The Army Corps of Engineers Better Call a Plumber

Not only were there apparently problems with the levees leaking, but the Corps claims that they never heard the concerns. Red tape adds to the problems. However, the Louisiana Senate approved a levee board consolidation bill. I'm not convinced that this will solve the problems associated with the boards.

Slidell needs a plumber as well. Flooding could quickly overwhelm the water distribution system.

Hurricane Katrina damaged Slidell's water system so thoroughly that if any major storm roars through the city, backed up canals could send sewage bubbling up through toilets and bathtubs. With a crippled budget and the city's utilities taking a $600,000 hit, Slidell Mayor Ben Morris is asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help pick up the tab.

People are still dying as a result of the cleanup. One person was killed when the tree that they were trying to clear from their property fell on them.

A Wal Mart Express is coming to Waveland, MS to assist in South Mississippi recover. The store is contained within a larger Wal Mart, but has materials and products geared to recovery (larger sized cleaning products, building supplies, etc.) While the store will eventually be converted back to a regular Wal Mart supercenter, this may be a model for future Wal Mart response to natural disasters around the country (and the world).

Down the road, Pascagoula's naval shipyard will be rebuilt. Northrop Grumman got $2 billion for that task as part of the larger appropriations bill.

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