New Orleans

Three years ago, I wrote a long post based on Katrina's dangerous trajectory, which I deleted. The post basically said that I had the impression of indifference and lack of urgency on the part of the Bush government, that they didn't act like they understood the astonishing amount of energy about to hit a major american city, New Orleans. I thought it was so serious that they should immediately deploy all available military and perhaps declare martial law so people would have to leave. I deleted it because rereading it it felt extreme. Surely, I thought, they're not that incompetent.

Just yesterday they buried the last unclaimed 7 victims of the 1836 deaths from that storm, people who could have all been saved by intelligent government action.

Gustav is Cat 3, pushing 4, and in it's profile as it hits Lousianna it looks an awful lot like Katrina - which hit land as a Category 3. It's smaller, but it is also showing signs of stalling over Texas and Lousianna- the deaths were overwhelmingly from flooding. It has about a 10% chance of hitting land as a category 4. The amount of energy in a big hurricane, I have to restate, is absolutely massive, too big to really conceive of.

I can only imagine that preparations are better this time. But I don't know that. From the news, I fear that not nearly enough has changed in terms of coordinated response. In this LA Times article there is no mention of federal action at all on the first page, and the mention later on is this:

FEMA Deputy Administrator Harvey Johnson said Friday he anticipated a "huge number" of Gulf Coast residents will be told to leave the region this weekend.

Anticipated a huge number will be told? By someone else? This sounds like exactly the hands-off attitude from last time. Orders should be going out now, not suggestions. I imagine that the situation has improved - but nature does not behave. And as Gustave hits the U.S. just as the Republican convention starts, I have the fear the feds are too distracted, yet again.

UPDATE: It is now officially "an extremely dangerous" Category 4. It might get worse. Hurricanes of this size kill lots of people.