2001 article predicted New Orleans flood

September 1, 2005

A 2001 story in the magazine Scientific American predicted the flooding that New Orleans suffered from Hurricane Katrina.

The October 2001 article titled "Drowning New Orleans" detailed reasons the area is vulnerable to major storms and flooding and problems with mass evacuations. It recommended steps to protect the area.

The construction of levees and other industrial developments in former marshlands between the city and the Gulf of Mexico has deteriorated a buffer that would slow rising waters and incoming storms. The article called for massive reengineering of the area to save the city.

Engineers called for the similar changes Thursday.

More than 30,000 U.S. servicemen and women are on the Gulf Coast assisting evacuation, rescue and security operations.

Katrina devastated much in its path Monday but New Orleans especially was hard hit when levees gave way.

President Bush has called it the worst natural disaster ever in the United States.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International


print this article email this article download pdf blog this article bookmark this article     Stumble it Digg this share on Facebook retweet share on Reddit add to delicious
Rate this story - 1 /5 (1 vote)


September 1, 2005 all stories

Comments: 0

1 /5 (1 vote)
  • Stumble this up

  • Digg this

  • share this

  • hide
  • Related Stories

  • Benefit of grapes may be more than skin deep
    created Apr 22, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Physicists Bring Quantum Computing Closer to Reality
    created Mar 20, 2008 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Scientists uncover prehistoric hurricane activity
    created Mar 20, 2007 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • New laryngoscope could make difficult intubations easier
    created Oct 15, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0
  • Seeking Life's Shadow
    created Oct 01, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Other News

Baby can wait as expectant dad finishes spacewalk (AP)

Baby can wait as expectant dad finishes spacewalk

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created 19 hours ago | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(AP) -- A spacewalking astronaut put aside the impending birth of his daughter and blazed through his first-ever venture outside the International Space Station on Saturday.


Commuters wait on the platform shrouded by fog in London

Climate change not man-made, say majority of Britons: poll

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 15, 2009 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (15) | comments 46

Less than half of Britons believes that human activity is to blame for global warming, according to a poll carried out for The Times newspaper and published on Saturday.


Mysteriously warm times in Antarctica

Mysteriously warm times in Antarctica

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (21) | comments 28

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study of Antarctica's past climate reveals that temperatures during the warm periods between ice ages (interglacials) may have been higher than previously thought. The latest analysis ...


UN: Fight climate change with free condoms (AP)

UN: Fight climate change with free condoms

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity 3.1 / 5 (11) | comments 30

(AP) -- The battle against global warming could be helped if the world slowed population growth by making free condoms and family planning advice more widely available, the U.N. Population Fund said Wednesday.


Mystery of the Solar Tsunami -- Solved

Mystery of the Solar Tsunami -- Solved (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Nov 19, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (24) | comments 8

(PhysOrg.com) -- Sometimes you really can believe your eyes. That's what NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) is telling researchers about a controversial phenomenon on the sun known as ...