Tuesday, November 01, 2005

New Orleans Levees Had Design Flaws

Thank goodness that's cleared up:
The engineers who designed the floodwalls that collapsed during Hurricane Katrina did not fully consider the porousness of the Louisiana soil or make other calculations that would have pointed to the need for stronger levees with deeper pilings and wider bases, researchers say.

At least one key scenario was ignored in the design, say the researchers, who are scheduled to report their findings at a congressional hearing Wednesday: the possibility that canal water might seep into the dirt on the dry side of the levees, thereby weakening the embankment holding up the floodwalls.
Oh. And then, of course, there's the whole "blown up by President Bush" scenario...

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

The engineers who designed the floodwalls that collapsed during Hurricane Katrina did not fully consider the porousness of the Louisiana soil or make other calculations that would have pointed to the need for stronger levees with deeper pilings and wider bases, researchers say.

Now Songbird, Oliver Stone can't make a movie with that. You really need to consider the entertainment factor before you go confusing me with facts.

11/02/2005 9:14 AM  

Blogger Songbird said...

What was I thinking? Silly me!

11/02/2005 10:04 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said...

This doesn't have anything to do with levees, just a general comment on your page appearance... I like seeing the lighter color letters on a dark background. It reminds me of working in AutoCAD (which I do for a living). Bright letters on a dark background are easier on the eyes for me. Then again, maybe it's just what I'm used to.

11/02/2005 11:08 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said...

According to that article, it looks like there were quite a few parties to blame for this catastrophe:
A flood gate near the Industrial Canal, which helped inundate parts of east New Orleans, was missing because of damage caused by a train, Bea said. Railroad workers had removed the gate for repairs, and it dispatched employees to fill the gap with sandbags as Katrina approached.

...and...

At another canal, the UC group found a levee built to five different elevations by five different agencies.

Not quite an Oliver Stone adventure, but it makes a pretty interesting read!

11/02/2005 2:54 PM  

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