The Cause of the Devastation of Hurricane Katrina

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Recommended: Van Heerden, The Failure of the New Orleans Levee System during Hurricane Katrin

The historical event of Hurricane Katrina, a category three hurricane with winds ranging from 111-130 mph, in August 2005 revealed major structural failures in the levee systems of New Orleans. Though not all structural failures are as catastrophic, the breeched levees led to loss of life, homes, businesses, highways, and left a trail of destruction that is still being repaired today. The result of this failure led to lawsuits, conspiracy theories, and court cases. Hurricane Katrina had a major effect upon our country and those results are still rippling on today. Though a city once devastated, major improvements to the failed system have been made and leave the city feeling safe once again.

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans with its fierce intensity, the lives of its inhabitants was forever changed. The winds rose and the waves crashed upon the only security system this, below sea level, city had against the many water systems surrounding it. Most people think that the waves simply rose up over the banks and levees of the city; however, evidence proves this thought wrong. The actual reason New Orleans was flooded was due to poor engineering. According to experts, two thirds of the tragic flooding could have been prevented. Thousands of homes could have been saved if the engineers responsible for building New Orleans’s levees had followed regulatory guidelines.

After the shock of Hurricane Katrina slightly diminished, the Congress ordered a congressional inspection of the federally build levee system. As they dug deeper into the cause of the levee’s failure, they began to discover flaws in the actual engineering of the levees. Three of the levees that had the most prominently negative effect on the city, and ...

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...cane to protect the rich and middle class, and some blame President Bush.

In conclusion, Hurricane Katrina had devastating effects on the city of New Orleans. I believe the blame was portioned correctly onto the heads of the engineers responsible for building the levees. Not enough care or attention to detail was put into the construction of the levees, and resulted in death and devastation. When it comes to the safety of people, all measures must be taken and no cost spared. This historical event learned from that, and great improvements were made to the protection system in New Orleans.

Works Cited

Hurricane Katrina. [online] 14 October 2010. http://en.www.wikipedia.org/wiki/effects_of_HurricaneKatrina_in_New_Orleans

Parker Waichman Alonso LLP. Levee Failure. [online] 17 October 2010. http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/levee_failure

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