Higher ground

There’s a misperception in America that New Orleans is below sea level. This misperception causes some people to question whether the city should be rebuilt. Today, the Times-Picayune ran a story, accompanied by a color graphic, showing that 50% of New Orleans’ inhabited area is above sea level. It appears from the graphic that 50% of the Lower Ninth Ward is also above sea level.

“Inhabited area” means the area inhabited before Katrina. This does not include vast acreage of wetlands in New Orleans East, a wilderness lying inside the city limits.

So if you want to abandon New Orleans, then to be consistent, you must advocate abandoning every coastal town or city near sea level. This would include the entire Gulf Coast, all of which is no less hurricane-prone than New Orleans.