1976]

1. Well said. K&R

[underpants]

2. Spot on

[JanT]

3. right on, skidmore nt

[KurtNYC]

4. to the media we are all just 'camera fodder'

[sharkman25]

5. Best post of the night. n/t

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

6. I haven't heard how the 47% are helping the 1% in their time of need...

...I'd like to hear a few stories about that.

[Terra Alta]

7. Exactly.

I never understood the "why do they live there" argument. Any area close to water is prone to flooding. Humans(and humans' ancestors) have settled near bodies of water for hundreds of thousands of years. It's a given that there might be a flood in a particular location.

[Honeycombe8]

8. Not quite the same, as I recall it. N.O. flooded because the levies were breached...

there were levies because N.O. is actually below sea level and is a flood zone. So there's that.

I also think most of the criticism about living there came after the storm passed through, while the convention center situation was going on. There was a lot of criticism about the way the levies had been built.

Actually, it was Mississippi that got the most damage from Katrina, as Haley Barber will tell people.

I also recalll general discussions among people about people living in various dangerous areas, like all the coastal regions. Not just Louisiana.

(I'm from Louisiana, so I paid particular attention to that event.)