BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE SQUARE MILE OF NORTH DAKOTA HAS EXACTLY 9.31 PEOPLE IN IT.
Did you really want to attract so much attention to this statement? The Chicago suburb where my parents live is comprable in population to North Dakoata. The biggest cities are not "big." There is no comparison, by any stretch of the imagination, in population density. Nor, is there a comparion to a snow storm and getting flooded into homelesness in the course of a week.
Flood of 1996 Charon. Hit Fargo/Moorhead a bit, but devestated Grand Forks.
Very similar situation to what happened to NO, except for the air tempurature.
No one looted, fema did come in, and help a bit. Had some trailers for some folks to live in. Few folks did get low interest loans to help with the rebuild.
The vast majority of those flooded simply waded back in, cleaned up, rebuilt, and went on with their lives.
That's a very good comparison to make and an appropriate one to look at, IMO. You would have to look at the rest of the differences. New Orleans had existing crime and poverty conditions, and those that could evacute evacutated and those without common sense, a car, money for a bus (or too far back in line to get the last seat on the bus) were left. The full demographics of the city were represented, but I really bet it was weighed heavily in favor of the "down and out" to downright trouble maker crowd. And, even if they were the self sufficient type, what could they do? They then had to spend days locked in the wasteland (bodies piling up at collection points) with no real authority on the street, no way or place to pitch in or even walk out, no small town "know your neighbor" infrastructure and no real communications with the outside world. I wonder how things went in the rest of the damaged area, poverty ridden in many parts as well with a mix of people, that was not facing the water locked situation N.O. faced.
Of course it could just be one of those black folk vs. white folk/lib vs. conservative/For vs. Chevy feel good things too.
Charon
