The New Orleans Hurricane Protection System: What Went Wrong and Why

On the morning of August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck southeast Louisiana and triggered what would become one of the worst disasters ever to befall an American city. The devastation was so extensive, and the residual risk looms so ominous, that, more than a year later, the future of New Orleans remains clouded. The members of the ASCE Hurricane Katrina External Review Panel have conducted an in-depth review of the comprehensive work of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Interagency Performance Evaluation Taskforce (IPET) to better understand this tragedy and prevent similar disasters from happening again. The report, The New Orleans Hurricane Protection Systems: What Went Wrong and Why, focuses on the direct physical causes and contributing factors to the hurricane protection system failures. It was developed not to repeat the IPET information, but to interpret the broader significance of the findings. Written for both technical and general audiences, the report gleans valuable information related to the science and technology of hurricane flood protection as well as an overview of what caused the disaster. The New Orleans Hurricane Protection Systems: What Went Wrong and Why is a fascinating read, offering hope for not just the future of New Orleans, but for all other hurricane and flood-prone areas of the country.