THIRTY LEVEES in danger of failing

[nadinbrzezinski]

get it now folks? This is the disaster our so-called press has been ahem IGNORING

[gkhouston]

1. Apparently, we aren't allowed to acknowledge that crisis until * shows up. n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. and this reminds me so much of the USSR is not even funny

[bdamomma]

2. the infrastructure in the US is failing and deteriorating

cause this corrupt and criminal regime is putting our money somewhere else.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. BINGO

wanna bet how many folks will complain about the price of corn but be unable to ahem, connect dots?

[malaise]

11. That is the real story here n/t

[bdamomma]

16. infrastructure is a big problem

our roads, bridges, damns and levees and a whole lot more, and nothing has been done.

[enki23]

32. to be fair, we never had the infrastructure to handle a flood like this

it wasn't so much a matter of deterioration in this case as it is a conscious decision. when we make policy decisions on a cost-benefit basis, we tend not to give much weight to events which we only expect to occur every five hundred years. it probably wouldn't have been cost effective, if it were even possible in many cases, to build levees capable of withstanding a flood of this magnitude. we would probably be better served building a flexible emergency management infrastructure that can deal with rare occurrences like this one, while dealing more specifically with those occurrences which we could expect more often. like, well... like we already do. whether we do it well enough or not, i don't know. probably not, but that's a cost-benefit question, and it relies on some pretty subjective ideas about the value of things like human lives. and don't say "infinite," because we have finite resources. we could severely damage the quality of a million lives trying to save one, but most of us don't believe that would be reasonable. we know there is some sort of calculation there, even when we don't want to think about it.

one thing i do admit, the republicans in particular have done their damnedest (both intentionally and un-) to weaken *all* our public infrastructure. but that wouldn't have stopped this particular flood. i don't think that's a reasonable goal. it would merely have helped us save more people, clean up the flooded areas, and help victims overcome the damage to their lives and livelihoods much better than we can today.

[Bobbieo]

3. Would more man power, like the National Guard, help in this situation

or it the flooding beyond control at present because of the amount of rainfall?

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. More manpower with HEAVY equipment could help to shore up

some of these levees and raise them as well.

Sand bagging is effective, but when you can use heavy equipment you can do it FASTER

And If I could tell where the water was going to be a problem by looking at Topo maps last week, so could the US Corp of Engineers.

They don't have the gear

You cannot prevent all of them failing, but you can significantly reduce it.

[gkhouston]

8. Why do I get a feeling that if the Guard units have that equipment,

either the units or the equipment (or both) are in Iraq? Or that money which in a peacetime year would have gone to such equipment instead found its way into KBR's ravenous maw?

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. You got it... and why we need to pressure to get

Engineers in country, even if they are Canucks or Mexican.. we need help

[libnnc]

5. not good

:scared:

:kick:

[malaise]

10. What's more these floods were predicted given the

heavy snow. I saw someone who had warned them on GEM$NBC earlier.

The Mississippi is a serious river

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xfWBM6wS1U&feature=related

[proud patriot]

12. I have no money and am in California

I want to help but am unsure as to how .

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. Write your FEDERAL officials and pressure them to go through

channels and ASK for foreign help...

We did that during Katrina and trust me, right now we need it again

[madrchsod]

13. nothing has been done to actually find a solution

since the 1993 floods. 1993 floods in the the midwest was the worse natural disaster in our country yet nothing was done to understand why the systems failed and what can and can not be done to save life and property.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. Well one thing that will have to happen is that with global warming

people will need to move AWAY from the 20 year plain or the fifty year plain... and that alone will be a pain, since those areas are now regularly going to be flooded

This means also moving cities.

We also need to talk to people that do this far better (dutch) and see what we can learn from them

[madrchsod]

19. we are hit with a double whammy here in this part of the country

the growing season has increased one whole month in the last 19 years and the la`nino is kicking up our moisture levels.

the latest forecast for next week is 2-3 days of rain across the region......

[madrchsod]

17. the problem with levees is that they channel the water which

makes the water flow faster. it`s a cascading effect...the faster the water flows the worse it is on downstream levees. the solution is simple-get rid of the levees ,move the towns, and farms to higher ground.
we can`t stop the river from going where it wants to and we should`t

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. That MIGHT be part of the solution

[krispos42]

18. ANNA NICOLE SMITH IS STILL DEAD!

Oh, sorry, having a Faux News flashback.

Carry on... :hi:

[nadinbrzezinski]

28. So is the Russert, having an even more recent flashback

:hi:

[krispos42]

31. Yeah, but you're still taking about the flooding

so...

MARILYN MONROE IS STILL DEAD!

:-)

[nadinbrzezinski]

34. Point taken

:hi:

So what is wrong with you?

:-)

Or I should ask, what is wrong with ME?

I mean I got mine right?

[krispos42]

36. I'm just playing devil's advocate

In this case, the devil is the MSM.


Look, over there! Abe Vigoda isn't dead yet!

[shance]

20. This will be intentional if it happens. Enough of the assaults on the heartland.

and the corn crop and all the other coincidences.

Americans are being assaulted on our own soil by those who beg to profit off of our suffering, presently being the suffering of those in Iowa.

We need to worry less about the election, and more about our own states and localities, and hold them more accountable.

The Federal Government isn't accountable as we've seen for years now. It's time to put our focus where we can better make an impact.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. You need the accountability at all levels

[EFerrari]

21. Have a source? Whoa_Nellie has been looking for this.

:hi:

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. AP, top of the hour news break

[suffragette]

33. Here you go, Beth

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j3OztdlstXailp0dOCP9zBcqKD9gD91CLFIG1
The federal government said Wednesday that 20 to 30 more levees may overflow the Mississippi River from Burlington, Iowa down to St. Louis.

Twenty levees have already overflowed this week, the Army Corps of Engineers said. The other levees could overflow if sandbagging efforts fail to raise the levees' levels.


http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-18-voa37.cfm
US Government Warns Up to 30 More Levees at Risk in Central States
By VOA News
18 June 2008

The surging Mississippi River spilled over levees in two towns in the state of Illinois and is threatening to deluge other parts of the central United States.

The Army Corps of Engineers says 20 levees in the central U.S. have already overflowed - and up to 30 more are in danger of overflowing.

[Theres-a]

25. So a national emergency

has developed into a national tragedy.:-(

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. Sadly I saw this coming a week ago when looking at topo maps

I have contacted those who CAN DO something about it, but we should have gone International about three days ago

The fact the ARC has gone bankrupt already tells volumes (both of their management style and the seriousness of the crisis)

[valerief]

27. But what about Natalee? nt

[elizfeelinggreat]

29. :(

I hope the backlash when people realize what the media has been participating in washes all those who are so complacent right out of office.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

30. How far downriver?

I know that many of the levees are agricultural ones, but at least one town on the IL side is inundated already. And this can only get worse as the crest goes down towards St. Louis.

[nadinbrzezinski]

35. AP sadly didn't go that far in the details, after all the russert is being eulogized

and I am not shitting here.

Hey, at least the AP had the floods at the TOP of the news

[earth mom]

37. When will the people say enough of this shit?! That's the question.

:grr:

[Selatius]

38. Now they will feel what it is like when we Gulf Coast residents got left behind after Katrina.

Peace be with them.

[OneBlueSky]

39. correct me if I'm wrong, but won't all this water eventually empty into the Gulf . . .

around New Orleans? . . . and won't New Orleans be at risk of further serious flooding as the waters of the mighty Mississippi flow southward to the sea? . . .