And the quote-most-indicating-a-need-for-a-clue award for the day can be awarded, I think, to a couple of flood control authorities in Mississippi. From the Commercial Appeal:
Levee officials served notice Tuesday they’ll appeal a federal warning that casts doubt on the structure’s ability to protect Mississippi Delta residents from flooding.[...]
The warning is an issue in DeSoto and other Mississippi River counties because officials fear it might cause lenders to require flood insurance on buildings that technically aren’t in flood zones.[...]
FEMA officials have insisted the warning was approved two weeks before Katrina hit, but Kelly Greenwood, levee board CEO, said, “We think it’s a knee-jerk reaction to New Orleans.”
“Our levees cannot be compared to the levees in New Orleans or Missouri,” Greenwood said. “During one of the greatest disasters in the Mississippi Delta — the Great Flood of 1927 — our levees did not break.”
Um…if memory serves, folks died on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in Katrina, because they held to the notion that because their property survived Camille, they’d survive anything.
It’s natural to be concerned about overreaction on the part of a much-maligned government agency after the New Orleans flood. However, I think the appropriate response is to demonstrate why the levees may be adequate, rather than to maintain faith that they’ll hold based on an event 80 years ago.