MAN-MADE MISTAKES INCREASE DEVASTATION OF "NATURAL" DISASTERS

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While storms such as Hurricane Katrina are sometimes called an act of God or a natural disaster, the devastation they leave behind is not. But the actions that humans take contribute to the damage caused by extreme weather, say observers. For example:

People continue to live in mobile homes, although tornadoes turn them into matchsticks and one-third of all deaths from tornadoes occur among people living in mobile homes. Mobile-home communities and poor neighborhoods are also much more likely to be situated in flood plains throughout the South and Midwest. In Louisiana, coastal wetlands provide some shelter from surging seawater, but more than one million acres of coastal wetlands have been lost since 1930 due to development and construction of levees and canals. For every square mile of wetland lost, storm surges rise by one foot. Moreover, the levees in New Orleans were built to keep the city from being flooded by the Mississippi, but instead caused it to fall below sea level. Now the Gulf of Mexico has moved into the city, says the Journal.

By continuing to blame weather extremes on random events, officials and city planners are ignoring their contributions to the disasters that have pummeled the planet and promise to become only worse, says the Journal.

Source: Sharon Begley, "Man-Made Mistakes Increase Devastation Of 'Natural' Disasters," Wall Street Journal, September 2, 2005.

but more than one million acres of coastal wetlands have been lost since 1930 due to development and construction of levees and canals. For every square mile of wetland lost, storm surges rise by one foot.

Piss poor math:

1,000,000 acres / 640 acres per sq. mile = 1562.5 square miles.According to the author, this should raise the storm surge in excess of 1500 feet.

No doubt that coastal erosion magnified the storm's impact but people need to quit spewing out "facts" to support their positions.

Plus, the entire eastern margin of the continental crust of the American plate is slowly subsiding. The entire Atlantic / Gulf Coast is subsiding. That's why there are drowned river valleys such as Delaware Bay and Mobile Bay. That's why there are barrier islands and sounds behind them. Either we make then entire Atlantic / Gulf Coast like Holland or we accept the inevitable.

Fellow Freepers:

At the suggestion of writer Michelle Malkin last Friday, I have cobbled together a blogsite called Texas Clearinghouse for Katrina Aid to serve as a clearinghouse for refugee efforts in Texas.

Texas is getting more refugees than any other state -- that's fine, we'll take them all -- but we need help providing them with food, clothing, medicine, and shelter. We need help taking care of their pets, too.

If you are a refugee, you can information that will help you find relief. If you want to donate or volunteer, you can find someone who needs you. Believe me, there are a lot of organizations who need your help.

Right now the site mostly covers Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas but I'm adding more every night. My wife was down at Reunion Arena in Dallas Tuesday handing out care packages and spiritually ministering to the refugees as a representative of her employer. She says that the situation is tragic and that there's a lot of work to be done. There are so many children who don't know where their parents are or even if their parents are still alive.

There are a lot of churches and other organizations in Texas that need help in dealing with the problem and I would appreciate it if you would get the word out.

Many thanks,

Michael McCullough

Stingray blogsite

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