Is New Orleans in danger of flooding again with Fay?

Tropical Storm Fay came with so much rain that it was being measured by feet instead of inches. Today, it's still raining in Central Florida, just outside of Orlando. We lost count how many times we drained the pool because it was flooding onto the deck and between the wind and rain, we just had to replace our garage door. We were lucky here but on the coast, streets are flooded and so are homes. They had alligators, snakes and fish swimming down streets. Over 50 homes were damaged by tornadoes spawned off Fay. Two women drowned at beaches, a worker died from electrocution, a man died from fumes of a generator and there were several other deaths. This thing is a monster! It made landfall 4 times in Florida alone.

The problem is, she is heading to New Orleans. Are they ready? Are the levees going to be a bigger problem when the rain dumps feet into New Orleans? After reading this, I doubt they are ready for much at all.

New Orleans repeating deadly levee mistakes
Associated Press
Published: Saturday August 23, 2008


NEW ORLEANS - Signs are emerging that history is repeating itself in the Big Easy, still healing from Katrina: People have forgotten a lesson from four decades ago and believe once again that the federal government is constructing a levee system they can prosper behind.

In a yearlong review of levee work here, The Associated Press has tracked a pattern of public misperception, political jockeying and legal fighting, along with economic and engineering miscalculations since Katrina, that threaten to make New Orleans the scene of another devastating flood.

Dozens of interviews with engineers, historians, policymakers and flood zone residents confirmed many have not learned from public policy mistakes made after Hurricane Betsy in 1965, which set the stage for Katrina; many mistakes are being repeated.

"People forget, but they cannot afford to forget," said Windell Curole, a Louisiana hurricane and levee expert. "If you believe you can't flood, that's when you increase the risk of flooding. In New Orleans, I don't think they talk about the risk."
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