AJStrata @ The Strata-Sphere:
Katrina was a Cat 3 hurricane when she slammed into the Gulf Coast in 2005. She was much larger, stronger and deadlier than Little ‘Ol Sandy when She made landfall
Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest and most destructive Atlantic hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States.[3] Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall. At least 1,833 people died in the hurricane and subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane; total property damage was estimated at $81 billion (2005 USD),[3] nearly triple the damage brought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.[4]
Hurricane Sandy was only a Category 1 Hurricane when she slammed into New York City, unfortunately riding on a super high tide. Timing is everything. But due to the population density, Sandy will rival Katrina in dollars cost.
In both cases, proper preparation would have saved lives and money. New Orleans had actually weathered the brunt of Katrina fairly well – until levies broke that were not engineered to the proper specifications. Years of diverting hurricane preparedness money into political largesse had left chinks in the armor of New Orleans. The warnings were there and mostly headed. But it only takes a small crack in the defensive systems to produce an epic failure when faced with this much natural force and fury.
So too with New York. Another city that has been warned over and over that Hurricanes do make land fall high up the east coast:
All that was needed to prevent mass destruction from the storm surge in New York City was a sea barrier of the type that protects major cities in Europe, some scientists and engineers say.
The multibillion-dollar price tag of such a project has been a hindrance, but may appear more palatable after the damage from Superstorm Sandy has been tallied.
“The time has come. The city is finally going to have to face this,” said oceanography professor Malcolm J. Bowman at Long Island’s Stony Brook University. He has warned for years of the potential for a catastrophic storm surge in New York and has advocated for a barrier.
Instead of enforcing a ban on large sodas, Bloomie (Mayor Bloomberg) should have been thinking about what happens if even a small, Cat 1 hurricane hits the most densely populated area on the East Coast. Especially if it hits at high tide.
Now they know. But Bloomie is not showing he gets it.
I can’t figure out what disgusts me more, the fact small-imagination liberals could not fathom how large and devastating nature is (and therefore blamed the Bush administration for what is simply a natural disaster) or that those same duplicitous liberals now turn a blind eye to the suffering in New York? Where is the outrage we saw against President Bush when he faced a larger natural force?
