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August 31, 2005
NOLA And The Corps Of Engineers
I've been doing some armchair engineering and second guessing about the design of New Orleans' levees and the emergency plan for breach repair. Jonah Goldberg at The Corner found this Q&A from the Army Corps of Engineers. Highlights:
Q.2. Why did the levees fail?
A.2. What failed were actually floodwalls, not levees. This was caused by overtopping which caused scouring, or an eating away of the earthen support, which then basically undermined the wall.
These walls and levees were designed to withstand a fast moving category 3 hurricane. Katrina was a strong 4 at landfall, and conditions exceeded the design.
Q.3. Why only Category 3 protection?
A.3. That is what we were authorized to do.
I can easily imagine Houston using a "fast cat 3" as a design benchmark--we're about 50 feet above sea level. But New Orleans' conditions are unique and loaded with potential for disaster, which now has unfortunately been realized. Doesn't one have to weight the cost versus the potential (even if unlikely) outcome?
And it seems like there could have been better contingency plans in place for a breached levee situation. How about several hundred large precast concrete blocks? Or concrete barges that could be towed in and sunk?
I'm sure there's a lot more information I'm not aware of...but these questions have been bugging me. I'll try and find out some more on this.
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