(no subject)

I used to live near the flood plain of the Missouri River. The pictures from Lousiana are all too familiar. Levees are strong and they hold well as long as water is only on one side. If the pumps fail behind the levee (because of what's below the surface of the soil some water always seeps underneath even in the best of times), if the electricity is lost and the pumps can't work or if levees break elsewhere, allowing water to soak the footing of backside, the whole thing can disintegrate. Some parts of New Orleans may have standing water for months until the whole system can be put back together again.

The devastastion from Mississippi is just frightening. It's horrifying that all this is fairly minor compared with the recent Indian Ocean sunami.