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Louisiana Dem: Oil spill 'worse than Katrina could ever be'
The Gulf oil spill is a worse disaster than Hurricane Katrina, a Louisiana congressman said Thursday.
Rep. Charlie Melancon (D), who represents part of the state's Gulf Coast, told Fox News the uncertainty about the future makes the BP oil spill more difficult to deal with than the 2005 hurricane that flattened entire sections of New Orleans.
President Barack Obama has called the oil spill the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. The leaking oil has affected wildlife in the Gulf and has dealt a huge blow to oil and gas workers as well as the commercial fishing business, two of the most important industries in the Gulf region.
Katrina destroyed New Orleans and large swaths of property in Louisiana and its neighboring states. Nearly 2,000 people were recorded dead and property damage totaled about $81 billion.
Eleven workers were killed and 17 were injured aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig due to the explosion that caused the spill more than 50 days ago. Up to 100,000 barrels are estimated to be spilling into the Gulf every day from the damaged pipe a mile underwater.
But Rep. Gene Taylor (D), who represents Mississippi's Gulf Coast, has said that the spill is not close to being as bad as Katrina.
"What I want people to know is this isn’t Katrina. This is not Armageddon," he said on a radio appearance last month. He repeated his claim on C-SPAN Thursday morning.
Melancon said he was concerned for those affected. "I’m also really concerned with the mental health of the people in south Louisiana; the fishermen, the people in these communities that are impacted.”
