page_title: Civil engineering and infrastructure repair in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
section_title: Flooding
hierarchical_section_title: Civil engineering and infrastructure repair in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina / Levee repairs / Flooding
caption_attribution_description: English: Breach in 17th Street Canal wall in New Orleans, Louisiana. A part of the West End neighborhood of New Orleans is to the right on the east side of the canal, severely flooded; to the left, west of the Canal, is part of Metairie, Louisiana, not flooded. NOAA aerial image taken August 31, 2005. Metal girders and/or plates were later hung along the north side of the Hammond Highway bridge (gray bridge at top, with debris in canal on the north/Lake Pontchartrain side) to block the entrance to the canal. The breach in the canal berm and canal wall (lower right) were closed with helicopter-dropped sandbags and trucks dumping fill southward from Hammond Highway. The breach was closed Monday, September 5, 2005. An opening was then made in the metal wall to allow city drainage through the canal. Repair of the canal levee and floodwall are still ongoing as of April 2006.
context_page_description: Though Hurricane Katrina did not deal the city of New Orleans a direct hit on August 29, 2005, the associated storm surge precipitated catastrophic failures of the levees and flood walls. The Mississippi River Gulf Outlet breached its levees in approximately 15 places. The major levee breaches in the city include the 17th Street Canal levee, the London Avenue Canal, and the wide, navigable Industrial Canal, which left approximately 80% of the city flooded.
  While ownership, definition of requirements, operation and maintenance of the system belonged to the Orleans Levee Board, federal responsibility for New Orleans' flood protection design and construction belongs by federal mandate to the US Army Corps of Engineers.
  Flooding from the breaches put the majority of the city under water for days, in many places for weeks. The Corps made emergency repairs to breaches, as pumps worked at draining the city. Hurricane Rita brushed the city nearly a month later, causing reflooding of some areas, most significantly from water flowing through incompletely repaired levee breaches.
context_section_description: Corps' engineers initially believed that water in the 17th Street Canal overtopped the floodwall, scoured behind the wall, and caused it to collapse. However, three local fire captains confirmed with video footage that the floodwall had failed before water reached the top.  The floodwall breached on the lower (New Orleans West End) side inland from the Old Hammond Highway Bridge.
  There were three major breaches at the Industrial Canal; one on the upper side near the junction with MR-GO, and two on the lower side along the Lower Ninth Ward, between Florida Avenue and Claiborne Avenue.  The London Avenue Canal breached in two places, on the upper side just back from Robert E. Lee Boulevard, and on the lower side a block in from the Mirabeau Avenue Bridge.
  By the evening of August 29, 2005, approximately 28 levee failures were reported throughout the city.  Approximately 66% to 75% of the city was now under water. Wind and other storm damage had already stopped the city. Many power lines were down and the remains of trees and buildings blocked streets.
  As Corps of Engineers' workers began working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) begin work on city cleanup and civil engineering tasks, several boats surveyed the flooded areas and blocked waterways around the city. Corps of Engineers used crane barges to remove barges that had been washed atop bridges and other structures.
  Plans were made to begin levee work, including the placement of 3,000 pound sand bags on the 17 Street Canal. Army National Guard helicopters began assisting in this operation August 31. Meanwhile, Lake Pontchartrain started slowly draining and was expected to return to normal levels in about 36 hours.
caption: Breach in 17th Street Canal floodwall in New Orleans, Louisiana, August 31, 2005. (NOAA)
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