The unmentionable crisis

Geoff Smedley

Commenting on Mr Brayford’s trip to New Orleans (reported in the Examiner) where it was revealed that Hurricane Katrina confirmed the flood risk to Launceston, I always understood this has been well documented for quite considerable time.
During this tour group’s time away visiting New Orleans and Holland, the A.B.C. featured a documentry on the disaster showing first hand just what happened when the Hurrican struck revealing the inadequacy of this massive levee system, a huge multi-billion dollar fail proof system that did fail causing much death and distruction simply by the entrapment of sea water that was unable to recede, this fact alone rendering more than 75% of the carnage bringing about major rethinking on the whole issue of levees.

The whole event was perhaps nature’s most compelling warning that climate change is upon us, turning around the thinking of many of the sceptics in the U.S. who are now focusing on the accelerating rate of this world phenomenon, global warming, but it seems our investigative team did not pick up on this vital factor as no mention has come forward to date. Scientists from around the world are now looking seriously at this issue and reports of rises in sea levels are imminent, one metre in 15-20 years up to 7metres whithin 50-70 years, these figures are a big concern at this time and any change at should have a vital influence as to just what a final report on this crucial matter is likely to contain, particularly after now witnessing first hand the dangers of levee systems, now with the prospect of constant increasing levels surely this must be a dangerous way of thinking.

Any comparison with the New Orleans issue and the problems facing this city is difficult to see and a very long bow would need to be drawn to find any similarities whatsoever between the two, but the need for serious, possitive and permanent action to the Tamar Basin is long overdue.

The awaited report originally said to be realeased by the end of August is evidently still being compiled and now will not be made public until the end of the year, in the meantime it seems the mystery reason for the $3million urgent piling will be revealed.for public notice shortly or may perhaps be picked up, of all things, in yet another study into the Tamar fiasco just announced.

Geoff Smedley
Launceston

Earlier: The saga of Tamar silt