New Orleans finished repairing its levees just under the wire before the hurricane season begins anew:

With just days to go before the beginning of the hurricane season… New Orleans is still very much at risk… because the level of protection the corps has reached is still not as strong as the city needs. Many experts view this hurricane season, which begins on June 1, with trepidation, and hope that the system is not put to a test like Hurricane Katrina before further improvements can be made. “Some of these things were poorly designed and were almost pre-ordained to fail…” [Link]

In Bombay, the government is struggling to repair drainage and roads before the monsoons:

Keep your raincoats and gumboots ready by June 1. If the monsoon hits Mumbai on that day, be prepared to wade through knee-deep waters because the city is not prepared to tackle the rains… the various state and civic agencies are nowhere close to meeting the May 31 deadline for preventive measures… Pleading helplessness, a civic official, supervising the Mithi project, says, “We are running against time…” [Link]

For most people, politics are a non-participatory sport. You pay your taxes, they disappear into the black maw of the federal government, and you vaguely bitch about its actions during adda over rolls or coffee. But the one thing you do count on the government for is physical defense, whether against natural disasters or terrorism.

The Katrina debacle will probably change the balance of power in Congress during the midterm elections. If the monsoon fiasco is replayed with all its attendant loss of life, heads will roll in Bombay.