by Will Driscoll
With two hurricanes expected to hit New Orleans on Monday and Wednesday, does anyone expect President Trump to do anything?
The Weather Channel says New Orleans could flood. Trump may very well do too little, too late. Is there anything Vice President Joe Biden could do to help, even though he holds no public office at the present time?
Here’s an idea: perhaps Biden could send out the word to his vast networks to recruit buses and drivers, and perhaps to find Democratic mayors willing to equip high school gymnasiums to host people who choose to evacuate. Or perhaps Biden could ask campaign staff to interview his contacts in New Orleans about the stormwater management system’s capacity to handle the water from two storms. Or maybe he could ask pandemic risk experts to evaluate the relative risk of remaining at home in a New Orleans flood zone, versus staying in a gymnasium with other (mask-wearing) people.
Though the storms are not yet hurricanes, Hurricane Katrina was a low-intensity hurricane before it entered the Gulf of Mexico, when it blew up. The water temperature at Key West is 89 degrees—which means the Gulf has lots of energy to make powerful, potentially devastating hurricanes.
Beyond buses, we need to notify New Orleans residents of the hurricane watch now in effect. Joe, please mobilize your networks—in government and business—to respond promptly and appropriately to the risk.
People responded slowly to Hurricane Katrina, because that storm intensified over a weekend, while people were not watching the news. Here we are again, on a weekend, now with two hurricanes approaching New Orleans. Joe, please help us avoid the loss of life that we saw with Katrina. Because clearly, Trump isn’t up to the job.
(For updates, see Hurricanes.gov or the Weather Channel)
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