Army Corps Of Engineers Admit Flaws in Levees

The Army Corps of Engineers have admitted to design flaws in the levees of New Orleans. The design flaws were due to outdated data which resulted in a disjointed system of levees.

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I am sad that all the people in New Orleans had to suffer such a tragedy. I am glad that the errors have been recognized and admitted to. Although this was of course a great contributor to the disaster that occurred, there were many other flaws in the system that have yet to be admitted or recognized. It must of taken great courage for Army Corps of Engineers to admit their mistake. I hope they will make up for this egregious error by making the future levees 20 times stronger. I have great respect for this branch of the Armed services that in the past has helped save the lives of many men and women in Americas past history. I am sure this error was not intentional by any means.

[edit on 2-6-2006 by ThePieMaN]

That's what happens when you build on a foundation of sand.

The corps knew that the local soil was unsuitable for constructing solid earthworks. They trucked in some clay, but not nearly enough. The same is true for the rebuilding, it's still the same fundamentally flawed design.

The levee blocks weren't driven deep enough to begin with, add in the fact that they rested on sand (which shifts entirely too much in the surge to be of any use in preventing floods) and it's a disaster waiting to happen.

The levees have officially been downgraded in strength since Katrina. Before Katrina they could accomodate a Cat 3, now they can stand up to no more than a Cat 2, I believe, according to the corps' own estimates.

People who return to the area are doing so at great personal risk, I think. Unless they don't mind moving out every time a storm blows into the Gulf.

Well, it comes to no surprise really. Most of down here, knew this already, so we kinda just gave this news a sarcastic laugh. A big problem is also the structural integrity of these "newer" homes. If you look at the flood maps, you can see where the "old New Orleans" was, compared to the new areas. We made a big mistake in populating these areas, imo, but, alas, I guess you have to expand if you want to be a major American city.

The homes that were relatively new, are the ones that suffered the most. If you go into my area, the French Quarter, and most of Uptown, you would never guess that a storm had come through. My home is over 150 years old, it has been through many storms, and I have fared relatively well. That is because of two important factors: the homes at that time were built with the knowledge of storms in mind and also it is close to the river, where there was a sort of "natural levee" before the big levees were built. I don't know if this has been posted already, but I'm going to provide a link to a really incredible hour by hour flood animation.

Flash Flood

Well a lot of people thought and said exactly what you did but there were also a lot of people that humbugged that "conspiracy", well they were proved wrong and the Army Corps of Engineers stepped up to the plate and accepted the responsibility for the error. It was just refreshing in a time where people have been seemingly lying straight to our faces trying to make us appear as tho we the citizens are in the wrong.
It truly is amazing how sometimes common sense will surpass technology. Those people 100-200 years ago didn't need a computer to teach thm how to build something that will stand against catastrophy. People built things with their two hands and took pride in their work. I love that city. Its also an important part of America and we must make sure its taken care of.


Pie

Based on everything I have been able to slog through, which has been a lot; I'm not convinced that New Orleans will survive as a city beyond this decade. Trouble is, politics won't let Uncle Sam throw in the towel. Any Federal-level politician who refuses to throw money at this "problem" will find themelves on the sharp end of some very unwanted charges of bigotry and racism.