Erratum

In my last post, I mentioned that Switzerland would never allow its cities to languish under water. Yesterday, my very hip and with-it expatriate mother informed me that Bern and a few other Swiss cities were in fact under water for a spell in August, after the torrential rains ("like a cow pissing on a flat rock," was, I believe my parents' choice of simile at the time) that hit central Europe. According to an AP report from 8/25:

Across the Alps, military helicopters were ferrying in supplies to valleys cut off by flooding and evacuating stranded tourists -- and even cows -- isolated in mountain pastures by the rising waters.

The total number of fatalities, according to Swissinfo on 8/25, were 5 (in the Bern area, which was one of the hardest hit), and damages were estimated at 1 billion CHF. But dammit, they saved some cows. Pretty snappy-looking choppers, right?

Anyway, I regret the error. Though I stand by the idea that a Swiss logistician in New Orleans would not come amiss.