On your second point, no I am not from the area, but I know several who are not. Nashville isn't on a 500-year flood plain, which is what this flood has turned out to be. Yes, Nashville gets small flash floods. They do not get something of this magnitude nearly often enough for the residents to prepare for, much less remember.

However, the citizens of New Orleans had more than ample warning. Plenty of authorities, civil and otherwise, had been warning of the danger of a strong hurricane striking the city. Tales of corruption (which led to the inadequacy of he levees and of city authorities being able to react effectively) have been rife for longer than I've been alive. Indeed, the city itself had money to work on the levees but did not. City residents were not at all uninformed about the precariousness of their position.

Let's be honest here you didn't just say "rivalling" you said "rivalling (if not exceeding)". No matter how you look at it though your claims do not measure up to reality. Even if they were to find that a secret cache of golden doubloons worth 10 billion dollar was washed away by the storm surge it still wouldn't even begin to compare. Not even close. By what criteria do you come to your "rivalling" conclusion?

<blockquote cite="Jimmie">I would also note that this area was struck by a disaster for which they could never have been prepared, as opposed to the city of New Orleans, which could have prepared but did not.

Are you kidding me? Clearly you are not from this area. Every time it rains around here we get Flash Flood warning and alerts. During a moderate rain storm I can hardly walk to my car from my office in downtown Nashville with out stepping in at least one ankle deep stream of water. We never expected the flooding to get as bad as it did, but it's not like we were hit by a earthquake or tsunami or something ludicrous. There are basically two kinds of natural disasters that strike this area, tornadoes and flooding caused by heavy rain fall.

How exactly could they have prepared for the Pontchartrain levee break? They probably should have spent the last 30+ years asking the Army Corp of Engineers to upgrade and update the levee huh? Oh wait…they did. They attempted to evacuate the city prior to the storm. What specifically do you think they could have done to prepare for this situation?

<blockquote cite="Jimmie">2) I linked that press release in my blog post and referred to it specifically as inadequate.

Ah…so you did. Missed that completely. So how is that statement vague or inadequate? It expresses sorrow for the loses, and states clearly and unambiguously what is being done to help.

1) I stand by the word "rivalling", especially since the damage figure we have now is only preliminary and does not include the damage from the dozens of counties that have been affected. I would also note that this area was struck by a disaster for which they could never have been prepared, as opposed to the city of New Orleans, which could have prepared but did not.
2) I linked that press release in my blog post and referred to it specifically as inadequate.

1. You said 'one of the largest humanitarian disasters in American history, rivalling (if not exceeding) the death and destruction wreaked by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans."

Hurricane Katrina – caused 133.8 billion dollars in damage. Over 1,600 people were killed, 500 more bodies were found but never identifies and 6,500 people went missing. The entire city was under water for weeks and some parts were under water for months. Hurricane Katrina was the largest natural disaster to strike the US ever…period. It dwarfed the next most costly natural disaster (1988 drought – 71.2 billion) by almost twice as much. To further put it's enormity in to perspective if you combine the all of the other major hurricanes that struck Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, New Orleans, and Texas over the last 30 years (17 in all, including monsters Hugo and Ike) the damages come to 190 billion. Katrina cause 133.8 all by itself.

Nashville (southeast) Flooding – damage estimates are currently about 1.5 billion and the death tool is at 28 across all affected states. 10 in Nashville, 8 in other TN counties and 10 outside of TN. This barely scratched the surface of your average weather disaster. Just two short years ago in 2008 the Midwest was underwater for 2 weeks in a flood that caused 15 billion in damage.

::Reference::

Billion Dollar Weather Disasters 1980 – 2009
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/reports/billion/bill…

2. President Obama issued the following statement on 05-04-2010 regarding the flooding:

“Our thoughts and prayers are with every American who has been impacted by the severe weather and flooding in the southeast, and our deepest condolences go out to those who have lost loved ones. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the local first responders who have been working tirelessly to save lives and protect property in the face of these devastating storms. I have spoken with the Governors in the most severely impacted states, and yesterday I dispatched FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate to Tennessee to view the flood damage first hand and to report back on any unmet needs. Federal officials have been dispatched to the region and we will continue working in close coordination with state and local officials to support response and recovery efforts.”

You can see a copy of this briefing archived on the White House website:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/statem…

And it's not over yet–many points along the Mississippi River, including the two areas I just mentioned, are still under multiple flood warnings. Even Memphis, which sits on a bluff, has been issued a warning. But it's as if the entire state doesn't exist in the eyes of the MSM or the White House.

I'm glad I live on the second floor. I just hope my mattress floats.