most of new orleans is below the median sea level at
negative seven feet or two meters
the city is surrounded by many bodies of water
including lake pontchartrain the mississippi river
the gulf of mexico and many other small lakes
bayous and swamps
new orleans has a very intricate system for dealing with flooding
it's made up of more than 350 miles of levees flood walls gates and pump
stations that encircle the new orleans metro area
since hurricane katrina in 2005 about 14.6 billion
dollars has been spent on the army corps of engineers
upgrades for hurricane defenses
our first look is at the pumps and the pumping stations
there are 1 400 miles worth of drainage pipes with 120 pumps
housed in 24 stations
below is the bell chase pumping station which is the largest in the world
new orleans has an average annual rainfall of 64
inches which is twice the amount of seattle
washington the pumps are designed to move
one inch of water out of the city within the first
hour of a storm and a half inch of water each hour after large rain downpours
can quickly overwhelm the systems and still cause street flooding
the pumps are managed and operated by the sewer ridge
and water board below is their headquarters
the sewer ridge and water board is a very unpopular entity
in the city due to the mismanagement of pumps
that leaves areas of the city flooded after an afternoon
downpour next is the levees a levee is an embankment or wall usually
made of earth that separates bodies of water from
inhabited flood plains they're meant to protect those areas in
the event a lake or river level rises
if the water rises higher than the levee it will spill over
but a levee breach is not just a question of height
levees can also crumble under pressure due to poor maintenance inadequate
foundations or erosion roads and railways
sometimes cross a levee so flood walls and flood gates
which are usually made of concrete or steel are used
to close those gaps
there are more than 200 floodgates in the new orleans area
during hurricane katrina there were over 50 failures
of the levees and flood walls protecting new orleans
ahead is the 17th street canal which is the largest
and most important drainage canal in the city
on august 29 2005 at about 9 45 a.m a 30-foot long section
of the flood wall failed sending torrents of water
into new orleans lakeview neighborhood the breach quickly expanded into a
450-foot wide gap through which billions of gallons of
water from lake pontchartrain poured in destroying hundreds of
residencies and causing billions of dollars in
property damage 31 bodies were recovered from areas that
were directly flooded the breach section can still be seen
today at the intersection of canal street and
city park avenue is the hurricane katrina memorial
built in 2009 the memorial is dedicated to all those who suffered or lost their
lives during hurricane katrina
the memorial also serves as a mausoleum that contains the bodies of 83 people
who were either unidentified or unclaimed
by family members
however the story does not end here make sure to check out our next video as
we take a tour of modern new orleans most iconic
buildings
bye