Query: If a major hurricane is approaching with a predicted storm surge of 10-14 feet, are you really going to worry about a sea level rise of 1 inch per decade?”

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Hurricane Katrina <=SEP=> Hurricane Katrina was the costliest natural disaster and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States . The storm is currently ranked as the third most intense United States landfalling tropical cyclone , behind only the 1935 Labor Day hurricane and Hurricane Camille in 1969 . Overall , at least 1,245 people died in the hurricane and subsequent floods , making it the deadliest United States hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane . Total property damage was estimated at $ 108 billion ( 2005 USD ) , roughly four times the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 in the United States .   The eleventh named storm and fifth hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season , Katrina originated over the Bahamas on August 23 from the interaction between a tropical wave and the remnants of Tropical Depression Ten . Early the following day , the new depression intensified into Tropical Storm Katrina . The cyclone headed generally westward toward Florida and strengthened into a hurricane only two hours before making landfall at Hallandale Beach and Aventura on August 25 . After very briefly weakening to a tropical storm , Katrina emerged into the Gulf of Mexico on August 26 and began to rapidly deepen . The storm strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico , but weakened before making its second landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on August 29 in southeast Louisiana .   The storm caused severe destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas , much of it due to the storm surge and levee failure . Severe property damage occurred in coastal areas , such as Mississippi beachfront towns ; over 90 percent of these were flooded . Boats and casino barges rammed buildings , pushing cars and houses inland ; water reached 6 - from the beach .   Over fifty breaches in New Orleans 's hurricane surge protection were the cause of the majority of the death and destruction during Katrina on August 29 , 2005 . Eventually 80 % of the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes became flooded , and the floodwaters lingered for weeks . According to a modeling exercise conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ( USACE ) , two-thirds of the deaths in Greater New Orleans were due to levee and floodwall failure . All of the major studies concluded that the USACE , the designers and builders of the levee system as mandated by the Flood Control Act of 1965 , is responsible . This is mainly due to a decision to use shorter steel sheet pilings in an effort to save money . In January 2008 , Judge Stanwood Duval , U.S. District Court , ruled that despite the Corps ' role in the flooding , the agency could not be held financially liable because of sovereign immunity in the Flood Control Act of 1928 . Exactly ten years after Katrina , J. David Rogers , lead author of a new report in the official journal of the World Water Council concluded that the flooding during Katrina `` could have been prevented had the corps retained an external review board to double-check its flood-wall designs . ''   There was also an investigation of the responses from federal , state and local governments , resulting in the resignation of Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA ) director Michael D. Brown , and of New Orleans Police Department ( NOPD ) Superintendent Eddie Compass . Many other government officials were criticized for their responses , especially New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin , Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco , and President George W. Bush . Several agencies including the United States Coast Guard ( USCG ) , National Hurricane Center ( NHC ) , and National Weather Service ( NWS ) were commended for their actions . They provided accurate hurricane weather tracking forecasts with sufficient lead time .

Storm surge <=SEP=> A storm surge is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low pressure weather systems ( such as tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones ) , the severity of which is affected by the shallowness and orientation of the water body relative to storm path , and the timing of tides . Most casualties during tropical cyclones occur as the result of storm surges .   The two main meteorological factors contributing to a storm surge are a long fetch of winds spiraling inward toward the storm , and a low-pressure-induced dome of water drawn up under and trailing the storm 's center .

Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans <=SEP=> As the center of Hurricane Katrina passed southeast of New Orleans on August 29 , 2005 , winds downtown were in the Category 1 range with frequent intense gusts and tidal surge . Hurricane-force winds were experienced throughout the city , although the most severe portion of Katrina missed the city , hitting nearby St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes . Hurricane Katrina made its final landfall in eastern St. Tammany Parish . The western eye wall passed directly over St. Tammany Parish , Louisiana as a Category 3 hurricane at about 9:45 am CST , August 29 , 2005 . The communities of Slidell , Avery Estates , Lakeshore Estates , Oak Harbor , Eden Isles and Northshore Beach were inundated by the storm surge that extended over six miles inland . The storm surge affected all 57 miles of St. Tammany Parish 's coastline , including Lacombe , Mandeville and Madisonville . The storm surge in the area of the Rigolets Pass was estimated to be 16 feet , not including wave action , declining to 7 ft at Madisonville . The surge had a second peak in eastern St. Tammany as the westerly winds from the southern eye wall pushed the surge to the east , backing up at the bottleneck of the Rigolets Pass .   In the City of New Orleans , the storm surge caused approximately 23 breaches in drainage canal and navigational canal levees and floodwalls . The failures of structures are considered by experts to be the worst engineering disaster in the history of the United States . By August 31 , 2005 , 80 % of New Orleans was flooded , with some parts under 15 ft of water . The famous French Quarter and Garden District escaped flooding because those areas are above sea level . Responsibility for the performance of the city 's levees belongs to the United States Army Corps of Engineers . The major breaches included the 17th Street Canal levee , the Industrial Canal levee , and the London Avenue Canal floodwall . These breaches caused the majority of the flooding , according to a June 2007 report by the American Society of Civil Engineers . The flood disaster halted oil production and refining which increased oil prices worldwide .   Between 80 and 90 percent of the residents of New Orleans were evacuated before the hurricane struck , testifying to some of the success of the evacuation measures . Despite this , many remained in the city , mainly those who did not have access to personal vehicles or who were isolated from the dissemination of news from the local governments . The Louisiana Superdome was used to house and support some of those who were unable to evacuate . Television shots frequently focused on the Superdome as a symbol of the flooding occurring in New Orleans .   The disaster had major implications for a large segment of the population , economy , and politics of the entire United States . It has prompted a Congressional review of the Army Corps of Engineers and the failure of portions of the federally built flood protection system which experts agree should have protected the city 's inhabitants from Katrina 's surge . Katrina has also stimulated significant research in the academic community into urban planning , real estate finance , and economic issues in the wake of a natural disaster .