Word: flood
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...Interestingly, one last finding from the poll suggests that many people now feel less than lucky when it comes to New Orleans. A little more than half (56%) said they do not think parts of New Orleans that might flood again should be rebuilt. Currently, that means almost all of New Orleans. The locals hope, needless to say, that the feds will kick in enough money to improve their odds. "Luck," as baseball executive Branch Rickey once said, "is the residue of design...
...well with being told what not to do," he says. With reason: before James Lee Witt became FEMA director under President Bill Clinton, he was county judge in Yell County, Ark. In 1983 he made the mistake of trying to get the county to participate in the national flood-insurance program. "I almost got cremated by farmers. [They were] saying, 'Ain't no way in hell I'm going to let the Federal Government tell me where I can build a barn,'" he says...
...feds want something to change, they have to suggest it--nicely. After the 1993 floods in the Midwest, the Federal Government, under Witt's direction, managed to do something rare: it offered to buy out flood-prone properties to prevent repeat disasters. Several communities accepted, and the government, in partnership with the state, bought back 25,000 properties. The thousands of acres left behind were converted into wetlands, which act like a sponge in storms. In 1995 the floods came again. "And guess what?" says Witt. "We never spent one dime on responding. Nobody lost everything they worked...
PROTECTION REBUILDING THE LEVEES Hurricane Katrina caused 50 major breaches of levees and flood walls in New Orleans, toppling this wall, now rebuilt, along the Lower Ninth Ward. The ensuing flood covered 80% of New Orleansup to 20 ft. deep in some places. The government has reconstructed and in some areas even raised the height of the breached levees, but the system is designed to withstand only a Category 3 hurricane. Category 5 is the worst...
...what's a corporate lawyer doing atop the world's largest drug company? Saving it in court. The company is facing a flood of legal challenges. Among them: drugmaker Novo Nordisk recently claimed patent infringements for Pfizer's upcoming inhaled-insulin drug, Exubera, and Pfizer is being sued over Celebrex, its controversial Cox-2 inhibitor pain medication. Bonus points: Kindler knows his way around Washington, which should help Pfizer navigate the regulatory swamp. He has some operations cred too. At McDonald's, he led the turnaround of Boston Market...