SMRTR Science & EngineeringJul 7, 2026Practical Engineering

The Bizarre Flaw in the New Orleans Levees

SMRTR summary

Hurricane Katrina's devastation of New Orleans wasn't just nature's fault — three key levee failures along outfall canals, caused by flawed soil strength calculations and a poorly designed I-wall system, flooded the city's heart at water levels the structures were specifically built to withstand, accounting for nearly half of all deaths and damage.

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