To the editor:

Ninety-thousand square miles of the Gulf Coast were erased. In the 1990s, the Army Corps of Engineers submitted to Congress a plan to retrofit the levee system in New Orleans for some $14 billion. This was too expensive. The early estimates are reaching $150 billion with a death toll perhaps reaching 10,000 or more. There can be no doubt that the Gulf region will suffer another Katrina-sized hurricane, so do we rebuild a major metropolitan city some 10 feet below sea level to be home for some half a million Americans? Do we repair the refineries that provide 20-plus percent of America’s energy needs in this vulnerable area? Do we continue to put millions of Americans at risk by allowing suburban sprawl to continue in these high-risk areas?

Some argue it’s the same risk in Tornado Alley, yet there is no F-5 350 miles across. Towns destroyed in the “Big Flood” in the 1990s simply moved to higher ground, and insurance companies refused to insure those who chose to rebuild in the flood plain. This should be the nation’s wake-up call. We need to take a hard look at where we build our cities, and why we intentionally place our most vulnerable citizens – the poor and the elderly – deliberately in harm’s way. Sadly, this is a very high price to pay for a meaningful learning experience.

Steve Craven

Lawrence