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| After a Natural Disaster, Is It Better to Rebuild or Retreat? | After a Natural Disaster, Is It Better to Rebuild or Retreat? |
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| NEW ORLEANS — Should communities hit over and over again by natural disasters — like hurricanes, fires, earthquakes and tornadoes — keep rebuilding? Or should they retreat from areas that are especially disaster prone? | NEW ORLEANS — Should communities hit over and over again by natural disasters — like hurricanes, fires, earthquakes and tornadoes — keep rebuilding? Or should they retreat from areas that are especially disaster prone? |
| It’s a question that will become only more urgent as climate change continues to fuel extreme weather. And it is especially resonant here in New Orleans, which has suffered untold extreme weather events in its 300-year history. The most damaging, of course, was 13 years ago, when the winds and rains of Hurricane Katrina breached the city’s flawed hurricane defenses. | It’s a question that will become only more urgent as climate change continues to fuel extreme weather. And it is especially resonant here in New Orleans, which has suffered untold extreme weather events in its 300-year history. The most damaging, of course, was 13 years ago, when the winds and rains of Hurricane Katrina breached the city’s flawed hurricane defenses. |
| It could apply to San Juan, P.R., still struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria; to towns in California virtually erased by forest fires; to neighborhoods in Houston repeatedly soaked by rising waters. | It could apply to San Juan, P.R., still struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria; to towns in California virtually erased by forest fires; to neighborhoods in Houston repeatedly soaked by rising waters. |
| The rebuilding question was asked by Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The New York Times and a native of New Orleans, during a discussion with Mitch Landrieu, the former New Orleans mayor and lieutenant governor of Louisiana, and Walter Isaacson, the best-selling author and professor of history at Tulane University. | The rebuilding question was asked by Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The New York Times and a native of New Orleans, during a discussion with Mitch Landrieu, the former New Orleans mayor and lieutenant governor of Louisiana, and Walter Isaacson, the best-selling author and professor of history at Tulane University. |
| Mr. Baquet described driving around San Juan after Hurricane Maria and wondering whether some areas were so damaged and are so delicate that they should not be rebuilt. He said the same of driving around New York City after Hurricane Sandy. | Mr. Baquet described driving around San Juan after Hurricane Maria and wondering whether some areas were so damaged and are so delicate that they should not be rebuilt. He said the same of driving around New York City after Hurricane Sandy. |
| It is a question many people asked about New Orleans in the days after Hurricane Katrina, when so much of the city was under water and so much essential infrastructure had been destroyed. Dennis Hastert, the speaker of the House of Representatives at the time, said flatly that rebuilding “doesn’t make sense to me.” | It is a question many people asked about New Orleans in the days after Hurricane Katrina, when so much of the city was under water and so much essential infrastructure had been destroyed. Dennis Hastert, the speaker of the House of Representatives at the time, said flatly that rebuilding “doesn’t make sense to me.” |
| That kind of thinking rankles Mr. Landrieu, who was Louisana’s lieutenant governor during Hurricane Katrina. “The people in New Orleans get really defensive about this,” he said. | That kind of thinking rankles Mr. Landrieu, who was Louisana’s lieutenant governor during Hurricane Katrina. “The people in New Orleans get really defensive about this,” he said. |
| But, simply saying that people should not live in a place ignores reality, he said. “You can’t just pick up people and say, ‘You have to go somewhere else.’ The world doesn’t work that way.” | But, simply saying that people should not live in a place ignores reality, he said. “You can’t just pick up people and say, ‘You have to go somewhere else.’ The world doesn’t work that way.” |
| About 85 percent of Americans live in places that might be considered at risk, he said. “You have to protect yourself by making yourself stronger,” he added, with design and construction that help the population withstand and recover from disaster. | About 85 percent of Americans live in places that might be considered at risk, he said. “You have to protect yourself by making yourself stronger,” he added, with design and construction that help the population withstand and recover from disaster. |
| Professor Isaacson, also a native New Orleanian, said the lessons of Hurricane Katrina had yet to be learned in other vulnerable parts of the country. Hospitals in the city had to be evacuated in 2005 because the hurricane caused extensive power blackouts — seven years later, during Hurricane Sandy, New York hospitals also had to be evacuated. Now, New York is doing what New Orleans had to do, taking steps like strengthening buildings, hardening power infrastructure and elevating generators. | Professor Isaacson, also a native New Orleanian, said the lessons of Hurricane Katrina had yet to be learned in other vulnerable parts of the country. Hospitals in the city had to be evacuated in 2005 because the hurricane caused extensive power blackouts — seven years later, during Hurricane Sandy, New York hospitals also had to be evacuated. Now, New York is doing what New Orleans had to do, taking steps like strengthening buildings, hardening power infrastructure and elevating generators. |
| To a large degree, New Orleans has made its way back since Hurricane Katrina. More than 17.7 million people visited the city in 2017 and spent an estimated $8.7 billion, a record. There are more restaurants for them to choose from than there were before the storm. | To a large degree, New Orleans has made its way back since Hurricane Katrina. More than 17.7 million people visited the city in 2017 and spent an estimated $8.7 billion, a record. There are more restaurants for them to choose from than there were before the storm. |
| The city has regained roughly 81 percent of its pre-Katrina population, and many neighborhoods no longer show signs of the flood. But the hard-hit Lower Ninth Ward still has less than half its pre-hurricane population. | The city has regained roughly 81 percent of its pre-Katrina population, and many neighborhoods no longer show signs of the flood. But the hard-hit Lower Ninth Ward still has less than half its pre-hurricane population. |
| The city still struggles with a stubbornly high crime rate, and roughly 27 percent of residents live in poverty. Rents are significantly higher since Hurricane Katrina, and so are housing prices and homeowner’s insurance. | The city still struggles with a stubbornly high crime rate, and roughly 27 percent of residents live in poverty. Rents are significantly higher since Hurricane Katrina, and so are housing prices and homeowner’s insurance. |
| The new mayor, LaToya Cantrell, took office this year and inherited a rickety water and drainage system that will be expensive to fix, yet that infrastructure will have to be upgraded for the city to thrive. | The new mayor, LaToya Cantrell, took office this year and inherited a rickety water and drainage system that will be expensive to fix, yet that infrastructure will have to be upgraded for the city to thrive. |
| The nation has spent billions of dollars since Hurricane Katrina on levees, flood walls, gates and pump stations around the city. But even if that is effective, Mr. Landrieu said, “If climate change continues to do what it does, if sea levels continue to rise, if the land continues to shrink, in 30 or 40 years New Orleans is going to be an island protected by this $14.6 billion barrier that we have.” | The nation has spent billions of dollars since Hurricane Katrina on levees, flood walls, gates and pump stations around the city. But even if that is effective, Mr. Landrieu said, “If climate change continues to do what it does, if sea levels continue to rise, if the land continues to shrink, in 30 or 40 years New Orleans is going to be an island protected by this $14.6 billion barrier that we have.” |
| MR. BAQUET After Katrina, I know the city has made a dramatic comeback. But let me ask a challenging question. What are the things that New Orleans failed to do? What were the lost opportunities? | MR. BAQUET After Katrina, I know the city has made a dramatic comeback. But let me ask a challenging question. What are the things that New Orleans failed to do? What were the lost opportunities? |
| MR. LANDRIEU As a mayor, there are only so many hours in the day and so many dollars. And given what we had to do, we did really great. But it’s obviously true that we haven’t solved all of our problems. | MR. LANDRIEU As a mayor, there are only so many hours in the day and so many dollars. And given what we had to do, we did really great. But it’s obviously true that we haven’t solved all of our problems. |
| So what did we miss? The city was too corrupt in a state that was too corrupt. We let education get away from us; our kids were being educated in awful buildings, and they weren’t learning very much. Although crime and the murder rate continue to go down, it’s still way too high. Income inequality continues to plague us. | So what did we miss? The city was too corrupt in a state that was too corrupt. We let education get away from us; our kids were being educated in awful buildings, and they weren’t learning very much. Although crime and the murder rate continue to go down, it’s still way too high. Income inequality continues to plague us. |
| So if the city’s going to succeed like all great cities — Detroit’ll survive, Chicago, which was in a bad place in the ’60s, has come back — you need a good couple of generations of really good leadership. The city’s got a long way to go. It’s still one of the great cities of the world. But from an infrastructure perspective, we’re in a really bad situation. | So if the city’s going to succeed like all great cities — Detroit’ll survive, Chicago, which was in a bad place in the ’60s, has come back — you need a good couple of generations of really good leadership. The city’s got a long way to go. It’s still one of the great cities of the world. But from an infrastructure perspective, we’re in a really bad situation. |
| MR. BAQUET Are there places that shouldn’t be rebuilt? I’m not just talking about New Orleans. I’ve spent six years in California — there are places where the wildfires are that people once didn’t live. Do you rebuild all of New Orleans East? Do you rebuild the parts of San Juan that are going to get whacked in the next storm? | MR. BAQUET Are there places that shouldn’t be rebuilt? I’m not just talking about New Orleans. I’ve spent six years in California — there are places where the wildfires are that people once didn’t live. Do you rebuild all of New Orleans East? Do you rebuild the parts of San Juan that are going to get whacked in the next storm? |
| MR. LANDRIEU We’re going to get hit by a lot of stuff. In the West, you’re going to continue to get wildfires; you’re going to get earthquakes. In the heartland, you’re going to get tornadoes. In the East,you’re going to get hurricanes. Eighty-five percent of the people in this country live in and around what we would call vulnerable areas. | MR. LANDRIEU We’re going to get hit by a lot of stuff. In the West, you’re going to continue to get wildfires; you’re going to get earthquakes. In the heartland, you’re going to get tornadoes. In the East,you’re going to get hurricanes. Eighty-five percent of the people in this country live in and around what we would call vulnerable areas. |
| If climate change continues to do what it does, in 30 or 40 years New Orleans is going to be an island protected by the $14.6 billion levee barrier that we have, and everything south of I-10 is going to be compromised. | |
| If you back up a little bit — and don’t get too afraid — within 100 years, the parallel where Austin and Atlanta are, is going to be the southern part of the country. That requires you to do a lot of thinking about prevention, about where people can live, where to put massive infrastructure investments. And the country’s really not having an honest discussion about that. | If you back up a little bit — and don’t get too afraid — within 100 years, the parallel where Austin and Atlanta are, is going to be the southern part of the country. That requires you to do a lot of thinking about prevention, about where people can live, where to put massive infrastructure investments. And the country’s really not having an honest discussion about that. |