The Levee Board and Hurricane Katrina
On Tuesday, August 30, 2005 the Orleans Levee Board was at the center of the greatest crisis ever to face the city of New Orleans when in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina multiple levee and floodwall breaches in the Industrial Canal, 17th Street Canal, and London Avenue Canal resulted in the flooding of some 80% of the city. The resulting flood is believed to have caused over 1,000 deaths, destroyed or severely damaged homes, businesses, and property in the majority of the city, and contributed to the emergence of lawlessness, looting and murder within the city of New Orleans in the days afterward.
Investigations after the disaster revealed the design of the levee and floodwall system, built under contract and overseen by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, had profoundly inadequate design specifications and criterion prepared by the Orleans Levee Board, and that the annual inspections of completed projects by the Orleans Levee Board were perfunctory at best. Legal investigations of possible criminal negligence are ongoing.
Read more about this topic: Orleans Levee Board
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