Can The Corps Correct Its Mistakes?

Looking back over the two years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the Army Corps of Engineers' continuing work has been closely scrutinized. But will they be able to prepare New Orleans for an even bigger storm?

1 minute read

August 8, 2007, 9:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


"It was a man-made disaster, created by lousy engineering, misplaced priorities and pork-barrel politics. Katrina was not the Category 5 killer the Big Easy had always feared; it was a Category 3 storm that missed New Orleans, where it was at worst a weak 2. The city's defenses should have withstood its surges."

"The Army Corps is running the show, with more money and power than ever. Many of the same coastal scientists and engineers who sounded alarms about the vulnerability of New Orleans long before Katrina are warning that the Army Corps is poised to repeat its mistakes-and extend them along the entire Louisiana coast. If you liked Katrina, they say, you'll love what's coming next."

Monday, August 6, 2007 in Time

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