[/caption]Carol Forsloff - Weather emergencies remind us that many people in the United States are not far from disaster, which is reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina and the accusation that the people of New Orleans were somehow at fault for living in a dangerous area. What has been found, however, is that the citizens of that great city are no more responsible for the tragedy that befell them 5 ½ years ago than the people of Joplin, Missouri, recent victims of a major tornado.
After Hurricane Katrina struck the great Louisiana flagship city, New Orleans struggled with its reputation. Media images of African Americans clinging to life from rooftops mixed with other images of youth wearing sagging pants banging on the windows of jewelry stores were shown regularly in a way that seared the drama into the consciousness of many. Those images, however, did not tell the story. The real story came with the information about neglected levees and lack of government responsibility in making sure safety promises were kept concerning promised protection by the Army Corps of Engineers. People were secure in their belief the government and the levees would not fail.
But that failure in fact did happen to the detriment of many New Orleans residents and the reputation of that city even now when many people still believe residents themselves were in part responsible for their own misfortunes.
In recent weeks formal recognition has been made of the two levee breach sites, the 17th Street Canal and the Industrial Canal, as a reminder that New Orleans citizens have had to struggle for years to cope with a weather tragedy that will forever remain part of the history of their great city.
Tomorrow, May 26, Levees.org and Council Vice President Arnie Fielkow of New Orleans will hold a short press conference to announce several updates regarding Levees.org’s nomination of two major levee breach sites - the 17th Street Canal and the Industrial Canal (east side north) – to the prestigious National Register of Historic Places.
Confirmed to attend is City Councilmember Jon Johnson for District E, Scott Hutcheson, Advisor in Cultural Economy to the Mayor of New Orleans (who will speak on behalf of the Mayor) , and Charles Allen, III, director of the New Orleans Office of Coastal and Environmental Affairs.
Last August, with the Lower Ninth Ward as backdrop, Levees.org first announced that the Louisiana State Office of Historic Preservation had determined that it believed that two levee breach sites may be eligible for inclusion on the National Register.
Last week, before a crowd of over 100 people, Levees.org unveiled a Louisiana State Historic Plaque near ground zero of the London Avenue Canal breach site in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans.
The plaque is also a reminder of the pain and tragedy that others will face without levee protection, which means many areas of the country. The people of the Midwest will experience for months, if not years, the grief from severe weather tragedies. For the people who as a result of Hurricane Katrina have had to battle first the elements and then the prejudices, it is also hoped that the blame game might end with the recogntion that weather emergencies happen and the failure is in not ensuring people are given adequate warning and proper protection when they occur.
