AUSTIN, Texas, June 5 (UPI) -- A U.S. panel of engineering experts has issued an 84-page report outlining steps that can be taken to reduce hurricane damage in New Orleans.
University of Texas at Austin Professor Robert Gilbert, the risk expert on the American Society of Civil Engineers panel, said the analysis confirms the vulnerable nature of the city's hurricane protection system.
"A thousand people died in New Orleans, and the system failed once in 40 years," said Gilbert. "That's way off the chart of acceptable risk if you compare the system to major U.S. dams, which have governmental oversight and must meet federal safety guidelines."
Gilbert said significant decisions need to be made about how New Orleans is going to be redeveloped and function in the future.
"The risk of flooding should influence everything from how people are evacuated to where and how houses are re-built and land is re-developed," he said. "Building houses on ground that is 5 to 10 feet below sea level and assuming they will never get wet is nonsensical."
A copy of Monday's ASCE panel's report -- entitled "What Went Wrong and Why" -- is available at: www.asce.org.
