Abstract
Abstract A systems perspective is presented of what happened during and after Hurricane Katrina (2005) and the potential for reducing the likelihood of large losses in the future. This work was the basis for the rapid repair of the damage resulting from Katrina and ultimately the development and construction of a new risk reduction system for the region and a major shift in engineering guidance and practice related to public water infrastructure. The work was primarily accomplished through the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET) established by the Chief of Engineers, US Army Corps of Engineers, to conduct a comprehensive forensic analysis of what happened and why, and to an engineering risk and reliability assessment of the hurricane protection system in place when Katrina struck.
Highlights
Hurricane Katrina caused extensive and unprecedented economic damages and loss of life in Southeast Louisiana
The associated risk and reliability analysis conducted for New Orleans and vicinity provided a strategic baseline for understanding why New Orleans was so vulnerable and a foundation for configuring both short-term repairs and a longer-term initiative for a dramatic reduction of flood risk for the future
The lessons learned from this effort were the roots of major changes in the approach taken for flood mitigation through the application of risk and reliability and a better understanding of both the hurricane threat and the failure modes of coastal structures
Summary
The paper is segmented into three components: the first describing the Katrina event, the impact on the existing infrastructure in New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana, and the losses that resulted in terms of both life and property This provided the basis for understanding the failure modes and vulnerabilities of the existing infrastructure and led to the design of immediate repairs and upgrades to those structures prior to the hurricane season. The second component describes the risk and reliability assessment made to understand the sources of the structural failures and the losses in both geographical and socioeconomic terms This analysis became a key input for developing a strategy for the design and construction of a new system to dramatically reduce flood risk in the future, discussed in a separate paper in this volume. Their report, ‘Investigation of the Performance of the New Orleans Flood Protection Systems in Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, Independent Levee Investigation Team Final Report’, July 31, 2006, is available on the Web at http://www.ce.berkeley.edu/projects/neworleans/
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