Astrodome to house 25,000 displaced New Orleans evacuees
I am extremely pleased to see city officials opening the Houston Astrodome to house 25,000 evacuees from New Orleans. The Astrodome, once named the 8th wonder of the world, has been vacant since a new football stadium was opened in Houston and is the perfect venue to provide shelter to a great number of people. The human spirit is always evident after a tragedy like Hurricane Katrina and it is great to see everyone rising up to aid the newly homeless.
I agree that this is a cool thing, but I also wonder how this can translate into a medium term strategy. Tens of thousands of people are going to be displaced for months, and will then have not a lot to return to, insofar as physical things.
When the media was calling this “Americas Tsunami” before the storm, I thought that was a bit crass. But now I have to say that the description seems apt. Of course, no 2 disasters of this scale can really be compared, but they are both of unbelievable scales.
I’ve also heard that 20 oil rigs are missing – knowing you’re in the oil technology game, what impact are you seeing now on your industry?