Virtually the entire population of the city has been displaced, a large proportion of it perhaps permanently, presenting a host of profound economic, social and psychological challenges to individuals, communities and all levels of government.ĭespite technological and scientific advances in prediction and mitigation, we have seen a serious increase in both mortality and economic losses from disasters since 1960, particularly in the developing world. Hurricane Katrina’s impact on New Orleans was compounded by an excessive dependence on technology and half a century’s assault on the natural defenses of the environment of southern Louisiana, leaving the city tragically vulnerable. The increasing complexity of disasters is rooted in the interplay of social and economic factors in the environment, exacerbating the vulnerability of people and environments and intensifying their impacts when they occur. However, today, more than ever, the complex nature of disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in the city of New Orleans, bring with them an enormous potential for the uprooting of large numbers of people. Dolphins have also been used to detect mines near an Iraqi port.Migration, whether permanent or temporary, has always been a traditional response or survival strategy of people confronting the prospect, impact or aftermath of disasters (Hugo 1996). But the project gained impetus after the Yemen terror attack on the USS Cole in 2000. The navy launched the classified Cetacean Intelligence Mission in San Diego in 1989, where dolphins, fitted with harnesses and small electrodes planted under their skin, were taught to patrol and protect Trident submarines in harbour and stationary warships at sea.Ĭriticism from animal rights groups ensured the use of dolphins became more secretive. Sheridan is convinced the scientists were keen to ensure the dolphins were not the navy's, understood to be kept in training ponds in a sound in Louisiana, close to Lake Pontchartrain, whose waters devastated New Orleans. Eight were found with the navy's help, but the dolphins were not returned until US navy scientists had examined them. The mystery surfaced when a separate group of dolphins was washed from a commercial oceanarium on the Mississippi coast during Katrina. 'The question is, were these dolphins made secure before Katrina struck?' said Sheridan. Usually dolphins were controlled via signals transmitted through a neck harness. 'The darts are designed to put the target to sleep so they can be interrogated later, but what happens if the victim is not found for hours?' If divers or windsurfers are mistaken for a spy or suicide bomber and if equipped with special harnesses carrying toxic darts, they could fire,' he said. 'My concern is that they have learnt to shoot at divers in wetsuits who have simulated terrorists in exercises. Leo Sheridan, 72, a respected accident investigator who has worked for government and industry, said he had received intelligence from sources close to the US government's marine fisheries service confirming dolphins had escaped. But those who have studied the controversial use of dolphins in the US defence programme claim it is vital they are caught quickly. Their coastal compound was breached during the storm, sweeping them out to sea. The US Atlantic bottlenose dolphins have apparently been taught to shoot terrorists attacking military vessels. Dolphins have been trained in attack-and-kill missions since the Cold War.
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