August 31, 2005

Catastrophe Rankings Over The Top

Today's NYT article on the hurricane disaster in New Orleans has a quote I also heard on NPR yesterday:

"It looks like Hiroshima is what it looks like," Gov. Haley Barbour said, describing parts of Harrison County, Miss.

With all due respect to the suffering of those affected by Katrina as well as the damage done, it just doesn't compare to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The bombing of Hiroshima killed 80,000 people immediately, and another 60,000 or more due to aftereffects. The death toll is not at all comparable to Katrina's damage. As far as property damage, you can see in this image of Hiroshima after the atomic bomb how total the devastation was. Louisiana and New Orleans are not nearly as damaged.

Of course, because the destruction is not complete, rebuilding may actually be more costly (since they're not starting with a 'clean slate'). And yes, the suffering and damage due to Katrina is horrible. The rescue and revival effort is going to be massive. But I think the governor of Mississippi should talk with more sense. He won't, of course, because he's a politician.

Posted by Tom Nugent at August 31, 2005 09:15 AM
Comments

Remember, this is a state that felt Huey Long would save us all.

On the one hand, speaking strictl in terms of property and not human suffering, Hiroshima is a modern city, and 200 years from now will still likely be a modern city.

New Orleans, even without occasional hurricanes, is sinking ever slowly into the bayou. In 300 years, the only contests being held in the Superdome will be SCUBA diving in nature. New Orleans has always been on the clock in terms of its existence. Events like this temporarily speed up the hands.

Posted by: Tom at August 31, 2005 02:23 PM
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