Army Reports New Orleans Could Flood Again

This week U.S. officials released specific data on flood threats in New Orleans for the first time since Hurricane Katrina.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that flood-risk maps issued by the Army Corps of Engineers show that after two years of repairs on the levees, chances are 1-in- 500 that all of the city could be flooded again this year in more than six feet of water.

There is a 1-in-100 annual chance that about one-third of the city could be flooded with six feet of water. For some city blocks, this chance is twice as high.

The current $7 billion plan construction and repair plan is estimated to be completed by 2011. The new construction aims to significantly reduce the flooding risks, but reports have not yet been made available to the public.

This December, Army Corps officials plan to present options to congress on ways to decrease the chances of additional funds, which will go beyond the current $7 billion project. The cost of additional work could reach tens of billions of dollars.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the study of flood risks was conducted by the same team of academic and private sector engineers that issued an eight-volume report on the levee system's failures after Hurricane Katrina. The study was led by Ed Link, a senior research engineer from the University of Maryland.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle