THE NEW ORLEANS HURRICANE PROTECTION SYSTEM: What Went Wrong and Why

Abstract

A Report of the Hurricane Katrina External Review Panel of ASCE. On the morning of August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck southeast Louisiana and triggered one of the worst disasters ever to befall an American city. The devastation was so extensive, and the residual risk looms so ominously, that even a year later the future of New Orleans remains clouded. To better understand this tragedy and prevent similar disasters from recurring, ASCE's Hurricane Katrina External Review Panel conducted an in-depth review of the comprehensive work of the Interagency Performance Evaluation Taskforce of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This report focuses on the direct physical causes and contributing factors to the failures of the hurricane protection system during and after Hurricane Katrina. Topics include: details about New Orleans and the hurricane, the protection system, how the levees failed, the human, financial, and cultural impacts, and direct causes and contributing factors, such as overestimation of soil strength, water-filled gaps, inoperable pump systems, and underappreciated risk to the city. The report includes several calls to action relating to lessons learned from the disaster. A fascinating read, this document offers hope for not just the future of New Orleans, but also for all other hurricane and flood-prone areas of the country. This title is not available for download by the chapter.