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Isn't it obvious that Katrina flooded the high risk settlements in the
east and some poorly
designed levees flooded the rest? Aren't other parts of the city still
at risk from future storms? A few areas are naturally on higher ground,
but many parts of Jefferson and the west bank are not. Given the
decades of effort it is going to take to rebuild, what would be the
impact if another storm ravaged the other parts of town? Wouldn't that
be the final straw?
As we fix the levees that flooded the center of the city don't we need
also need to look hard at the levees that protect the areas that didn't
flood. Do we think they didn't flood because of superior design and
construction, or was it more just a matter of luck that the storm
tracked to the east?
As the Corps rebuilds they are continuing to overlook critical problems
on the westbank. Wetlands loss in the Barataria Basin is the worst in
the state. The gulf is at our doorstep. A small storm taking Betsy's
track to the west of the city would flood the westbank right to the
river levee from Algiers to Luling. A bigger storm would drown that
area under twenty feet of water.
Levees and flood gates are the needed as a stop gap until the wetlands
can be rebuilt. The BNOB commission has called for floodgates at the
Hero Canal along the ICWW.
The KB Homes proposal in Jefferson parish will develop some of the
lowest lying land in the area to provide 20,000 homes. Does this make
any sense at all? Won't developing this land cause additional
requirements for levee development and flood control?
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