Ivor Heerden
Ivor Heerden
response
Their response to me was: 'Americans don't live in tents,' and that was about it.
informed people warned
They should have been monitoring this and informed people all the way to the top, then they should have warned people.
lost people plate security step trusted
People trusted the security of the levee system. More than 100,000 people lost everything. The government's at fault, and they should step up to the plate to give people some semblance of dignity.
coming confident people rebuild
For people to feel confident about coming back again, they're going to have to rebuild the levee system.
bottom line unless
The bottom line I got out of this is that unless you were a lobbyist, they did not want you to participate.
days water
It's going to be days before they get all that water out.
debris drinking houses increase lines power rapid roads threat
No sewage, no drinking water, contamination, threat of rapid increase in mosquitoes, roads are impassible, downed power lines everywhere, trees, debris from houses in the roads, no way to go shopping, no gas.
basically lobbyists plan
I was basically shocked. What do lobbyists know about a plan for the reconstruction and restoration of Louisiana?
failure failures fairly structural typical walls
This is fairly typical of some of the failures we've seen. These walls underwent catastrophic structural failure.
few further orleans projects start step
This is just a few Band-Aids, really. We really need to go the step further and start implementing projects now that would make New Orleans safe.
absolutely
All indications are that this is absolutely worst-case scenario.
asian disastrous lose orleans people potential thousands total witness
This has the potential to be as disastrous as the Asian tsunami. Tens of thousands of people could lose their lives. We could witness the total destruction of New Orleans as we know it.
leaving orleans undertake vulnerable
If we don't undertake the levee reconstruction and coastal restoration, we're just leaving New Orleans more vulnerable than it was before.
bill lobbyists louisiana scientists together
This was a bill put together by lobbyists without any involvement from scientists from Louisiana who know the situation.