Katrina and Bush's legacy
After watching bits and pieces of the various documentaries produced around the 100 year anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, I got to thinking this morning how historically enduring the failures of Katrina will be and the real magnitude of what we witnessed.
The videos we watched of the Superdome and the Convention Center will be the historical record of the event. The failures in the response effort will be outlined in detail(hopefully more detail as the records become public.)
My point is that one hundred years from now, the response will still be seen as inadequate. The magnitude of the failure will be a part of Bush's legacy long after Iraq becomes historically condensed like Korea.
(Also, just a local side note. In 1900 a Category 4 hurricane struck Galveston Island just south of Houston which was the wealthiest and most developed city on the Gulf Coast parallel to New Orleans. The storm surge completely subsumed the island and 6,000 to 8,000 of the 37,000 residents died. 3/4 of the buildings were destroyed. I mention this because it is possibly the highest fatality natural disaster in American history and rarely gets mentioned compared to the 1906 quake or the Chicago fire.)
The videos we watched of the Superdome and the Convention Center will be the historical record of the event. The failures in the response effort will be outlined in detail(hopefully more detail as the records become public.)
My point is that one hundred years from now, the response will still be seen as inadequate. The magnitude of the failure will be a part of Bush's legacy long after Iraq becomes historically condensed like Korea.
(Also, just a local side note. In 1900 a Category 4 hurricane struck Galveston Island just south of Houston which was the wealthiest and most developed city on the Gulf Coast parallel to New Orleans. The storm surge completely subsumed the island and 6,000 to 8,000 of the 37,000 residents died. 3/4 of the buildings were destroyed. I mention this because it is possibly the highest fatality natural disaster in American history and rarely gets mentioned compared to the 1906 quake or the Chicago fire.)
posted by mikevotes at
1:50 PM
2 Comments:
Wonder how long it took to rebuild that?
By
Anonymous, at 4:34 PM
The city actually never fully recovered it's place in the region. That event was the impetus for Houston, slightly more inland to grow.
And it took them years and years to rebuild. Properties were abandoned both by people who left and died.
Depending on the count of the San Fran 1906 earthquake, current research is raising the number, it is the largest loss of life in a natural disaster in American history.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 5:11 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home