Attention, rest of the nation, today is officially the first day of hurricane season down here in the Big Uneasy. We don’t go by June 1, as officially sanctioned by the National Weather Service — instead, office closures / building evacuations are our indicators. This afternoon, downtown New Orleans had the first one owing to prolonged thunderstorms, flooding and a citywide loss of water pressure due to a lightning strike of one of the pumping stations (heaven forbid!) or god-knows-what. Hilarity almost always ensues.
There was some banter on this topic over at txyankee‘s recently: the question is not whether New Orleans will become the next Venice, but when. Between now and then, we pick up the clues.
Do you know why New Orleans is still here? It is because of an engineering marvel in the form of 22 pumping stations that process 29 billion gallons of water each day, and keep this city from becoming an instant underwater tour. To jest about natural disasters is a relatively easy thing to do right now, but thinking back on last year’s evacuation for Hurricane Ivan … I will never lose that horrible sinking feeling (no pun intended).
Those of you who don’t live on hurricane paths, flood plains, karstland, fault zones, volcanic hazard areas and slumps, breathe a huge sigh of relief. Our leases on life and property from Mother Nature are tenuous as it is, without our having to add to the uncertainty through violence and other acts of senselessness.
Didn’t I tell you the day would get funnier? Water pressure is slowly on the rise throughout the city, but everyone who evacuated the downtown area is on the road at the same time. News at 10: Today’s Monster Traffic Jam
I went to school in New Orleans and was there in 1998, when we had some massive flooding. I got to make my way to school, knee deep in water, watching syringes float by. Fun stuff!