My topic was given to me:
“Write a discussion paper on the hazard New Orleans faced prior to Hurricane Katrina. Were enough measures taken prior to and after the hurricane? Has policy changed? Is New Orleans still a disaster waiting to happen? Are other areas of the world at a similar risk? Is so, what is the status of their prepardness?”
So what do you know about New Orleans and Katrina? Any general comments and thoughts or resources would be great!
Chosen Answer:
New Orleans has always faced the danger of flooding from hurricanes. It is a danger faced by every city close to the coast everywhere in the world in the hurricane/typhoon belt. However, NOLA had never been directly struck by a maximum hurricane like Katrina in the almost 300 years since the city was established. Katrina was the most powerful storm ever recored to strike North America (combination of surge height, size, and wind speed).
Hurricane Betsy struck New Orleans in 1965 and flooded suburban areas, though it didn’t flood the city-proper like Katrina. A program of levee-building was started in 1966 and continued haphazardly (due to intermittent funding) until 2005. In addition to being intermittently-funded, the levees were designed and built to withstand hurricanes much weaker than a Katrina. Note that the levee system is a federal responsibility, specifically of the US Army Corps of Engineers.
The levees were poorly built partly because faulty data was used in the design calculations and partly because funding was not a priority so not enough money was spent. We – the residents of New Orleans – were NEVER given even a hint the levee system was both poorly designed and poorly built due to a lack of funding. We were repeatedly told all was well.
Realize that Louisiana is a medium/small state in terms of population so LA does not have the clout in Congress of the northeast or California. That meant the federal government didn’t blink an eye spending Billion on a 3-mile commuter tunnel under Boston Harbor, but didn’t want to spend an extra dime on Louisiana. It is not only Louisiana that gets the short end of the stick for federal funding – every state that doesn’t have a large Congressional delegation has the same problem.
That was why the levee system failed (breached) when Katrina’s storm surge was at maximum height around New Orleans, flooding the city-proper and killing more than 1300 people.
Since Katrina, the federal government allocated Billion to upgrade the levee system around New Orleans. The upgrade started in 2006 and should be complete by 2012. Many of the improvements were in place when Hurricane Gustav passed close to New Orleans lsat September and the improvements held. Had the improvements been in place for Katrina the loss of life and property damage would have been far, far less.
Teachers/professors often don’t allow Wikipedia to be quoted as a source, but the Wiki articles on Katrina and New Orleans have many, many links to official sites. The New Orleans newspaper’s website has lots of info on Katrina: www.nola.com
Other coastal cities in the USA are in even more danger from hurricane storm surge than New Orleans. For example, both Miami and New York City are directly on the ocean but have ZERO hurricane protection. I have spoken to people from NY who simply believe they don’t have to worry about hurricanes when that is absolutely wrong. Search “New York hurricane” for examples.
Other coastal cities around the world are in extreme danger, and have suffered loss of life from tropical cyclones that make the death toll from Katrina look small. Search “Bangladesh Typhoon” and “Typhoon deaths” for examples.
Good luck!
by: NOLA guy
on: 5th December 08