An interesting story came across the newswires
yesterday:
Nine months after Hurricane Katrina’s wind and floods laid waste to huge sections of New Orleans, a third element –
fire — is slowly taking a toll on the city’s historic architecture.[...]More than 1,260 fires have been logged since Katrina hit on August 29. Four, including a huge blaze last week that claimed two
abandoned wharves on the Mississippi, were five-alarm fires, meaning over 90 firefighters and 32 fire engines and other vehicles
were called in from across the city.In a typical year, Parent said, the department might respond to one or two five-alarm fires.[...]
Leaky gas pipes and storm-damaged electrical systems have raised fire risks. Many blazes, such as the wharf fires, have been
blamed on construction and demolition crews.Others, including an April 3 blaze that damaged a downtown hotel, have been attributed to transient workers squatting in
abandoned homes and buildings.Others are believed to have been deliberately set by building owners whose property was not covered by flood or wind insurance.
And the salt-water intrusion of Katrina’s floods, followed by a long dry spell, have turned vegetation and abandoned buildings in
many neighborhoods to tinder.
I think someone forgot to turn “Disasters Off” in this SimCity run.
