The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Myths dispelled

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Wednesday, Sep 07, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Myths dispelled

Hurricane Katrina has dispelled several myths about the United States. The plight of the people of New Orleans showed that there are islands within the U.S. that are not what we in the developing world believed them to be. The scene in the American city was no different from what it is in this part of Asia after a natural calamity. We have seen the superpower pleading for aid from Europe, the U.N., and the lesser-developed countries.

Nisha Gopalan,
Chennai

The President of the richest country should understand that providing succour and relief to one's own people in times of need is more important than threatening the world and searching for elusive WMDs.

H.R. Ramesh,
Tumkur, Karnataka

The hurricane was certainly among the known risks, unlike the Indian Ocean tsunami which was unexpected. The intensity was not of unimaginable magnitude either, and the initial damage to life and property was rather limited compared with what happened in the aftermath. The tragedy which unfolded subsequently was due to human failure — neglected or abandoned contingency plans, official apathy, greed, and so on.

T. Tharu,
Chennai

The delayed response in dealing with the catastrophe is inexcusable, especially in the light of the fact that last year FEMA spent $250,000 to conduct an eight-day hurricane drill for a mock killer storm, Pam, hitting New Orleans. It was very clear that the levees would not be able to withstand the force from a category five storm and would cause extensive flooding.

Navin Muralidharan,
Chennai

Since 1853, New Orleans has been a recipe for disaster with the city being 10 feet below sea level. The breach of levees along the Mississippi caused the flooding of most of New Orleans. The 30 feet sea surge caused by Katrina is indeed extraordinary, but this is what global warming is all about. Mumbai fortunately is like an inverted saucer with the sea on three sides, and the buildings are made of concrete. New Orleans is bowl-shaped, with timber as the basic building material.

K.V.S. Krishna,
Chennai

One cannot but recall the human kindness witnessed during similar natural calamities in India — the Gujarat earthquake, the tsunami, and the recent floods in Mumbai.

Ordinary people performed heroic acts to mitigate the sufferings of fellow humans. In India we see the ugly face of men only when they are instigated by politicians and manipulated to achieve their ends.

V. Venkatasubramanian,
Mumbai

The survivors of Katrina will never forget the racial undertone in the Government's response to the crisis. The superdome in New Orleans is an example of hell on earth. After Asia's encounter with nature, it seems to be America's turn now. For once, it cannot blame Osama bin Laden and the "axis of evil" for the nightmare.

T.K. Neelakandan,
Hosur, T.N.

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