this city have worked so hard to rebuild could be gone once again. i think we re in big trouble, even with a category 2 or 3. i don t know how much trouble, but big trouble. category 5, we re in big, big, big trouble over again. the ballpark figure for protecting the city from a category 5 hurricane, the so-called one in 1,000 year storm protection, is somewhere between $70 billion and $140 billion. all things are possible, given the mission and the financial backing to do it. building bigger levees isn t the only solution. to succeed, any plan needs to include coastal wetlands restoration. the island s marshes and swamps absorb a hurricane strength and the storm surge before it reaches the city. the barrier islands protect the wetlands. the wetlands protect the levees. the levees protect us. but louisiana s wetlands are
another harsh blow, the bp oil disaster. for three months, millions of barrels of oil poured into the gulf of mexico, coating wildlife, blackening beaches, poisoning louisiana s precious seafood. less violent than a hurricane, it was more like a slow strangulation of hope. this is like a cancer. this is a disease. how can we remedy this? the oil s on the bottom with the shrimp, the fish, everything. and what happens in the gulf directly impacts the people of new orleans. the city s economy depends on the millions of tourists attracted by its unique cuisine. the food culture really does revolve a lot around the seafood. they say in new orleans, you know, we don t have the traditional seasons. we have crab season, oyster season, crawfish season. before the oil crisis, new orleans chef susan spicer was
landrieu was louisiana s lieutenant governor during katrina. it was the heart of darkness. yeah. it had ceased resembling anything i had ever seen outside of iraq. there was actually no civil authority on the ground, and i m not sure that america ever wants to put herself in that position again. people are still dying. people are still trapped. i appreciate you calling in. veteran new orleans journalist garland robinette fielded calls for days on local radio. how can we help you with your family? i m very worried about them. if you all are out there, call us and let us know you re okay. we had mothers die on the radio, trapped in attics with their children. i called 911, i don t know how many times, and they tell us they can t do nothing for us. do you still get driven to anger over it when you see those pictures again after five years? absolutely. the children, the old folks,
so many small business owners in louisiana and their employees have been decimated by the disaster. the question is what happens next? where are people going to make a living? do they stay there? do they have to leave? the psychological trauma which is basically the second major trauma after katrina in five years is an overwhelming challenge for people. oil is one of the biggest industries in louisiana and a big source of tax revenue for the state. louisiana needs the oil industry to survive, and to some extent, the oil industry needs louisiana, because louisiana generally has pretty lax environmental laws and very lax enforcement. it has a very good infrastructure to support the oil and gas industry. critics claim big oil has thrived in the state s notoriously loose and corrupt political system.
country. to protect the city from flooding, levees have been built there since the 1700s, but as the city expanded, it became more vulnerable. catastrophe struck in 1965 when hurricane betsy, a category 3 storm at the time of impact, caused the levees to fail. the whole city flooded, just like during hurricane katrina. after betsy, the u.s. army corps of engineers redesigned and rebuilt the levees around new orleans into a system thought to be strong enough to hold up against the same strength storm, a category 3. we now expect katrina s hurricane force winds to reach the louisiana coastline as early as this evening in new orleans before sunrise. when hurricane katrina grew into a category 5 with a bull s eye on the city, then mayor ray nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation. this is very serious, and it s of the highest nature. those who could not get out, were told to go to the superdome. at noon today, the superdome will then be opened up as a refuge of last resort. this