Gary Null, PhD and Jeremy Stillman - Solar Storms: Katrina Times 1,000? A Real Armageddon is Possible but Not Inevitable

In the five days leading up to Hurricane Katrina making its landfall, I issued a warning on my radio show advising the residents of the Gulf coast to evacuate their homes. I encouraged them to pack their valuables, leave their homes behind and head at least 50 to 100 miles North by bus, train, car, bicycle or even walking, as I realized that many people had no means of transportation. I also challenged the Army Corps of Engineers on the safety of the old and deteriorating levees located throughout New Orleans. However, approximately 80% of the people remained as they were told by local authorities that the levees would hold and they would survive.

Katrina struck Louisiana on August 29, 2005 as a Category 3 hurricane, and began its path of utter devastation that left thousands of people dead and tens of thousands homeless. On a trip to New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward district shortly after Katrina hit, I witnessed hundreds of homes that were inundated after nearby levees were breached during the storm. I saw holes in roofs that people had created to escape the deluge that caused the water line to reach 9 feet or higher. Five minutes away in an upscale neighborhood, the flooding was equally as overwhelming. New Orleans had become the portrait of a disaster zone.

On a recent return trip to the Ninth Ward neighborhood, I discovered that the area looked nearly the same as it did in 2005. The terrible damage that persists to this day is a testament to the late and inadequate response by local, state and federal authorities to come to the aid of United States citizens.