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Experts Say Faulty Levees Caused Much of Flooding
Washington Post ^ | Sept. 21, 2005 | Michael Grunwald and Susan B. Glasser

Posted on 09/20/2005 11:38:42 PM PDT by CobaltBlue

Louisiana's top hurricane experts have rejected the official explanations for the floodwall collapses that inundated much of New Orleans, concluding that Hurricane Katrina's storm surges were much smaller than authorities have suggested and that the city's flood- protection system should have kept most of the city dry.

With the help of computer models and visual evidence, scientists at Louisiana State University's Hurricane Center have concluded that Katrina's surges did not come close to overtopping those barriers.

* * * * Ivor van Heerden, the Hurricane Center's deputy director, said the real scandal of Katrina is the "catastrophic structural failure" of barriers that should have handled the hurricane with relative ease.

"We are absolutely convinced that those floodwalls were never overtopped," said van Heerden. * * * * Tuesday, researchers showed numerous indications that Katrina's surge was not as tall as the lakefront's protections. They showed a "debris line" that indicates the top height of Katrina's waves was at least four feet below the crest of Lake Pontchartrain's levees. They also pointed out how the breached floodwalls near the lake showed no signs of overtopping -- no splattering of mud, no drip lines and no erosion at their bases. They contended that the pattern of destruction behind the breaches was consistent with a localized "pressure burst," rather than widespread overtopping.

Their model indicates that most of the surge around the lake and its nearby canals was less than 11 feet above sea level, and that none of it should have been greater than 13 feet. The Army Corps's flood-protection system for New Orleans was designed to handle surges of more than 14 feet above sea level.

"This should not have been a big deal for these floodwalls," said oceanographer G. Paul Kemp. There's no way this should have exceeded the capacity."

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events; US: Louisiana
KEYWORDS: army; cary; construction; corps; engineers; floodwalls; katrina; levees
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To: konaice
There were two breaches, both in the same levee.

That's just one canal.

101 posted on 09/21/2005 12:48:54 AM PDT by CobaltBlue (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
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To: CobaltBlue
My job is to make the system work by keeping it honest.

LOL..........you do realize that the people on this forum that are reading that tripe aren't as intellectually challenged as your clients are, right?

FGS, you're THE problem, not the solution!

102 posted on 09/21/2005 12:49:19 AM PDT by Howlin
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To: dennisw; Howlin

Hearty Bump Dennis...lol


103 posted on 09/21/2005 12:49:26 AM PDT by wardaddy (I call my wife "woman" sometimes......am I a sexist?)
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To: konaice

I bet the guy driving that car never made it.


104 posted on 09/21/2005 12:49:45 AM PDT by mercy (THY Kingdom come. THY will be done. On earth .... as it is in heaven.)
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To: CobaltBlue
That's just one canal.

Its the ONLY one with Levee breaches.

105 posted on 09/21/2005 12:49:50 AM PDT by konaice
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To: CobaltBlue

I said right up front why I'm not a court reporter anymore.

I couldn't stand being in the courtroom one more minute with pompous fools like you have presented yourself to be on this thread.


106 posted on 09/21/2005 12:50:32 AM PDT by Howlin
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To: Howlin

There's a thread I saw the other day, I thought proved the subsidize was so severe the levee's were only 6.6', not due to poorly constructed levees.


107 posted on 09/21/2005 12:51:11 AM PDT by shield (The Greatest Scientific Discoveries of the Century Reveal God!!!! by Dr. H. Ross, Astrophysicist)
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To: Howlin
Well, that's why I asked the question about channeling!

LOL--I'd missed that :-). Good call.

108 posted on 09/21/2005 12:51:17 AM PDT by umbagi (Austin 'til Friday, then Kerrville, back home Saturday. Y'All stay safe!)
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To: Howlin
And what if one of the entities doesn't like the outcome? Will yet another "party" emerge to handle the appeal? :-)

I'll clean my screen AFTER I get up and tend to my carpet burns!

ROTFLMAO!!!

109 posted on 09/21/2005 12:51:26 AM PDT by EGPWS
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To: konaice
Nope. You can't steal it.

Because I'm giving it away. :)

Just be sure that you use it wisely. Lawyer and politicians only, please.

110 posted on 09/21/2005 12:51:50 AM PDT by Knitebane (Happily Microsoft free since 1999.)
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To: Howlin

Well, I doubt very much that you're missed.


111 posted on 09/21/2005 12:52:23 AM PDT by CobaltBlue (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
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To: mercy
I bet the guy driving that car never made it.

Some babble on some blog somewhere indicated that you could see someone slumped over the wheel in one of the CNN helicopter shots but they took it off the air.

The car looks undamaged. Anyone in there probably has a car full of dirty laundry.

112 posted on 09/21/2005 12:52:25 AM PDT by konaice
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To: CobaltBlue
My point was, that at a price tag of $200 billion - so far - they aren't "getting away with it". There will be investigations up the ying-yang regardless of what the plaintiff lawyers do. So the only real difference the plaintiff lawyers actually make in a case like this is getting a piece of the action for themselves. It is simply a money making opportunity to be seized upon.
113 posted on 09/21/2005 12:53:17 AM PDT by DB (©)
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To: konaice

I don't think Cobalt should start spending that "award" just yet.

If this turns out like 9-11, it will be the end of time before they decide whether it was one event (hurricane) or two events (hurricane & levees).


114 posted on 09/21/2005 12:53:37 AM PDT by Howlin
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To: CobaltBlue; Howlin
What are you smoking?

Gosh, perhaps the 5th would be prudent, eh? ; )

115 posted on 09/21/2005 12:53:45 AM PDT by EGPWS
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To: DB

Plaintiff lawyers don't make a cent if the client doesn't get paid first.

Investigations don't get money for the injured people.


116 posted on 09/21/2005 12:54:27 AM PDT by CobaltBlue (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
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To: CobaltBlue
Well, I doubt very much that you're missed.

If you mean by people like you who take pride in "gaming" the system, I'd consider that a badge of honor.

117 posted on 09/21/2005 12:55:22 AM PDT by Howlin
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To: Howlin
If this turns out like 9-11

Oh, I see why you quit being a court reporter. You really wish you were a lawyer! Delusions of grandeur.

118 posted on 09/21/2005 12:56:34 AM PDT by CobaltBlue (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
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To: CobaltBlue

That's not the point and I know you're more than smart enough to know that.


119 posted on 09/21/2005 12:57:53 AM PDT by DB (©)
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To: CobaltBlue
Well, I doubt very much that you're missed.

Your doubtful mind doesn't show an impressive mindset to the courts does it?

Howlin is proved to be doubtless in this domain of discussion and is well respected by many!

How can you possibly torment yourself this way, CobaltBlue, when no fee is in the taking to compensate for the torment?

120 posted on 09/21/2005 12:59:28 AM PDT by EGPWS
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