Most of the destructions from the events of August 29th 2005, when Katrina Hit the City Of New Orleans, were not only caused by the storm itself; but also, by failure of the engineering of the levee system protecting the entire infrastructure of the city. The years of poor decision making and avoidance of the levee system led to one of the most catastrophic events in the history of the United States. Throughout our research, we have identified three key players in charge of the levee system design, construction and maintenance. These three organizations are the Unites States Corps of Engineers, the New Orleans Levee District and the Louisiana Department of Transportation. The consequences of the hurricane showed the organizations negligence in the design, construction and maintenance of the protective walls.
Later independent sresearch showed that more than 50 levees and food walls failed during the passage of the hurricane. This failure caused the flooding of most of New Orleans and all of ST. Bernard Parish. The Unites States Corps of Engineers had been in charge of the of the levee system and flood walls construction since the 1936 flood act. According to the law, the Louisiana Department of Transportation is in charge to inspect the overall design and engineering practices implemented in the construction of the system. Once the levee systems were finished, they were handed over to the New Orleans Levee District for regular maintenance and periodically inspections.
The uncoordinated actions of these three agencies resulted in the complete failure of a system that was supposed to protect the people of New Orleans. The evidence is clear that this catastrophic event did not happened by chance. The uncoordinated response of these. .little beignets, and then . .
. you have a nice lunch somewhere or whatever. They have this stop-off thing or whatever. And that’s what the inspections are about.” These types of testimonies are fundamental to understand how the agency was managed. Works CitedU.
S. Senate, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Hurricane Katrina: Who’s in charge of the New Orleans Levees? Hearing, Dec 15, 2005 (S. Hrg 109-616). Washington: Government Printing Office, 2006. Van Heerden, Ivor Ll.
“The Failure of the New Orleans Levee System Following Hurricane Katrina and the Pathway Forward.” Public Administration Review, 67.6 (2007): 24-35.Perks, Alan R. “The New Orleans Hurricane Protection System: What Went Wrong and Why.” Canadian Consulting Engineer, 48.
6 (2007): 10.Internet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_levee_failures_in_Greater_New_Orleans
