LS506

Unit 7 Seminar

Professor Michele Wolf

Welcome!

Contact Info:

Email: Mwolf2@kaplan.edu

Office Hours: Sun 7-8 PM & Sat 10-11 AM

How do levees work?

What was the role of the levees, designed by the Army Corp. of Engineers?

View the following interactives:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3214/06-levees.html

What went wrong?

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- The catastrophe caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans could happen again unless the city's hurricane protection system is massively overhauled, an engineering panel said Friday.

"We must place the protection of public safety, health and welfare at the forefront of our nation's priorities. To do anything less could lead to a far greater tragedy than the one we have witnessed in New Orleans," a report issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers External Review Panel said.

More than 150 engineers and scientists contributed to the panel's report analyzing what happened in New Orleans.

"We now have a better understanding of what went wrong and why," the panel wrote. It also issued recommendations, but warned that there is "no quick fix."

Among the findings:

The city's system of levees and floodwalls, "failed catastrophically at over 50 different locations."

Pump stations "were not designed to function in a major hurricane or mitigate flooding if the levees were overtopped or breached."

Politicians and the designers and operators of New Orleans' hurricane protection system did a poor job, "evidenced by the fact that the system took decades to build and remains incomplete yet today."

Some of the recommendations

Designate one person to coordinate local, federal and state hurricane and flood protections and improve communication between all agencies.

Congress "should establish and fund a program for nationwide levee safety and rehabilitation, much as we do for major dams."

Be sure that levees are designed and maintained at levels appropriate to the threat and the work is reviewed by independent experts. Before Katrina, authorities warned a Category 4 storm could cause flooding; Katrina turned out to be a Category 3 storm at landfall.

Make levees and pump stations able to withstand overtopping. "If this is not done, New Orleans will remain unnecessarily vulnerable," the report said.

The panel also recommended that officials "rethink the whole system, including land use in New Orleans" to put fewer people and less property at risk.

The role of the Army Corp of Engineers

Let’s see what actor, film maker and satirist Harry Shearer has to say in his documentary, The Big Uneasy:

Part 1 –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L622DqubzmE

Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC1SAVQpTRg&feature=related

Immunity for the Army Corp

Federal judge dismisses key Katrina flooding lawsuit against Corps of EngineersBY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW ORLEANS - A federal judge threw out a key class-action lawsuit Wednesday

against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over flooding from a levee breach after Hurricane Katrina.

U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval ruled that the Corps should be held immune over the failure of a wall on the 17th Street Canal that caused much of the flooding of New Orleans in August 2005.

The ruling relies on the Flood Control Act of 1928, which made the federal government immune when flood control projects like levees break.

Discussion

Do you believe the judge made a correct ruling?  Do you think the Corps should have asked for

protection? Why or why not?  What do you base your reasoning on?  What grounds is the Army Corps using in asking for

immunity?  What basis did the judge use in determining to throw

out the case? 

Need help?

Email me with any questions or concerns Communication is the key to success Do not be afraid or too proud to ask for help I am here to help you Let’s work together and have a great week!