March 22, 2002 |
VOL. 18, NO. 29 |
| Calendar |
| Exhibits |
| FYItems |
| Job Ops |
| People at LSU |
“Louisiana has lost 1 million acres since 1930. New Orleans, Houma and Morgan City are much more vulnerable to storms than they were 10 years ago.” –van Heerden |
It’s more than just water.
When the rivers rise and pour over their banks, when the levees don’t hold, when the hurricane winds push Gulf waters inland, or in any case where floodwaters rise and can’t immediately drain, it’s more than just water. It’s gasoline and diesel fuel from car and truck tanks and from gas stations; it’s chemicals from chemical plants, households, hardware stores and dry cleaners; it’s sewage from overwhelmed sewage systems; it’s garbage from landfills and possibly contaminants from Superfund sites; and it’s the bodies of livestock, wildlife and even humans.
These serious aftereffects of major floods were made apparent to LSU’s Ivor van Heerden when he visited flood sites in North Carolina after Hurricane Floyd dumped tons of water on the state in 1999. He had also been in Honduras a year earlier and seen the devastating effects of Hurricane Mitch on that unfortunate country. Being a scientist, he decided to do something about it.
Van Heerden, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and deputy director of the LSU Hurricane Center, recently received a $3.7 million grant from the Louisiana Board of Regents’ Health Excellence Fund to tackle these problems. Using New Orleans as a test case, van Heerden and his team will assess risk from all sources and work with Louisiana’s Office of Emergency Preparedness to develop a plan to avoid or mitigate the worst effects of a disaster.
“Coastal loss is one reason for the extent of hurricane impacts,” van Heerden said. “Louisiana has lost 1 million acres since 1930. New Orleans, Houma and Morgan City are much more vulnerable to storms than they were 10 years ago. Hurricane Floyd showed that flood waters can become highly contaminated and lead to severe problems.”
“No matter how effective evacuation is, a lot of people will be trapped in New Orleans. Estimates vary, but as many as 400,000 could be trapped there. Even a slow-moving category 3 hurricane like (1992's Hurricane) Andrew could flood New Orleans with 13 to 17 feet of water.”
Because New Orleans is in a bowl, the water will not drain but just sit there. Van Heerden says estimates are that it will take as much as nine weeks to pump all the water out; meanwhile, it will become a soup of contaminants, possibly even polluting the air above it.
“Getting people out will be very difficult,” he said. “When the water outside the city subsides, boats will have to be dragged over the levee, rescuers will have to find people who have taken refuge on rooftops or in tall buildings and bring them back to and over the levee again. Many of the people who are trapped will be old or invalid or sick. Some of them will have been on rooftops for days, without food or water or medicine. It will be the middle of summer then and the mosquitoes will be out. Rats and mosquitoes carry diseases, and other wildlife, such as snakes and fire ants, will try to take refuge in the same places people are taking refuge. Because New Orleans is a port city, cholera and other diseases from overseas may be present.
“There is also the possibility of civil unrest as people flock to high-rise buildings. The air might be contaminated from the water, and there will be a lot of fires. People don’t realize it but fires do a lot of damage in floods. Natural gas lines rupture, and gasoline and diesel float on water.”
There are other problems associated with extensive flooding too, van Heerden said. “The 700,000 who evacuate will have to go somewhere. That probably means massive tent cities, like refugee camps. But whenever a lot of people congregate, the potential for disease increases enormously. Sanitation, food and shelter will be major problems.
“Then there is the question of disposing of the water. It will be full of toxins, so you don’t want to put it into the Gulf, or the marshes, or Lake Pontchartrain.
“And after the city is drained, experience shows that a very toxic mold develops inside insulation. All buildings that were under water will have to be decontaminated.
“All this could happen three months from now. There is no guarantee, except that it’s going to happen,” van Heerden said.
So how do you handle something like this?
“We have a team of scientists, engineers, medical and mental health experts already
working on it,” he said. “We are developing computer models for this kind of flooding. We have scientists and engineers generating transport and fate models of what chemicals would be in the air and water and where they would go. We have vet school researchers looking at animal profiles, both wild and domestic. We have sociologists looking at how many people are likely not to evacuate and why. They will also look at the effects of stress on those who evacuate, those who don’t, and on the surrounding communities. We have medical researchers from the LSU Medical School in New Orleans looking at potential medical problems and how to deal with them. We are creating a database for the state’s emergency planning program which will be coordinated through a geographical information system.”
He is in the process of hiring support staff and developing a Web page, van Heerden said. Already, 13 principal investigators are in place. By the end of the year he said he will have a better idea of the scenarios that might take place, although it will take five years to fully develop the plan.
Although New Orleans is the target city, it is not the only place that will
benefit. Once the pattern is established, van Heerden said, the plan will be
fully exportable to other cities across the nation and around the world.
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| Andrew Merrick, kinesiology senior, plays Jesus in the “Passion Play” on March 26 at 7 p.m. at Christ the King Church. |
More than 30 LSU students are involved in a production of the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection, handling all the duties from directing to acting.
The “Passion Play” is scheduled for Tuesday, March 26, at 7 p.m. at Christ the King Church, and is free and open to the public.
But in the course of preparations and rehearsals, the production has, for some, become much more than just another performance.
“By looking at the passion as a prayer instead of a performance, we have recognized that what we are re-enacting is much bigger than ourselves and that we can't fully comprehend it,” said Brandon Charpentier, a freshman who plays the role of Peter.
For others, merely being a part of the production has allowed them a deeper understanding of the play’s storyline.
“At practices, when the soldiers are whipping Jesus, you can feel and see the pain that Jesus went through for us,” said Jenny Duckworth, a freshman psychology major who plays the role of the Weeping Woman.
For more information, call (225) 344-8595 or visit the web at www.CTK-LSU.org
LSU’s School of Veterinary Medicine will host the ninth annual Great Rover Road Run Saturday, April 20, at 8 a.m. The pre-registration deadline for the 5K run and one-mile Fun-Run with Rover is April 6.
The Great Rover Road Run, hosted by the student chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association, will begin with the 5K race for humans at 8 a.m. The one-mile Fun-Run with Rover will follow at 9 a.m. The course begins at the veterinary school on Skip Bertman Drive and winds through the LSU campus.
Race winners will be recognized in a variety of categories, including Overall Winners, Wheelchair, Slowest Pet, Best Owner/Pet Look Alike, Youngest Pet and more. Participants can also register for the Doggy Olympics and a low-cost dog wash after the races.
T-shirts and “Doggy Bags” are available for the first 500 race registrants. Pre-registration for the 5K race and one-mile fun-run is $12, and race-day registration is $14. Registrants can participate in both races for a $15 pre-registration fee and a $17 race-day fee. The Doggy Olympics requires a $1 entry fee for non-race participants. Pet photos will also be available for $10.
Pre-race packet pick-up is Friday, April 19, from 12 to 1 p.m. and 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the veterinary school.
Registration forms and event details are available on the School of Veterinary Medicine Web site at www.vetmed.lsu.edu, or by contacting the School of Veterinary Medicine at (225) 578-9537. The School of Veterinary Medicine recently established the Office of International Programs to facilitate international projects, research and collaboration among the school's faculty and students. The office, under the leadership of John Malone, professor of veterinary parasitology, will stimulate and channel interest of international research and education programs within the school and coordinate efforts with LSU's Office of International Programs.
"We had numerous faculty and students in the school individually doing international projects or work. We wanted to coordinate these efforts through one office and work to internationalize the curriculum and the school," said Malone. "Ultimately we would like to develop a funded program to foster international veterinary medicine here in the school," he said.
Malone is currently exploring numerous possibilities for projects and grants that will help further develop the school's international programs and projects. One such development is a new elective on veterinary medicine and international development.
The class introduces students to international medicine and opportunities and gives them the chance to design a "dream project" proposal for funding. Ten students have drafted projects and are currently pursuing funding to travel abroad and explore veterinary medicine first-hand in other countries. Malone also assists faculty members obtain funding for international projects.
A recently funded Merck-Merial Student Research Scholars program is a current avenue for students to pursue international studies. This is the third year LSU has been chosen by Merial to receive the student grants. In addition, cooperative agreements have been established with veterinary colleges around the world, including China, South Africa and Argentina, providing a place for LSU's students to work where formal relationships and programs have been appropriately established. Another possibility is a pending T35 student scholar grants program from the National Institutes of Health.
A funded program in tropical veterinary medicine for students and faculty, in cooperation with LSU's Office of International Programs, is a long-term goal for Malone.
Photo Gallery |
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| LaMont Cole, (left) a representative from GEAR UP, teaches children leadership and problem-solving skills. GEAR UP Baton Rouge (Gaining Early Access & Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a unique, outreach program designed by the LSU College of Education to help middle school students in the Baton Rouge community stay on the right educational track. The five-year program helps students in mathematics, English and language arts. Students learn study skills, develop leadership and problem-solving techniques, and how to prepare for college. Now in its second year, the program has helped more than 1,100 students and their parents boost their educational aspirations. |
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| Spring is here. Students enjoy warmer temperatures outside the Union. |
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