Posted on 09/16/2005 4:50:06 PM PDT by SandRat
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2005 – The Army Corps of Engineers continues working with New Orleans' authorities to repair levees damaged by Hurricane Katrina and to pump out remaining floodwater in the city, the corps' senior official said today. The Army's military and civilian engineers are in New Orleans as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's response to the disaster, said Army Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, commanding general of the Corps of Engineers, told reporters at the Pentagon.
Besides fixing damaged levees and ensuring that the Mississippi River is navigable, the engineers also are providing emergency electric power, as well as providing ice and drinking water, Strock said.
About 80 percent of New Orleans was inundated by floodwater at the height of the disaster. Strock said the Corps is "having very good success" in achieving its drainage mission, with only about 40 percent of the city remaining waterlogged. Officials have estimated that most of New Orleans would be unwatered by early October.
Strock said, "no water is currently flowing into New Orleans from any breach sites" in the city's levee system.
The general said he couldn't offer an estimate as to when the levees could be redesigned and rebuilt to better withstand a Category 4 hurricane, like Katrina, or an even more fearsome Category 5. However, he allowed that such a feat was technically feasible.
A supplemental account has provided the corps with $200 million to spend in New Orleans for flood-control work, emergency response and rebuilding damaged levees, Strock said. Another $200 million in supplemental funds has been allocated for operations and maintenance costs for the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway, he said.
About $440 million so far has been spent in response to Katrina's impact on New Orleans, Strock said, noting that about $270 million of that was spent on procuring ice and water.
Strock said the corps would also award hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts for debris removal in the wake of Katrina. That task "will be the largest cost in terms of the Corps of Engineers mission to recover from this disaster," the general said.
Army Corps of Engineers PING
ESSAYONS!
What will they do when a Cat 6 storm appears?
Stop the cycle of weather violence NOW!
/sarc
"trock said, noting that about $270 million of that was spent on procuring ice and water."
In a way this is simply mind boggling. It is hard to imagine in such as short space of time spending that amount of money on water and ice, in portions of three states. I assume it does include the three state hit areas and not just NO.
USACE Bump.
Faciendum est.
Yep!
When you are on the ESSAYONS Range, YOU WILL -- KEEP YOUR EYES, NOSE, BELT BUCKLES AND TOES pointed downrange at all times -- contemplating the merits of the Engineer Towers!
"What will they do when a Cat 6 storm appears? "
Well just rebuild NO again. What's a few bucks amoung friends.
ummm,.... make a Hollyweird movie? </sarc
Alright, call me stupid, but why don't they just put a giant bathtub type drain with a big plug in it in the middle of N.O. If the levees break, just pull the plug. There would be a strong whirlpool for a few blocks, but the water would drain quickly.
If anyone from the government is reading this, for a small part of the $200B+ budget, I am willing to pursue this idea further. Mayor Nagin told me he thought it was a good idea.
Your floor drain idea won't work because it would need a massive pump sucking on the other end to pump the water up and out of six feet of elevation. I won't even get in to the cubic gallons...;-)
I'm told by my nephew a Florida hurricane Andrew survivor that their is no Category 6. Category 5 covers winds up to infinity miles per hour.
Hmm, if that drain had a pipe that opened into the Gulf, you might be talking. Isn't Gulf level lower than the lowest spot in NO, even when a storm surge piles up?
"it would need a massive pump sucking on the other end"
I have this solved. For patent reasons, I can't give details, but I can give you a hint...the device to handle this is called the "Lewinsky".
" Isn't Gulf level lower than the lowest spot in NO"
You are thinking too small. For the drain, I was going to drill straight through to China. We have a $200B budget...at a minimum.
I'm told by my nephew a Florida hurricane Andrew survivor that their is no Category 6. Category 5 covers winds up to infinity miles per hour.
See! Bush unwilling to protect "weakest among us" against
infinitly high winds of Category 6 hurricane!
Kyoto protocol failure leads to increased chances of Category 6 hurricane say experts.
I could offer a few names, if you'd like. :)
Problem: New Orleans is below sea-level in many parts.
Real Solution: Build New Orleans up about 15 feet.
BTTT
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