[conservative in nyc]

There's also a lot of New Orleans specific information here. I don't know enough about the local geography to sift through it:

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_08.html#074977

[cgk]

This is one seriously creepy article about the levees and a Cat 4/5 hurricane hitting New Orleans: from MAY 23, 2005!!!!

Thinking Big About Hurricanes It's time to get serious about saving New Orleans.

Excerpt: A direct hit from a powerful hurricane on New Orleans could furnish perhaps the largest natural catastrophe ever experienced on U.S. soil. Some estimates suggest that well over 25,000 non-evacuees could die. Many more would be stranded, and successful evacuees would have nowhere to return to. Damages could run as high as $100 billion. In the wake of such a tragedy, some may even question the wisdom of trying to rebuild the city at all. And to hear hurricane experts like Louisiana State University's Ivor van Heerden tell it, it's only a matter of time before the "big one" hits.