Perilous Place, Powerful Storms

Hurricane Protection in Coastal Louisiana

Bibliographic Data

ID19985546
AuthorsC E Colten (0000-0001-9549-3650, corresponding author)
Year2009
Pages195
Publication date2009-06-12
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenuePerilous place, powerful storms (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherUniversity Press of Mississippi (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.14325/mississippi/9781604732382.001.0001
OpenAlexW2265366682
ISBN9781604732382
Open LibraryOL22666213M
LanguageEN
Citations received11

The hurricane protection systems that failed New Orleans when Katrina roared on shore in 2005 were the product of four decades of engineering hubris, excruciating delays, and social conflict. This book looks at the protracted process of erecting massive structures designed to fend off tropical storms, and examines how human actions and inactions left the system incomplete on the eve of its greatest challenge. Hurricane Betsy in 1965 provided the impetus for Congress to approve unprecedented hurricane protection for the New Orleans area. Army Engineers swiftly outlined a monumental barrier network that would not only safeguard the city at the time but would also provide for substantial growth. Scheduled for completion in 1978, the project encountered a host of frustrating delays. From newly imposed environmental requirements to complex construction challenges, to funding battles, to disputes over proper structures, the buffer envisioned for southeast Louisiana remained incomplete forty years later, as Hurricane Katrina bore down on the city. As the book reveals, the very remedies intended to shield the city ultimately contributed immensely to the residents’ vulnerability by encouraging sprawl into flood-prone territory that was already sinking within the ring of levees

Archaeology · Computer security · Environmental planning · Flood myth · Forensic engineering · Geography · Hurricane katrina · Meteorology · Natural disaster · Political science · Storm · Vulnerability (computing) · Disaster Management and Resilience · Engineering · History · 2005 · Evaluation · Flood control · Hurricane protection · Levees · Louisiana · Mississippi River · new orleans

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