# Is New Orleans more prepared for high water now compared to the Katrina days? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 12, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-orleans-more-prepared-for-high-water-now-compared-to-the-katrina-days/836980 "2019-07-12T18:34:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Turki-lurki](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turki-lurki/32/7168_2.png) [@Turki-lurki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turki-lurki)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-orleans-more-prepared-for-high-water-now-compared-to-the-katrina-days/836980/1 "2019-07-12T18:34:04Z")
Ready to evacuate poor people? Hospitals? Nursing homes? (Was anybody ever prosecuted for those nursing home deaths during Katrina???). We have had years to recover from Bush era incompetence and indifference to victims of natural disaster. Performance in Puerto Rico does not seem encouraging, and little need be said about Trumpists. Does anyone have experience with this stuff in the New Orleans area? Are things in better shape? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-orleans-more-prepared-for-high-water-now-compared-to-the-katrina-days/836980/2 "2019-07-12T18:53:47Z")
I think New Orleans might be in more trouble – the French Quarter is now flooding. I don’t think the French Quarter flooded during Katrina\* – it’s the high ground The reason it’s the _Vieux Carre_ (old square) is because it was an island that stayed dry. But now, with the high ground flooding, the rest of the city has to be flooding, too. [https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900079051/new-orleans-french-quarter-flood-tropical-storm-tornado-gulf-of-mexico.html](https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900079051/new-orleans-french-quarter-flood-tropical-storm-tornado-gulf-of-mexico.html) - > [@](#): > > Thankfully, the district was largely unharmed during Hurricane Katrina and it remains a central gateway to New Orleans past and present. > **[New Orleans Neighborhoods Series: The French Quarter (Vieux Carré)](https://medium.com/@mohan_kailas_/new-orleans-neighborhoods-series-the-french-quarter-vieux-carr%C3%A9-58465851fbbd)** > > The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the most well-known and the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans. With many of the… ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-orleans-more-prepared-for-high-water-now-compared-to-the-katrina-days/836980/3 "2019-07-12T19:14:27Z")
> **[No Sandbags Issued For New Orleans Ahead Of Tropical Storm Barry](https://www.wwno.org/news/2019-07-11/no-sandbags-issued-for-new-orleans-ahead-of-tropical-storm-barry)** > > No sandbags have been issued for the public to protect their homes and businesses in New Orleans ahead of Tropical Storm Barry, according to an… I’m not sure what, if anything, this tells us. "In past storms, the city has issued thousands of sandbags to fire stations across the city for residents to come fill and take home to protect their property. A spokesman for the fire department reached by phone said no sandbags had been issued by the City of New Orleans for this particular storm. When the reporter asked him for his name, the spokesman refused to identify himself, saying all information about the storm should come from New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s office. The mayor’s office has not returned WWNO’s request for information or comment. But a tweet from the city’s emergency management twitter account says New Orleans is “not issuing sandbag distribution in this instance.” ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-orleans-more-prepared-for-high-water-now-compared-to-the-katrina-days/836980/4 "2019-07-12T19:20:59Z")
I’ve heard the big pumps are being maintained better and the worst dikes were repaired. But the erosion of the wetlands that once helped protect New Orleans has continued, instead of being reversed. New Orleans is being flooded by the Mississippi before Tropical Storm Barry adds to the flooding. So this could be worse then Katrina. The River is 10’ higher then normal and here comes a storm surge on top of it. ETA: On the sandbags, I found this on the [Nola.com](http://Nola.com) site: [Where can I grab sandbags in New Orleans area? See full list of locations](https://www.nola.com/news/hurricane/article_c8dc6cb6-a402-11e9-9bef-5b63ff08e4d2.html) ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-orleans-more-prepared-for-high-water-now-compared-to-the-katrina-days/836980/5 "2019-07-12T19:23:44Z")
Just gonna [leave this here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p16Lm4B5Emc). Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-orleans-more-prepared-for-high-water-now-compared-to-the-katrina-days/836980/6 "2019-07-13T22:20:08Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > New Orleans is being flooded by the Mississippi before Tropical Storm Barry adds to the flooding. So this could be worse then Katrina. The River is 10’ higher then normal and here comes a storm surge on top of it. This was a concern earlier in the week, [but it’s not going to come to pass](https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/what-the-big-big-lessons-learned-from-hurricane-katrina-mean-now-for-new-orleans-as-barry-makes-landfall/70008792): > [@](#): > > The National Weather Service (NWS) initially forecast the Mississippi River to crest at 20 feet Friday into Saturday before lowering that expectation to an expected crest of 17 feet, which is right at minor flood stage. Levees in New Orleans are between 20 and 25 feet high at different points along the river, according to what Ricky Boyett, the spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers in the New Orleans District, [told _The New York Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/us/tropical-storm-barry.html?action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage). The highest the river has crested since 1983 is 17.38 feet in 2011, and the river hasn’t risen above 19 feet since 1950. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-orleans-more-prepared-for-high-water-now-compared-to-the-katrina-days/836980/7 "2019-07-13T22:24:19Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I think New Orleans might be in more trouble – the French Quarter is now flooding. I don’t think the French Quarter flooded during Katrina\* – it’s the high ground The reason it’s the _Vieux Carre_ (old square) is because it was an island that stayed dry. But now, with the high ground flooding, the rest of the city has to be flooding, too. When you posted this, the flooding in downtown New Orleans (including the French Quarter) had already come and gone on Wednesday the 10th. The flooding that did occur in New Orleans on 7/10 was caused by localized heavy thunderstorms that overwhelmed pumping capacity. The entire city did not flood, and what flooding did occur only lasted about 8-12 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-orleans-more-prepared-for-high-water-now-compared-to-the-katrina-days/836980/8 "2019-07-15T00:07:43Z")
There were multiple issues with Katrina but the rainfall issue North of Lake Pontchartrain has been addressed. At the time of Katrina there were no bulkheads on the drainage canals that flowed INTO the lake. When the rains hit, the lake height rose and back flowed into the canals which couldn’t handle the water. Once they canals were breached the city was filled with water from the lake. with bulkheads installed that problem has been mitigated. The other issue with Katrina was tidal flow that moved up the ship canal. Not much you can do about that. Once the water hits a wall it just climbs up and over with the force and volume of the water behind it.