Larry Elliott (The Guardian): The poor reap the whirlwind

[Jack Rabbit]

EDITED to fix link



From The Guardian Unlimited (London)
Dated Monday September 5

The poor reap the whirlwind
By Larry Elliott

No water. No power. No shelter. Homeless people scavenging for food and armed looters running amok on the street. New Orleans after the deluge was like the scenes we have become used to from developing countries. Songs have been written about when the levee breaks, and last week it did, turning the city into a toxic swamp. The death toll may run into tens of thousands; repairing the damage may cost tens of billions.

For most people, the initial response to the disaster has been the right one - an outpouring of deep sympathy for those who have been bereaved or lost everything. Some, however, have taken the view that now America knows what it is like to feel the full force of nature's terrible power and that the people of New Orleans brought the tragedy on themselves by their gas-guzzling lifestyles. Not only does this attitude lack common decency and humanity, it spectacularly misses the point. The SUV drivers had sped down the freeways to safety long before the storm arrived; those left behind to feel its full force were black, car-less and trapped. In this respect, New Orleans is just like every other disaster: the poor suffer most.

Concern for those affected by the disaster should not, however, prevent questions being asked. A seminar conducted by the American Meteorological Society less than three months ago concluded: "Dramatic land loss currently occurring in coastal Louisiana and projections of a period of possibly more powerful hurricanes in the Atlantic basin warrant a closer look at New Orleans as a case study in resiliency, with broad-sweeping implications regarding risk, human lives and the fate of a major coastal region."

It added that there were an estimated 57,000 households without cars in the city and that these were expected to bear the brunt of the casualties (estimated at 60,000-plus households in a category 4 or 5 storm).

Read more.

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Link not quite right

(has a double 'http' in it): try http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1562673,00.html

[Jack Rabbit]

2. Muchas gracias, señora

!!