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How much of an impact did New Orleans' flood protection system have on the flooding that happened outside of New Orleans during Hurricane Isaac? According to the Army Corps of Engineers, it wasn't much.
Col. Ed Fleming at the Corps' district office in New Orleans said Friday that their study shows that New Orleans' levees had little to do with the flooding in areas like LaPlace, Slidell, or Braithwaite:
"These impacts to the areas outside the system, with or without that system in place," Col. Fleming said.
But how can that be, considering some areas like LaPlace experienced no flooding during Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3 storm far more powerful than Isaac, a Category 1 storm? Fleming says wind speed, which is the only thing measured on the Saffir-Simpson scale, is just a small part of what determines the height of flood waters in a hurricane.
"That is a good piece of information, but that is only one piece of information," Fleming said of the Saffir-Simpson scale. "You've got to look at the surge, you've got to look at the rainfall, you've got to look at the track, and you've got to look at the forward speed at which it is moving."
The Corps' data shows that in LaPlace, flood levels were actually reduced about an inch because of the New Orleans flood protection system. In other areas, such as Crown Point in lower Jefferson parish, the study shows the system added about four inches to the height of Isaac's flood.
Click here to read the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' report (.pdf viewer needed).
But how can that be, considering some areas like LaPlace experienced no flooding during Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3 storm far more powerful than Isaac, a Category 1 storm? Fleming says wind speed, which is the only thing measured on the Saffir-Simpson scale, is just a small part of what determines the height of flood waters in a hurricane.
"That is a good piece of information, but that is only one piece of information," Fleming said of the Saffir-Simpson scale. "You've got to look at the surge, you've got to look at the rainfall, you've got to look at the track, and you've got to look at the forward speed at which it is moving."
The Corps' data shows that in LaPlace, flood levels were actually reduced about an inch because of the New Orleans flood protection system. In other areas, such as Crown Point in lower Jefferson parish, the study shows the system added about four inches to the height of Isaac's flood.
