Upgrade of levees far from complete

UNITED STATES: A MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR bid to reinforce New Orleans's flood defences has been fraught with obstacles since Hurricane…

UNITED STATES:A MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR bid to reinforce New Orleans's flood defences has been fraught with obstacles since Hurricane Katrina engulfed the city three years ago.

Congress authorised $15 billion (€10.3 billion) of funding to upgrade New Orleans's 560km (348-mile) levee system by 2011 to make it capable of withstanding storms of a magnitude expected only once in a century.

But only a quarter of the work has been completed and the US army corps of engineers said over the weekend that the city remained at risk. "It all depends on the strength of the storm in terms of wind speed, water surge and how fast the hurricane tracks," Maj Gen Don Riley, deputy chief of the corps, said.

"There are still vulnerabilities. There are gaps in the system."

READ MORE

About 240km (150 miles) of levees damaged or destroyed by Katrina have been repaired and a further 110km (70 miles) of the barriers improved. But homeowners living near levees have fought efforts to remove vegetation and officials have had difficulties in getting hold of clay to shore up the earthen mounds.

Gerry Galloway, an expert in flood defences at the University of Maryland, said: "If they get through this one, they're very lucky. Work is still in progress. It's a long way from complete and it's a long way from 100-year storm protection."

At gates where canals meet Lake Pontchartrain, huge pumps have been installed to handle spillages. Concrete splash areas have been installed outside levees to prevent an accumulation of water which, in 2005, began to undermine the structures' foundations and contributed to their collapse.

In May officials working for Louisiana's governor, Bobby Jindal, expressed concern that the engineering corps may not finish the work on time. Some experts have argued that an even greater level of protection is needed, noting that dykes in the Netherlands offer protection against weather which may only be expected once in a millennium. - (Guardian service)