Army Corps Admits Design Flaws in New Orleans Levees

"...[Katrina's] power over the Gulf of Mexico had created the largest ocean surge to ever hit North America... ."

"The surges along the Gulf Coast reached 28 feet, and waves of 14 feet came on top of the surges, creating a 42-feet wall of water. The ocean level was uplifted by a drastic fall in the barometric pressure... ."

42 feet is higher than a 4 story building. Can you imagine seeing that wall of water bearing down on your city, your town, your hamlet? Aside from an outpouring of compassion, in-landers do not worry much about hurricanes. You should. Even though hurricanes lose strength as they move inland, they often carry destructive rain storms far inland, spawning floods and tornadoes.

Hurricanes carry huge amounts of very humid air far inland to feed heavy rain storms and destruction. One Texas hurricane followed evacuees into central Texas, on to Oklahoma and northward. Another Gulf Coast hurricane went north with a vengeance, spawning storms all the way to Maine. Atlantic Coast hurricanes carry rain storms inland, flooding and tornadoes.

Hurricanes and severe storms and their fallout are no respecter of state lines nor geographical locations.

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Army Corps Admits Design Flaws in New Orleans Levees
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Its report says the defects were to blame for most of the flooding and damage from Katrina.

By Ralph Vartabedian
Times Staff Writer

June 2 2006

NEW ORLEANS ; The Army Corps of Engineers acknowledged Thursday that design defects in the levees protecting New Orleans caused the majority of flooding during Hurricane Katrina and that the disaster would almost certainly trigger reforms in how the federal government protected the American public.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-levee2jun02,0,3385244.story

And just where are those reforms today? No-bid contractors get richer on self serving jobs and New Orleans, one of the nation's most important port cities, lies un-reconstructed and still vulnerable to even a small hurricane, far less another massive one like Katrina. And yet, most climatologists aver that more destructive hurricanes will be a continuing pattern.

Nero is alleged to have fiddled while Rome burned. It is a fact that our government plays war and international corporate enrichment while America burns. A thousand fires beset our nation and AMERICA IS BURNING.

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com______________________________________

How did it happen?

ANATOMY OF CATASTROPHE - interactive graphics . click on to start. Give graphics time to develope.A window of text opens explaining the events. Some slides have 2 windows, so wait for them. Click forward arrow to advance to next slide.

http://www.nola.com/katrina/graphics/flashflood.swf

KATRINA: THE STORM WE ALWAYS FEARED: http://www.nola.com/katrina

So now with a new season upon us, what else is in store?