All the fish are DEAD! Aquarium of the Americas

[ShirleyM]

I've visited this aquarium several times... it was not your ordinary aquarium, and it included a South American rain forest...I knew it couldn't survive, but this was a real punch in the stomach...

http://www.auduboninstitute.org/aoa/about.php

Tuesday, September 6th, 2005
8:18 pm	News Also, all the fish in the Aquarium of the Americas are dead.

__________________

[Kent E.]

What happened?

[ShirleyM]

Hurricane Katrina. The Aquarium of the Americas is in New Orleans, right next to the Port, the Gulf, the Miss River, between the French Quarter and the Central Business District.

[Doug1]

****, thats really sad, on top of everything else

[Loverotties]

But did you see they moved the dolpins to a Holiday inns pool and they survived!

[ShirleyM]

Yes; they were not from New Orleans. They were from Mississippi, and thank heavens they moved them. Their tanks were destroyed.

~ Shirley

[capt2000]

very sad..... I have typed and retyped this line but it is so hard to elaborate. That is a great place. I am sad to see it gone but not too suprised, I spend a fair amount of time down there...
we have so many people here that evacuated New Orleans and south LA with nothing but the clothes on their backs. All of our local hotels are full with people who have left LA. We chose a hotel that did not offer much; no free breakfast, happy hour, snack, etc. They need the most ( you can't give to the big shelters without being fema approved). And it is direct help, we, with the help of friends, family, and nieghbors have fed 14 families and donated clothes, and other basic necessities for several days now. I know there are people in our comunity that will help if they get a tax credit or some other benny for it. This is bigger than 9/11 in terms of dammage and people affected, yet with no enemy other than mother nature our politicians fight and blame instead of rally together like they did a few years ago. It is not black, white, blue, rich poor, young, or old. This was the worst sort of natural desaster that a coastal area could ever handle, especially one below sea level that knowing the risk did nothing to fix all the while growing. Anyway, those who took the warning and left without means are the ones we have been helping because by leaving early, not going to shelters, and being able to have the gas to get to Dallas, FEMA and the red cross seem to have nothing for them. It upsets me that, and race, religion or anything else has nothing to do with it, we are taking care of people who we had to force onto boats, busses and such but if someone got a jump on the situation with good judgement it seems that by having some sense the system feels that they will bounce but...... hey guys it has been a long week around here and well my rant will end, please think of those who are living off their savings, retirement, etc. that now cannot go to shelters and have to rely on the kindness of others to eat, get laundry detergent, clothes etc. please don't stop donating to the red cross if you live far away but if you live in the south, drive through a discount hotel parking lot and if you see LA plates on a bunch of cars, they are not likely to be geting govt help, and few will see insurance anytime soon. They are good people of all races that need help and support. It is amazing the diversity of support you see if the media out for the story and the politician aout for election would put a cork in it I know there would be many more good stories of survival, help, and rebuilding lives but I guess it is just not going to win an election or bump someone up to the anchors desk. I'd break in to a store to feed my family and steal a gun to protect them too. sure there are some one percenters out there who will wind up in prison or dead anyway, gangs, thugs, let them sit on their pile of tvs and toys and die from the pollution...................

[capt2000]

man, some dead fish really set me off, sorry

[ShirleyM]

I hear you. I appreciate your post.
I used to live in New Orleans, but returned home to Indiana yrs ago. Lived very close to the French Quarter for awhile...

I'm not writing this for you, but for anyone who hasn't lived there long enough to understand N.O.... so please no misunderstanding...
Everyone's gotta understand... there are thousands down there with no means to evacuate. None. As my son Trevor, 20, put it, "Yeah, I could WALK out if I had no car, but I couldn't carry a sick mother, large wife, and 4 or 5 children out" Thousands of people in N.O. had no cars. Parking is at a premium to non-existant down there in the city. No means of transportation, no way to transport sick or elderly or heavy relatives out, no money, and to evacuate for every hurricane, the cost would destroy them... We could hardly DRIVE out on a Friday evening during rush hour traffic, much less imagine evacuating with everyone else over a 2-day period! The geography and water surrounding the place makes it so impossible to get out. And then you have St. Bernard Parish... take a look at that place on a map and plan your evacuation... like at least a week early... same for Plaquemines Parish...

I'm doing all I can for them and wish I had the means and real estate to do more... to house a bunch for a long time....

And I'm so happy and proud to learn what you and everyone else is doing. Our country needs to set race and politics aside and get on with the business of humanity and compassion and taking care of one another here.

I'm glad they are FINALLY rescuing the animals that have had to be left behind! It's a beginning...

[capt2000]

I argee with you 100% the evacuation plan was so poor it should have had city buses and school busses with free ride to BTR all over them. I think the notion that it may miss and we could clear out for nothing won't be a problem in the future.

[rmhuntley]

weren't the seawalls around N.O. only build to withstand a catagory 3 hurricane?

[ShirleyM]

Yes, that was the problem.... they sure are paying for their lack of funding now... predicting 10,000 lives lost...

[tdwyatt]

heh, if yu've seen them, I'd hardly call them seawalls, more like elevated sidewalks so the tourists can saunter along Riverwalk...


... then there are the canal banks...


I think that the canals for pumping out the water were the main issue there...


They had freshwaqter amazonian mantas on the upper floors, I think the main issue was not the flooding itself, but the loss of power to the enclosed tanks for those specimens upstairs.

[ShirleyM]

Right, and right, but couldn't they have had generators if they hadn't flooded so badly?

[Jeremy1973]

The generators would have only lasted a short while (if on the roof). I recall hearing some hospitals commenting how their generators were on ground floor or basement and when it flooded it knocked them out as well.

Very sad to hear about the aquarium and fish. N.O. is going to need places like that back soon once the neighborhoods are rebuilt to start drawing in tourists and income again. That state is going to be spending so much on trying to bounce back, they will need all the revenue they can muster.

On the news this morning, I saw one lady who was finally reunited with her 5? and 11 year old kids. That brought many tears to my eyes to see how elated she was. I pray there are many many more happy reunions out there coming up. We need more to lift everyones spirits down there.