Why did the 17th Street and London Street canals fail?
Although some levees/levee walls were overtopped by the storm surge, the 17th Street drainage canal wall was not over- topped. It appears to have suffered a massive foundation failure when water rose to within 1.5–1 m beneath the crest of the flood wall built on the crest of the old levee in 1993.
Why did the 17th Street Canal in New Orleans levee fail?
Post-disaster studies conclude that the breach was due to steel sheet pilings driven to depths that were too shallow. Sadly, in recommending the I-walls with such short sheet pilings, the Corps had relied upon a poorly executed and misinterpreted study it had conducted near Morgan City in 1988.
What were the two canals that were breached and allowed water from the Lake Pontchartrain to flood the city?
In addition, two major breaches occurred on both sides of the London Avenue Canal – one on the west side near Robert E. Lee Boulevard and another on the east side near Mirabeau Avenue.
Where did the sand come from at the London Avenue Canal breach?
The south- ern breach on the London Avenue Canal resulted in a blast of water that displaced a house in front of the breach and buried parts of the neighborhood with up to 1.8 m of sandy sediment derived from remobilization of subsurface late-Holocene marsh and beach deposits.
How long did it take to pump the water out of New Orleans after Katrina?
The ensuing flood overwhelmed the city’s pump system and covered much of central New Orleans in several feet of water, taking 14 hours to drain and prompting 200 “life-threatening” emergency calls, according to city records.
Where did the levee break in New Orleans during Katrina?
The 17th Street Canal levee was breached on the lower (New Orleans West End) side inland from the Old Hammond Highway Bridge, and the London Avenue Canal breached in two places, on the upper side just back from Robert E. Lee Boulevard, and on the lower side a block in from the Mirabeau Avenue Bridge.
Why did New Orleans flood during Katrina?
A federal judge in New Orleans ruled in 2009 that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ failure to properly maintain and operate the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet was a significant cause of the catastrophic flooding during Katrina. Levee failures near Lake Pontchartrain also flooded New Orleans neighborhoods.
Why did Lakeview flood during Katrina?
Why I’m here: Lakeview, like Gentilly and the Lower Ninth Ward, made international headlines in late August 2005 when the federal levees failed in Hurricane Katrina and allowed catastrophic flooding of the neighborhood.
Why did the levees fail in Katrina?
In June 2006, the Army Corps issued a report of more than 6,000 pages, in which it took at least some responsibility for the flooding that occurred during Katrina, admitting that the levees failed due to flawed and outdated engineering practices used to build them.
How many pumps were working during Katrina?
The 34 pumps represented a new ring of protection added to New Orleans’ flood defenses after Katrina. The city also relies on miles of levees and hundreds of other pumps.
Where does the 17th Street Canal go in New Orleans?
Operating with Pump Station 6, it moves water into Lake Pontchartrain. The canal, along with the Orleans Canal and the London Avenue Canal, form the New Orleans Outfall Canals. The 17th Street Canal forms a significant portion of the boundary between the city of New Orleans and Metairie, Louisiana.
Where was Bellaire Drive in New Orleans before Katrina?
Before the Flood : 6926 and 6932 Bellaire Drive BEFORE the Flood Before Katrina arrived in 2005, the area immediately in front of the 17th Street Canal breach was a thriving, predominantly white, middle to upper class neighborhood with homes filling the area right up to the canal floodwall. Mature oak and pecan trees graced the neighborhood.
How big was the breach in the 17th Street Canal?
Aerial view of breach of 17th Street Canal: At about 9:45 a.m, a 30-foot long section of concrete I-wall floodwall adjacent failed sending storm surge into the Lakeview neighborhood. The water level was about 5 feet lower than the top of the I-wall. The breach quickly expanded into a 450 foot wide gap.
How many pumps did the 17th Street Canal have?
At the start of the 21st century, Pumping Station 6, or the Metairie Pumping Station, astride the canal had 15 pumps capable of moving over six billion gallons of water a day through the station.