Background
Hurricane Katrina (2005) now stands as one of the costliest and deadliest natural disasters in US history. According to Wikipedia , the damage estimates lie in the $80-90 billion range. There are 1,836 confirmed fatalities; 705 people are missing.
From a Civil Engineering standpoint, Hurricane Katrina (2005) was significant because it caused a storm surge, which the levees around New Orleans were unable to keep at bay. Had this sequence of events occurred in a remote area, then an engineering failure might have been the end of the story. But the failed levees caused flooding of streets and homes, which triggered the need for evacuations. People were forced to leave their homes, but soon found their states had inadequate plans for evacuation. A small criminal element took advantage of the situation and looted the vacant properties. Eventually, the residents returned home, only to find that promised federal aid was very slow in coming.
So now, four years later, it is evident that Hurricane Katrina (2005) was a failure on many levels -- engineering, social and political. (Mark Austin)
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Lessons Learned
Since the epic devastation Hurricane Katrina caused that fateful day, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) came together and devised a set of criteria to make sure that this magnitude of destruction does not happen again:
- Keep safety at the forefront of public priorities by having all responsible agencies reevaluate their policies and practices to ensure that protection of public safety, health and welfare is the top priority for infrequent but potentially devastating impacts from hurricanes and flooding. Also, encourage Congress to establish and fund a mechanism for nation-wide “Levee Safety and Rehabilitation,” as is done for major dams.
- Quantify and periodically update the assessment of risk. This approach should be extended to all areas in the United States that are vulnerable to major losses from hurricanes and flooding.
- Determine the level of acceptable risk in the community through quality programs of public risk communication in New Orleans and other areas threatened by hurricanes and flooding.
- Correct the system’s deficiencies by establishing mechanisms to incorporate changing information, making the levees survivable if overtopped, strengthening the I-walls and levees, and upgrading the pumping stations.
- Assign to a single individual, a licensed engineer, the responsibility of managing critical hurricane and flood protection systems such as the one in the New Orleans.
- Implement more effective mechanisms for coordination and cooperation (for example, those responsible for maintenance of the system must collaborate with system designers and must upgrade their inspection, repair and operations to ensure that the system is hurricane and flood-ready).
- Upgrade engineering design procedures to place greater emphasis on safety.
- Engage independent experts in high-level reviews of all critical life safety structures, including hurricane and flood protection systems
(from ASCE website).
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