Hurricane Cleanup Roundup

Majikthise points out that the Dutch appear to have the answer for flooding - build amphibious housing:

There are 37 houses strung along this branch of the Maas like a row of beads. At first glance, they seem quite unremarkable. Two storeys high, semicircular metal roofs and yellow, green or blue facades - hardly any clues let on that these are The Netherlands' first amphibious houses. The cellar, in this case, is not built into the earth. Instead, it is on a platform - and is much more than a mere storage room. The hollow foundation of each house works in the same way as the hull of a ship, buoying the structure up above water. To prevent the swimming houses from floating away, they slide up two broad steel posts - and as the water level sinks, so they sink back down again.

It certainly is an interesting idea and would work for residential housing, it would not necessarily work for major buildings. Also, trying to overcome storm surge is tricky business. After all, we saw what the storm surge did to the floating casinos up and down the Gulf Coast - they got washed away/inland and damaged beyond salvage.

And, there's growing evidence that the levees failed due to incompetence, negligence, and inadequate oversight as much as the fury of mother nature. The levees weren't overtopped, but rather failed because the structures weren't properly built or maintained. Whose fault is that? The Army Corps of Engineers and the local levee boards, who found that spending money on levees wasn't nearly as much fun as spending it on airports and local business development.

That's saying that businesses even want to return to New Orleans. Some are finding the business environment in Texas much to their liking. Considering all the graft and corruption that is prevalent in New Orleans, setting up shop elsewhere might seem like a breath of fresh air.

As federal, state and local politicians debate packages of incentives to rebuild New Orleans from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina and lure former and new companies into the area, many displaced Louisiana corporate decision-makers say they are seeing firsthand why so many businesses long ago migrated to Texas.

Among the Houston attractions, they say, are a business-focused environment, safer streets, better schools and, not least on the list, no state personal income tax.

The death toll in Louisiana has climbed over 1000 as a result of the hurricanes. What isn't nearly as clear is the identification of those victims.

With mold spreading all over the place as a result of the flooding, and people returning home to find all their possessions covered with mold and mildew, figuring out how to clean all of the mess properly is a necessity.

Meanwhile, the picture is gloomy for the Beau Rivage casino. The damage inside is far more serious than first considered. The structures lower floors were essentially wiped out because of a storm surge that exceeded predictions for the region. The cost to restore the hotel and casino complex is going to run into the hundreds of millions and take nearly a year to complete. The casino is one of the largest in the region.

Pascagoula hears about a 3-step plan for recovering from Katrina.

UPDATE:
Louisiana parents take up homeschooling their children due to the widespread damage to schools and infrastructure.

Technorati: flood aid; hurricane katrina; katrina aid; hurricane rita; slidell; biloxi; gulfport; pascagoula; nagin; blanco; barbour.