HISTORIC FLOOD CONTROL UNDERWAY IN LOUISIANA

A DIFFICULT POLITICAL DECISION WAS MADE TO PREVENT A CATASTROPHE

THE OUTCOME IS YET TO BE DETERMINED

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2011

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of

North Carolina, USA

THE GOAL1) MOVE PEOPLE OUT OF

HARM’S WAY2) PREVENT A

CATASTROPHE IN BATON ROUGE AND NEW ORLEANS

AFTER URGING BY PUBLIC OFFICIALS, TENS OF

THOUSANDS EVACUATE

NATURAL HAZARDS FOR WHICH NATURAL HAZARDS FOR WHICH EVACUATION IS TYPICALEVACUATION IS TYPICAL

NATURAL HAZARDS FOR WHICH NATURAL HAZARDS FOR WHICH EVACUATION IS TYPICALEVACUATION IS TYPICAL

FLOODS

HURRICANES

TYPHOONS

TSUNAMIS

VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

WILDFIRES

HIGH BENEFIT/COST FOR SAVING LIVES, BUT LOW BEMEFIT/COST FOR PROTECTING PROPERTY

HIGH BENEFIT/COST FOR SAVING LIVES, BUT LOW BEMEFIT/COST FOR PROTECTING PROPERTY

GOAL: MOVE PEOPLE OUT GOAL: MOVE PEOPLE OUT OF HARM’S WAYOF HARM’S WAY

GOAL: MOVE PEOPLE OUT GOAL: MOVE PEOPLE OUT OF HARM’S WAYOF HARM’S WAY

THE US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS GRADUALLY

OPENED SELECTED SPILLWAYS TO REDUCE PRESSURE ON

DOWNSTREAM LEVEES PROTECTING BATON ROUGE AND

NEW ORLEANS

GOAL OF FLOOD CONTROL: SAVING BATON ROUGE AND NEW ORLEANS

• Keeping 2011’s flood waters from inundating cities (e.g., New Orleans) and the 11 oil refineries in the New Orleans-to-Baton Rouge region, which have a capacity of 2.5 million barrels a day.

•

MORGANZA SPILLWAY: CLOSED SINCE 1973

MORGANZA SPILLWAY OPENED; SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2011

• The water, which spilled out of a 10-ton steel floodgate, in-undated an estimated 3,000 square miles comprised of small farms and fish camps, likely leaving sites under 6 m (25 ft) of water for 2 months.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/14/national/main20062948.shtml#ixzz1MMkAYO00

MORGANZA SPILLWAY: ONE OF 125 FLOODGATES OPENED; MAY 14TH

MORGANZA SPILLWAY OPENED; SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2011

• Opening the Morganza spillway system for the first time since 1973 will flood farm land and rural areas while reducing pressure on the levee system that protects Baton Rouge and New Orleans

NORCO, LA: BONNET CARRE SPILLWAY OPENED; MAY 9TH

BONNET CARRE SPILLWAY

• Opening the Bonnet Carre Spillway transferred water to Lake Ponchartrain and reduced the pressure on the levees protecting Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

NEW ORLEANS: SPILLWAY OPENED MAY 9TH TO SAVE LEVEES

THE WORST CASE FOR OIL REFINERIES IN LOUISIANA

• The worst case is for flood waters to inundate the refineries and shut them down for several months, the horrific outcome of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

SHORT-TERM SOLUTION

• Controlled release of water that will flood farmland and rural areas instead of cities like New Orleans and the 11 refineries near New Orleans and Baton Rouge is a short-term solution to reduce the risk.