COMMUNICATING RISK-POST KATRINA BY PETE CALI Assignment

COMMUNICATING RISK-POST KATRINA BY PETE CALI - Assignment Example The 1978 map below shows the impact of the growth population on the sypress swamp areas are more land was reclaimed to pave way for resettlement implying that the city was barely protected from any hurricane flooding. The encroachment and growth of the population behind the hurricane protection system indicates the level of confidence the people had in the engineering projects to protect them from floods. The Katrina had devastating effects in the city of New Orleans. Firstly, ninety-five percent of homes in New Orleans East were flooded while 10,000 homes in the Greater New Orleans area were destroyed. Secondly, the Katrina destroyed vital infrastructure such as roads, sewerage, gas and water pumping stations, hospitals and public transportation. Thirdly, the Katrina destroyed approximately 160 miles of flood protection levees and floodwalls at the London Avenue Canal, the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal and the 17th Street Canal. According to Pete Cali, the Katrina caused 50 breaches in the hurricane protection system. Forty-six of these breaches were caused by overtopping that caused excessive scour at the floodwall base or levee toe and four were caused by floodwall failures due to water loads within the design conditions. Cali argues that these failures were imbedded in three engineering mistakes namely: insufficient levee height, the use of substandard soil in the construction of the levee and inadequate definition of possible failure mechanisms. Despite the devastating impact of the Katrina on the city of New Orleans, it is imperative to note that the heart of the City, especially the French Quarter, the Garden District and the Saint Charles Avenue were spared from severe damage. However, the damage can still be felt in the Ninth Ward and the New Orleans East whose water supply and sewerage system is yet to be repaired and the housing facilities are barely enough to accommodate half the pre-Katrina population. Due to the limitations in the tax revenue,