Is New Orleans Safe?

Paper Summary:

The paper explores the history of hurricane protection for New Orleans and examines advances in technology that have resulted in billions of dollars worth of construction designed to protect New Orleans from hurricanes and floods. The paper shows, however, how short-term solutions to control flooding in New Orleans have led to longer-term problems. New Orleans has become increasingly vulnerable to damage from hurricanes. The paper demonstrates how the government is still struggling today to determine how it will continue to aid New Orleans. The paper concludes that it is hard to imagine how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies will cope if the United States should suffer another hit from a major hurricane.

History of New Orleans and Hurricanes
Technology
Communication During the Katrina Crisis
Discussions Contributing To Problems
Consequences of Decisions
The Future of the Region

From the Paper:

"New Orleans was first settled by Jean Baptiste le Moyne, about 300 years ago. He picked the land between the marshes on the edge of Lake Ponchartrain and the Mississippi because the spot was so favorable for trade. However, the location was prone to both floods and hurricanes. Both hurricanes and floods have been a recurring problem ever since. One particularly severe flood occurred in 1927 with a death toll of somewhere between 250 and 1,000. In addition, nearly 700,000 lost their homes, triggering the first major federal effort to control Mississippi River floods (McQuaid & Schleifstein, 2002). Over the short term, flood control seemed to work well. Weather forecasting improved, local authorities developed effective evacuation plans, and building techniques helped protect the citizens (McQuaid & Schleifstein, 2002)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Doyle, Norbert. 2005. "Hurricane Katrina: Preparedness and Response. Congressional Testimony, November 2.
• General Accounting Office (GAO). 2006. "Army Corps of Engineers: History of the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity Hurricane Protection Project." General Accounting Office Reports & Testimony, January.Hill, Steven. 2005. "Kennedy, Katrina and the Role of Government." The Humanist, Vol. 65.
• Hsu, Spencer S., and Goldstein, Aimy. 2006. "Administration Faulted on Katrina; GAO Report Blames Bungled Response on Failures That Started at the Top." The Washington Post, February 2.(Hsu & Goldstein, 2006)
• McQuaid, John, and Schleifstein, Mark. 2002. "Washing Away." New Orleans Picayune, June 23-27. Accessed via the Internet 2/21/06. <http://www.nola.com/hurricane/?/washingaway/>
• U. S. Congress. 2005. "Hurricane Katrina: Preparedness and Response: Robert Doyle." Congressional Testimony, November 2.

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