Cities and Water in the 21st Century

"Officials of the Army Corps of Engineers said that it would be weeks or months before the city could be pumped dry and that it would take years to rebuild its thousands of homes and businesses, its streets, highways and other infrastructure, an investment that could cost billions of dollars and perhaps never recover the rich cultural heritage of New Orleans.

One paradox, experts said, was that the destruction of a city that has always been vulnerable to water might provide an opportunity to rebuild it to make it more secure, with stronger buildings and with levees capable of withstanding the strongest storms. The present levees are designed to withstand a Category 3 hurricane; Hurricane Katrina was Category 4, one short of the highest category."

Robert D. McFadden and Ralph Blumenthal "Higher Death Toll Seen; Police Ordered to Stop Looters" nytimes.com September 1, 2005.













Photo credit: Digital Globe via Reuters and nytimes.com