Quaerens Sapientiam: Devastation: New Orleans almost entirely flooded.

The governor of Louisiana today called for a complete evacuation of the city of New Orleans, which was hit hard by the winds, rain and storm surge of Hurricane Katrina. As of last night, 80% of the city was flooded, covering streets and building foundations and in some spots reaching 20 feet deep. The National Guard lost the battle last night to rebuild a damaged levee that holds back Lake Pontchartrain next to the city, but the lake's levels, elevated from the storm surge, are receding back into the ocean, and the water in the city has essentially stopped rising.

The mayor estimated the death toll for the city to be in the hundreds if not thousands.

23,000 residents are stranded in the Superdome, where the water is expected to soon flood both the lower levels and the generators, cutting off power and forcing occupants to higher levels. Authorities are uncertain how to evacuate so many people, but have a temporary location for them: the vacant Houston Astrodome.

Problems will remain

The floodwaters are not expected to rise, but the city's problems are far from over. Current estimates predict that it will be four weeks before the flooding is pumped out of the city. The powerful pumps that removed rainwater from the city are underwater or otherwise not operating.

New Orleans was built in a low area, with the Mississippi River on one side and the Lake Pontchartrain on the other, and is shaped like a bowl. This bowl has partially filled with water that is contains snakes and alligators, a shark, bodies of animals and humans, and toxic chemicals from many nearby industrial sites. One estimate predicts that it will be four months before the city is again habitable. This for a city of almost half a million residents, and another 850,000 in the surrounding metropolitan area who have lost the economic and logistic support of the city.

The situation could have been worse. The hurricane's center, which earlier appeared to be on a direct track toward the city, missed New Orleans by 10 to 15 miles. Katrina also weakened from a Category 5 to Category 4 before it made landfall. These providences kept Katrina from doing the full damage predicted by the National Weather Service:

AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE...
THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL...
[A FEW] HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY... TO THE POINT OF COLLAPSE.

Disaster was predicted years ago

The potential for disaster has been predicted for several years.

Worries began as early as 1969, when the powerful Hurricane Camille came within 100 miles of the city. 1998's Hurricane Georges and 2004's Hurricane Ivan had a chance to hit the city, but made landfall elsewhere.

The June 2005 FX miniseries Oil Storm described a series of events causing massive oil shortages in the US. These included the massive "Hurricane Julia" hitting New Orleans, with many residents taking refuge in the Superdome, as happened this week only two months later.

The risk of a hurricane causing massive damage to the city has been well reported in recent articles in American Radio Works, Natural Hazards Observer, and Popular Mechanics.

Mississippi received brunt of storm

The center of the hurricane made landfall in Mississippi, where a 30 foot storm surge destroyed an estimated 90% of the buildings along the Biloxi-Gulfport coastline. One third of the state is out of power. Two major bridges, and major piers and casinos were destroyed. Thousands of National Guard members are attempting to open roads, severely damaged by floodwaters and debris, to coastal Mississippi. An apartment complex has collapsed, trapping some residents. The state's death toll is expected to reach several hundred.