Hurricane Isaac … and the seven years since Hurricane Katrina
►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/aug2012/pers-a31.shtml
31 August 2012
Whatever the ultimate damage caused by Hurricane Isaac in the Gulf Coast region of the US, the new storm has underscored once again the depths of the social crisis in America and the dramatic failure of its political system.
No thinking human being can honestly believe it is impossible for the “richest country on earth” to protect its people from a Category 1 hurricane. Yet, once again, parts of Louisiana and Mississippi are being flooded, some 900,000 people are without electricity, and tens of thousands of Gulf Coast residents face evacuation.
Seven years ago, the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina were a damning indictment of American capitalism. The combination of crumbling infrastructure, the official refusal to listen to warnings about the levee system, the overall lack of preparedness, and the conditions of the poorest sections of the population, led to a terrible human tragedy. At least 1,800 died, and 80 percent of New Orleans was submerged, with 70 percent of its housing units damaged and tens of thousands trapped in the city for days without food, drinking water or assistance.
#etats-unis #katrina #isaac #mississippi #louisiane #nouvelle-orléans #désatres