Mayor says New Orleans has better levees
New Orleans is better prepared for the upcoming hurricane season because of stronger flood walls and better evacuation plans after Hurricane Katrina, Mayor Ray Nagin said today.
“We should be able to sustain another Katrina,” the mayor said.
“If a Category 5 hits us, probably the city will be gone and the levees will still be standing. The work they’re doing is just incredible,” Nagin said of ongoing work by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
The Corps, which designed and built the city’s levees, has been heavily criticised by residents who note the city survived the worst of the August 29 storm but then was swamped when flood walls broke, inundating 80% of the city with brackish water.
Many have expressed fear about the condition of the levees as the June 1 start of hurricane season approaches.
But Nagin said he is confident the Corps is using better materials and designs on the levees.
He also said that evacuating the city in the event of another hurricane should be smoother in the future.
