Aug 29, 2005
Tomorrow Is Another Story
Past events predict, but only up to a point. They cannot predict what we have never seen. The Mississippi Flood of 1927 suggested that it is possible to have a devastating and widespread disaster that utterly changes the way people inhabit their environment. Hurricane Camille demonstrated that a large and powerful storm can kill people. Hurricane Andrew showed what happens when a huge storm destroys a wide swath of property.
But we've never really seen what happens when a storm of Katrina's magnitude hits the most vulnerable city in the United States. We're about to now, after decades of warning and anxiety. Maybe the storm will weaken suddenly, or turn abruptly. If not, if not: all eyes are upon New Orleans, a city rich in history and sentiment. All hopes to them now. The future is unknown: please give us something now besides our worst fears.
If not, let's hope that the past history of catastrophe is a guide to how to blunt its worst once the storm moves on.
But we've never really seen what happens when a storm of Katrina's magnitude hits the most vulnerable city in the United States. We're about to now, after decades of warning and anxiety. Maybe the storm will weaken suddenly, or turn abruptly. If not, if not: all eyes are upon New Orleans, a city rich in history and sentiment. All hopes to them now. The future is unknown: please give us something now besides our worst fears.
If not, let's hope that the past history of catastrophe is a guide to how to blunt its worst once the storm moves on.