Perilous place, powerful storms [electronic resource] : hurricane protection in coastal Louisiana / Craig E. Colten.
Colten, Craig E.
2009
TC425.M63 L73 2009eb
Available Online

Linked e-resources

Linked Resource Online Access

Details

Title Perilous place, powerful storms [electronic resource] : hurricane protection in coastal Louisiana / Craig E. Colten.
Author Colten, Craig E.
ISBN 9781604733457 (electronic bk.)
9781604732382
Imprint Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, c2009.
Language English
Description x, 195 p. : ill., maps (some col.)
Call Number TC425.M63 L73 2009eb
Dewey Decimal Classification 363.34/9220976335
Summary The hurricane protection systems that failed New Orleans when Katrina roared on shore in 2005 were the product of four decades of engineering hubris, excruciating delays, and social conflict. Here, Colten traces the protracted process of erecting massive structures designed to fend off tropical storms and examines how human actions and inactions left the system incomplete on the eve of its greatest challenge. Hurricane Betsy in 1965 provided the impetus for Congress to approve unprecedented hurricane protection for the New Orleans area. Army Engineers swiftly outlined a monumental barrier network that would not only safeguard the city at the time but also provide for substantial growth. Scheduled for completion in 1978, the project encountered a host of frustrating delays. From newly imposed environmental requirements to complex construction challenges, to funding battles, to disputes over proper structures, the buffer envisioned for southeast Louisiana remained incomplete forty years later as Hurricane Katrina bore down on the city. As Colten reveals, the very remedies intended to shield the city ultimately contributed immensely to the residents' vulnerability by encouraging sprawl into flood-prone territory that was already sinking within the ring of levees. Perilous Place, Powerful Storms illuminates the political, social, and engineering lessons of those who built a hurricane protection system that failed and serves as a warning for those guiding the recovery of post-Katrina New Orleans and Louisiana. A history of overreaching, gridlock, intrigue, and the final catastrophic results along America's most vulnerable coastline.
Bibliography, etc. Note Includes bibliographical references (p. 169-186) and index.
Access Note Access limited to authorized users.
Source of Description Description based on print version record.
Available in Other Form Perilous place, powerful storms.
Linked Resources Online Access
Record Appears in Online Resources > Ebooks
All Resources
Introduction
City at risk
Season of the storms
Lake Pontchartrain and vicinity hurricane protection, 1970-1990
Protecting the Delta, the West Bank, and the coast
Developments to the eve of Katrina, 1990-2005
Conclusions.

Browse Subjects

Show more subjects...

Statistics

from
to
Export