Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Lightning Striking In The Same Place Twice

3 years after the tragic catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina, 2 million New Orleans residents have been evacuated from their homes in anticipation of another pluvious natural disaster.

In the aftermath of what was dubbed Hurricane Gustav, more than 800,000 Louisianans have been left without electricity. Also, $8 billion worth of property has reportedly been destroyed by the storm.

Despite the substantial damage caused by Gustav, the wrath of this hurricane has luckily been no where near the level of destruction caused by 2005's Katrina. This time, the death toll is low, and the levees have appeared to remain sturdy. According to CNN, "Gustav drove sheets of water over the protective levees around the Industrial Canal early Monday afternoon, but the walls appeared to hold up under the onslaught as the winds faded. Inspectors from the Army Corps of Engineers and parish levee boards went out to check on the earthen walls and have found nothing to raise alarm."

Initially categorized as a level 2 Hurricane comparable to Katrina; today, Gustav has been downgraded to tropical storm status. Hopefully, the citizens of the world-famous New Orleans will soon be graced with a reprieve from all of the cataclysmic weather.

No comments: