You figure out the rebus.
Posted on 09/20/2005 11:38:42 PM PDT by CobaltBlue
Louisiana's top hurricane experts have rejected the official explanations for the floodwall collapses that inundated much of New Orleans, concluding that Hurricane Katrina's storm surges were much smaller than authorities have suggested and that the city's flood- protection system should have kept most of the city dry.
With the help of computer models and visual evidence, scientists at Louisiana State University's Hurricane Center have concluded that Katrina's surges did not come close to overtopping those barriers.
* * * * Ivor van Heerden, the Hurricane Center's deputy director, said the real scandal of Katrina is the "catastrophic structural failure" of barriers that should have handled the hurricane with relative ease.
"We are absolutely convinced that those floodwalls were never overtopped," said van Heerden. * * * * Tuesday, researchers showed numerous indications that Katrina's surge was not as tall as the lakefront's protections. They showed a "debris line" that indicates the top height of Katrina's waves was at least four feet below the crest of Lake Pontchartrain's levees. They also pointed out how the breached floodwalls near the lake showed no signs of overtopping -- no splattering of mud, no drip lines and no erosion at their bases. They contended that the pattern of destruction behind the breaches was consistent with a localized "pressure burst," rather than widespread overtopping.
Their model indicates that most of the surge around the lake and its nearby canals was less than 11 feet above sea level, and that none of it should have been greater than 13 feet. The Army Corps's flood-protection system for New Orleans was designed to handle surges of more than 14 feet above sea level.
"This should not have been a big deal for these floodwalls," said oceanographer G. Paul Kemp. There's no way this should have exceeded the capacity."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Oh for joy!
We're are going to get to the bottom of this sooner or later!
BUT...But...but...I thought Bush ordered them blown up. sarcasm off.
You figure out the rebus.
My brother, who is volunteering in New Orleans, called me earlier today to tell me that "rumor has it" that some big lawsuits were going to be filed against the Army Corps of Engineers, and I should get in on it.
I didn't think too much of it until I read this article, but if the floodwalls really were improperly constructed, there's money in it for sure.
With so much death and destruction, you know everybody is searching for a deep pocket, and it doesn't get any deeper than Uncle Sugar.
These lawsuits won't be settled in our lifetimes; it will take a RICO Squad with Rudy at the helm to delve through the muck of corruption and lies in that state.
Well, blowing up the levees is actually something that really has been done in the past.
Nobody who understands the layout of New Orleans believes it happened this time, though.
The earliest flooding in Plaquemines and St. Bernard and New Orleans East came long before the floodwalls were breached.
And, after the floodwalls were breached, the neighborhoods that were flooded were as much white as black, maybe more white than black. Given the economic makeup, I'd guess that white people living in Lakeview, Lakeside, New Orleans East, etc., came out much worse than black people in Mid-City.
But still and all, don't make fun of them, it's not paranoia, it really has happened in the past.
That's what the Army Corps of Engineers is saying, but it looks like they might be covering their butts.
You don't know Louisiana juries. ;^)
Yeah, the lack of erosion is real interesting.
We are shocked, shocked ...
So, we're back to "It's all Bush's fault, huh?"
Yes, I do.
But what makes you think they can sue the United States Government?
There wasn't a lack of erosion in state government.
Just made the graphic 3 minutes ago. I'm going to upload it on my site.
Except it is worse than tying to sue City Hall.
Oh, I doubt that those retaining walls were constructed under the Bush administration, although I don't know for sure.
But facts are facts. Either the floodwalls failed, or they didn't (they did).
And either they were properly constructed, or they weren't.
As the Gipper famously said, "facts are stupid things."
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