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after Betsy (nicknamed Billion dollar Betsy, because it was the first hurricane to cause over $1 Billion in damages). The new levees were much taller and stronger, but still only engineered to resist a category 3 hurricane.

New Orleans sits below sea level, eight feet lower than nearby Lake Pontchartrain, the Mississippi River and its delta, where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico. This is a very dangerous situation in that floodwaters can easily congregate and remain there. Citizens of New Orleans, who have chosen to live in an area which buries its dead above ground in tombs because the water table is so high that otherwise coffins would literally float after being buried, have a responsibility to remove themselves from harm's way and prepare for the worst. It is common knowledge that any hurricane greater than a category 3, could result in total devastation to the city.

Hurricane Camille hit New Orleans as a category 5 hurricane in 1969. Even though the hurricane actually touched down in neighboring Mississippi, the storm surge was a record 24 feet above sea level and the winds were much stronger than Katrina (190 mph versus Katrina's 160). Again, there were many who simply refused to evacuate. In Pass Christian Mississippi, only 2 of the 25 residents who held a hurricane party at the Richelieu Apartments, located next to the shoreline, survived the hurricane. Camille was the second most powerful storm in U.S. history and still, people were unprepared. Thankfully, Camille was not a slow moving hurricane, but the death toll was still high.

The older citizens of New Orleans get a little cantankerous when someone even suggests that they evacuate, as if it were only an option for quitters. They used to tell me about all the hurricanes they saw in their time. "I rode out worse hurricanes than this one," was a common expression. Hurricane preparation consisted of boarding up large windows, placing masking tape on others and bringing in all the lawn furniture. Sometimes people would fill their bathtub full of water because the water can become contaminated when flooding occurs. Tourists worry about hurricanes while some younger residents make preparations for hurricane parties.

Last year Florida officials stated to the media that the biggest problem with hurricane preparedness is Floridians. Immediately after Hurricane Wilma hit South Florida in 2005, thousands of people were waiting in line for food and ice. That meant they had not prepared at least three days'

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