[sefarkas]

Your points are accurate but not completely relevant to the folks who live in New Orleans. South Florida is fully exposed to the ocean as are the folks on the Mississippi Coast. New Orleans is tucked in and not as vulnerable as those two communities.

I simply want folks to see that the flood wall failure (not earthen levees) were on account of a construction problem and not directly related to the storm as stated in the investigations noted at the beginning of this thread. Cat 3 is the realistic worst case storm for the levee system around New Orleans. I am sad for the other communities. However, the Corps manager and his contractors that signed off on those 17th St Canal flood walls ought to end up in jail. Furthermore, it would not have been such a disaster if folks were at home to protect their property rather than listen to the corrupt politicians on top of the city and state government. Everyone in LA knows how crooked these folks are. That's how they get elected. But, being mayor or governor does not give that person any credibility when it comes to issues like evacuation etc. Some of my small-government allies on FR seem to believe that getting elected raises your IQ by some significant fraction. Politicians in Louisiana are for entertainment purposes only; no one can take them seriously when it comes to life and property.

[Excuse_Me]

The 17th St. Canal flood wall collapsed at 3 a.m. Monday morning, August 29, about 4 hours before landfall.

[ndkos]

True, it is much harder for a Cat 5 to hit New Orleans directly. I do think that storms stronger than Katrina could hit New Orleans though.

I know that the levees had a construction problem. Instead of rebuilding the levees I think they should move the city to be above ground, but that a debate for another day.