2005 Levee Failures in Greater New Orleans

2005 Levee Failures In Greater New Orleans

In 29 August 2005 there were over 50 failures of the levees and flood walls protecting New Orleans, Louisiana, and its suburbs following passage of Hurricane Katrina and landfall in Mississippi. The levee and flood wall failures caused flooding in 80% of New Orleans and all of St. Bernard Parish. Tens of billions of gallons of water spilled into vast areas of New Orleans, flooding over 100,000 homes and businesses. Responsibility for the design and construction of the levee system belongs to the United States Army Corps of Engineers; the responsibility of maintenance belongs to the local levee boards. The Corps hands components of the system over to the local levee boards upon completion. When Katrina struck in 2005, the project was between 60-90% complete. Five investigations (three major and two minor) were conducted by civil engineers and other experts, in an attempt to identify the underlying reasons for the failure of the federal flood protection system. All concur that the primary cause of the flooding was inadequate design and construction by the Corps of Engineers.

Storm surge caused breaches in 20 places on the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal ("MR-GO") flooding the entire Saint Bernard Parish and the East Bank of Plaquemines Parish.

Three major breaches occurred on the Industrial Canal; one on the northeast side near the junction with Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and two on the southeast side along the Lower Ninth Ward, between Florida Avenue and Claiborne Avenue. On the east side of New Orleans the 17th Street Canal levee breached 4 feet (1.2 m) below design specs on the New Orleans side near the Old Hammond Highway Bridge. The London Avenue Canal in the Gentilly neighborhood breached on both sides; on the west side near Robert E. Lee Boulevard, and on the east, near the Mirabeau Avenue Bridge.