Boyle McCauley News

Since 1979 • April-May 2024 • Circulation 5000

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A Book About Human Behaviour

I have read many wonderful books during my lifetime, but The Great Deluge by David Brinkley stands out. It is a page-turner that documents the failures and heroics of the people of New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast during the nightmare of Hurricane Katrina in August and September 2005 – A real-life thriller which leaves the reader angry, happy, and amazed.

Today it is inconceivable that civic and state governments would fail to anticipate the consequences of a Category 5 hurricane. In my opinion, the most outrageous of these failures was the lack of an evacuation plan for people who did not own vehicles. These were, of course, the poor people, many of whom were herded into the chaos and hell of the Superdome. Others died in their attics or on their roofs.

The efforts of the New Orleans SPCA which evacuated 263 cats and dogs to Houston, Texas stands out in sharp contradiction. When the animals were safely in their new quarters, the SPCA was asked why they went to such efforts to save them. The reply was simple: they merely pointed to their stated policy “to evacuate its shelter for Category 3 hurricanes and above.”

One of the most amazing tales of survival occurred in Waveland, Louisiana., where 14 police officers survived by clinging to the branches of a small tree. They were “….only a snap of a branch away from death.” There are many other similar events and it is heartening to read them.

In summary, if you want a good read and indeed a good lesson in human behaviour (both good and bad) during a crisis read this book, which is available as an audiobook (no copies in print, alas) at Edmonton Public Library.

Sandra lives in Boyle Street.

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