A war zone within our borders

Author: Dan Berkman 06.5

When I was in New Orleans with my J-Term class last month, there were many shops on Bourbon Street selling T-shirts back-lashing the government's response to Hurricane Katrina. The slogans' ranged from "FEMA: the new four-letter 'F' word" to "I looted this shirt during Hurricane Katrina". But the T-shirt that resonated most with my classmates and me had the motto: "Make Levees, Not War." Yes, America is at war with terror abroad, but this government does not realize our country is already being attacked by natural disasters.

I would equate the damage inflicted by Katrina and the levee breeches to a war zone. The force of power from flood waters caused cars to be overturned, houses to be torn away and families to flee as refugees. Hurricane Katrina has left close to 1,500 people dead with many more still missing. Since the storm, army vehicles and police continue to roam the streets after the city curfew looking for looters or "suspicious looking characters".

This administration is adamant about finding terrorists before they can attack our county, but at what cost? In the most recent State of the Union, President Bush spent 36 minutes talking about foreign policy, but devoted only six sentences to Hurricane Katrina. I think it is important to defend this country from terrorism, yet I think it is equally important to allocate money and manpower to the more tangible threats. New Orleans is not alone in battling the threat of a natural attack.

As our country grows in population, along with the rest of the world, people move to areas more prone to natural disasters. And as cities grow in population, the social and economic impact from disasters becomes greater. Miami is vulnerable to hurricanes, Seattle to volcanoes and almost any place in California for a variety of reasons (earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.). In other words, New Orleans is just one example of a city which has been expecting "the Big One."

New Orleans is a unique city because it lies 12 feet below sea level on average at the base of the Mississippi River delta. If the Mississippi River levees ever broke, most of the city would be underwater. Luckily, the river levees remained intact during Hurricane Katrina. The man-made levees on the street and industrial canals, which drain into Lake Pontchartrain, broke and eventually flooded the city.

In other words, Hurricane Katrina was a horrible natural disaster that tore off rooftops and crashed trees onto houses and lawns. But the levee breeches and city wide flooding which ensued were responsible for the black mold and the eventual loss of homes and property. That was a man-made disaster which could have been averted. The government not only knew the levees were inadequate, but the administration continues to withhold the money required to re-build those levees to higher standards.

Not only were the levees not adequate enough to withstand a Category 3 Hurricane (by the time the hurricane made landfall), but the levees are still in ruin and the next hurricane season is less than five months away. The current $1.6 billion repair effort includes building pump stations along the canals and temporary gates at the mouth of Lake Pontchartrain. But this repair job is a band-aid. The repair does not include plans to make the levees higher (which would be necessary because the flood waters came up and over the levees) or a buffer wetland zone which could take the brunt of an incoming storm. A long-term plan of that magnitude would cost upward of $30 billion.

Most of that money has gone to the war in Iraq instead, which has cost 240.5 billion dollars so far. It does not take a math major to figure out that part of that money could have been better spent on revamping the New Orleans and Louisiana levees. In fact, the Army Corps of Engineers' levee construction projects over the last few years have seen federal money trickle down to nothing due to pressures of the Iraq War and Homeland Security. That is the same Army Corps of Engineers that had promised the city of New Orleans levees and floodwalls which would be sufficient enough to withstand a category 3 Hurricane.

The Army Corps of Engineers and specifically the government department in charge of allocating the money for building the levees should take responsibility. Furthermore, it seems that Washington should bear more costs for the current levee's reconstruction process. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Instead, President Bush continues to spend money outside our borders when we need protection from within.

With the levees still in ruins and storm seasons occurring every year, it is hard to foresee New Orleans withstanding another hurricane of equal or greater magnitude in the near future. Still, the people of New Orleans are trying to rebuild their great city. People are coming home to reconstruct the levees, their homes and their lives. They make shirts to show their resolve. One Midd parent proudly wore a "Returnee" shirt. Another shirt with the words of "Make Levees, Not War" could not be a more direct message to our administration.