The $14.5 billion flood-protection system built around New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina seems to have succeeded at keeping the city from going underwater again. — The New York Times
The abject failure of the levee system during Hurricane Katrina was the primary cause of the devastation that eventually cost the city a minimum of 1,800 lives and over $81 billion in property damage. Ida represents the first test of the system since it was completed in 2018.
The levees were thought to have an abbreviated shelf-life thanks to rising sea levels that would require significant upgrades within the next four years. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-led project was one of the largest infrastructure builds in history next to the Hoover Dam and Erie Canal.
Meanwhile, a protested new natural gas power plant south of Lake Pontchartrain that was supposed to protect the city’s electrical system has failed. The storm was so powerful it reversed the flow of the Mississippi River. The New York Times has more on the performance of the multibillion-dollar levee system here.
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