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September 6, 2008 12:52:08 AM CDT

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Stories related to: levees

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20 Stories

  • September 2008

    • New Orleans Levees Held — but Still Flawed

      Associated Press  |  Sep 2, 08 2:50 AM CDT

      New Orleans Levees Held — but Still Flawed

      (Newser) - New Orleans' levee system withstood the power punch delivered yesterday by Hurricane Gustav, but also revealed its continuing vulnerabilities, reports AP. The Industrial Canal flood wall was swamped, flooding again an area devastated by Katrina. The Industrial Canal is considered the system's Achilles' heel. The Army Corps of Engineers is spending $700 million on a canal barrier, but it won't be in place until at least 2011. More »

      Tags

      Hurricane Katrina  • New Orleans  • Hurricane Gustav  • levees  • Gulf of Mexico

    • 'Ghost Town' New Orleans Steels for Gustav

      Houston Chronicle  |  Sep 1, 08 2:29 AM CDT

      'Ghost Town' New Orleans Steels for Gustav

      (Newser) - The last bus out of New Orleans drove off at 3pm yesterday, leaving behind a virtual ghost town, reports the Houston Chronicle. An estimated 10,000 residents are left in the hurricane-threatened city, now subject to a strict dusk-to-dawn curfew. Some 1.9 million Louisianans have fled Hurricane Gustav—the biggest evacuation in state history. Three hospital patients died during the operation. More »

  • August 2008

    • Big Easy Not Ready for '100-Year Storm'

      Newsweek  |  Aug 31, 08 3:44 PM CDT

      Big Easy Not Ready for '100-Year Storm'

      (Newser) - With Hurricane Gustav set to thrash the Big Easy almost exactly 3 years after Katrina, Newsweek sits down with New Orleans Levee District executive director Stevan Spencer to find out what will change this time around. “We are better than before Katrina —we've raised the levees and strengthened or replaced the floodwalls,” he says. More »

      Tags

      Hurricane Katrina  • New Orleans  • Hurricane Gustav  • levees  • hurricanes

    • New Orleans Braces for Gustav With Still-Weak Shield

      Times-Picayune (New Orleans)  |  Aug 28, 08 4:08 AM CDT

      New Orleans Braces for Gustav With Still-Weak Shield

      (Newser) - A nervous New Orleans is bracing for Gustav, well aware that weak spots in the city's hurricane barrier could lead to catastrophic flooding if the storm strikes, reports the Times-Picayune . Some $13 billion in work remains to be done before the city can be considered relatively well-protected. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has already declared a state of emergency and said evacuations could begin as early as tomorrow, Reuters reports. More »

      Tags

      New Orleans  • Louisiana  • flood  • Hurricane Gustav  • levees

  • June 2008

    • Levee Breaks Near Eastern Mo. Town

      Associated Press  |  Jun 27, 08 12:46 PM CDT

      Levee Breaks Near Eastern Mo. Town

      (AP) - A levee failed today in eastern Missouri, but emergency workers say they think an impromptu sandbag levee can save the nearby town. The breach about 5 am in the Pin Oak levee at a spot just south of Winfield slowly began to flood about 3,000 acres. The Army Corps of Engineers said muskrat holes caused the breach. More »

      Tags

      Missouri  • levees  • sandbags  • Amry Corps of Engineers

    • What to Do With the Sandbags?

      Washington Post  |  Jun 24, 08 8:32 AM CDT

      What to Do With the Sandbags?

      (Newser) - Sandbags were saviors for many in the Midwest flooding—but as the waters recede, the hefty lumps remain, often weighed down by all the toxins in the water, the Washington Post reports. Bags can weigh 60-80 pounds even when dry, so heaving one after another to the curb for pickup is a serious task, especially without the hordes of adrenaline-driven volunteers rushing to protect communities. More »

      Tags

      flooding  • Mississippi River  • levees  • Midwest floods  • sandbags

    • Midwest Braces for Mississippi Crest

      USA Today  |  Jun 23, 08 3:00 AM CDT

      Midwest Braces for Mississippi Crest

      (Newser) - Deluged midwesterners were preparing for tonight’s expected cresting of the Mississippi River, piling up sandbags to support levees, USA Today reports. Some residents have already moved to higher ground, while others are staying home to guard against looters. The river is likely to crest at a number of areas north of St. Louis. Floodwaters should start to recede early this week, said a meteorologist. More »

      Tags

      flooding  • Mississippi River  • levees  • sandbags

    • Ragtag Levees Leave Midwest Soaking

      New York Times  |  Jun 22, 08 10:18 AM CDT

      Ragtag Levees Leave Midwest Soaking

      (Newser) - As the Midwest battles massive flooding, the New York Times looks at the region's patchwork of homemade levees—which fail to meet federal standards and tend to spring unexpected leaks. Bill Clinton's White House advised a uniform levy system 15 years ago, but the report was read and forgotten. “We told them there were going to be more floods like this,” an engineering professor said. More »

      Tags

      Iowa  • disaster  • Illinois  • flooding  • Missouri  • levees  • Midwest floods

    • A Sandbagger Reflects

      New York Times  |  Jun 21, 08 8:45 AM CDT

      A Sandbagger Reflects

      (Newser) - Even when it proves futile, sandbagging is an experience with its own unique rewards, writes an Iowa resident in the New York Times . “Passing sandbags is a personal thing,” Joe Blair notes in an essay. “The line may be 300 feet long,” but for you, “it’s intimate, a three-person event. You take. You turn. You give. You get to know people.” The levee overflowed despite their efforts, but Blair's at peace with that. More »

      Tags

      Iowa  • flooding  • levees  • Midwest floods  • Iowa City

    • Pigs Survive Floods, Still Buy the Farm

      Associated Press  |  Jun 19, 08 12:00 PM CDT

      Pigs Survive Floods, Still Buy the Farm

      (Newser) - They managed to survive torrential rains and swam mightily through rising water, but a clutch of feisty midwestern pigs couldn't dodge a sheriff's bullet. At least a dozen porkers were shot dead this week as they scrambled on Iowa levees. "My gosh, it happens every day," snapped a town official who said the pigs were killed to protect the levees. "That's how we get bacon and pork chops." More »

      Tags

      Iowa  • flood  • levees  • pigs

    • Floods May be Linked to Development

      Wall Street Journal  |  Jun 19, 08 10:52 AM CDT

      Floods May be Linked to Development

      (Newser) - Major development along the Mississippi since the last big flood in 1993 may have exacerbated the current crisis, the Wall Street Journal reports. Nearly 30,000 homes have been built around St. Louis on land that was underwater then, forcing the river into a channel half the size it was 100 years ago, making it run higher and faster.  With the river expected to crest this weekend, debate has intensified over how much of the problem is man-made, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »

    • 19 Levees Now Breached

      Associated Press  |  Jun 18, 08 1:20 PM CDT

      19 Levees Now Breached

      (Newser) - More levee breaks in Missouri and Illinois today put at 19 the number that have failed along the cresting Mississippi, Reuters reports, further swamping farmland. "They were lower level agricultural levees," said an Army Corps of Engineers spokesman. "We're also watching another seven levees that may overtop in the next couple of days … all agricultural levees." More »

      Tags

      flood  • Illinois  • flooding  • Missouri  • Mississippi River  • levees  • Army Corps of Engineers

    • Iowa Flood Tide Turns Noxious

      Associated Press  |  Jun 17, 08 7:48 AM CDT

      Iowa Flood Tide Turns Noxious

      (Newser) - Iowa floodwaters have become a toxic mess of sewage, chemicals, diesel, and animal carcasses, the AP reports, pushing some Iowans attempting to salvage possessions to update tetanus shots. "It bothers me, with everything that's in the water," said one resident. "I probably won't keep anything." Meanwhile, some Iowa towns prepared for more flooding, piling sandbags on 27 levees that could overflow along the Mississippi River. More »

      Tags

      Iowa  • Mississippi River  • levees  • Midwest floods  • sewage

    • Floods Breach Des Moines Levee

      Associated Press  |  Jun 14, 08 11:07 AM CDT

      Floods Breach Des Moines Levee

      (Newser) - Floodwaters breached a levee and a temporary barrier today near a residential neighborhood in Des Moines, forcing authorities to call for a mandatory evacuation of 270 homes, the AP reports. “There’s not anything else we can do,” said a city official. Storms throughout the region have killed nine, and officials have cut power service and are bracing for the worst. More »

      Tags

      Iowa  • flooding  • water  • levees  • Cedar Rapids  • Des Moines

    • Floodwaters Engulf Iowa's 'Flood-Proof' City

      Des Moines Register  |  Jun 13, 08 7:05 AM CDT

      Floodwaters Engulf Iowa's 'Flood-Proof' City

      (Newser) - The Cedar River has burst its banks and deluged Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Des Moines Register reports. About 9,000 people have been evacuated—including more than 170 from a hospital—and most of the city's downtown is under water. The river is still rising and is expected to crest today at 31.8 feet, about 12 feet higher than the previous record set in 1851. No injuries or deaths have been reported in the state. More »

      Tags

      Iowa  • flood  • flooding  • severe weather  • levees  • Cedar Rapids

    • Levees Crumbling, Midwest Struggles to Stem Tide

      Chicago Tribune  |  Jun 12, 08 8:45 AM CDT

      Levees Crumbling, Midwest Struggles to Stem Tide

      (Newser) - The worst flooding in 15 years has exposed some serious vulnerabilities in the Midwest's aging infrastructure, the Chicago Tribune reports. Levees, bridges, and dams, some a century old, are barely coping with severe storms—while some are collapsing completely. Dikes and levees broke in several states last week after torrential rains, destroying homes and flooding farmland. More »

      Tags

      Iowa  • flood  • Illinois  • flooding  • Wisconsin  • Indiana  • Midwest  • severe weather  • bridge  • levees  • infrastructure

  • March 2008

    • Soaked Midwest Braces for More Rain, Snow

      Associated Press  |  Mar 22, 08 1:10 PM CDT

      Soaked Midwest Braces for More Rain, Snow

      (Newser) - Residents of the nation’s heartland are celebrating Easter weekend besieged by floods and snowstorms, which expected to keep hitting Missouri, Michigan, and Wisconsin, the AP reports. Forecasters predict up to 12 inches of snow for the Ohio Valley, while other areas remain soaked thanks to a foot of rain in just 36 hours, and more still to come. More »

      Tags

      Michigan  • flooding  • Wisconsin  • Missouri  • Arkansas  • levees  • snowstorm

  • February 2008

    • Record Rainfall Soaks Hawaii

      MSNBC  |  Feb 4, 08 9:38 PM CST

      Record Rainfall Soaks Hawaii

      (Newser) - A record downpour of 11 inches in 24 hours has damaged dozens of homes and sparked a flash-flood alert in Hawaii, MSNBC reports. No injuries have been reported, but many residents are voluntarily fleeing their homes in Hilo, the state's second-biggest city. "The situation in Hilo is critical and a life-threatening situation now," said Big Island mayor Harry Kim. More »

      Tags

      Hawaii  • levees  • Army Corps of Engineers  • rainfall  • flash floods

  • January 2008

    • Katrina Victims Can't Sue Army Corps

      Times-Picayune (New Orleans)  |  Jan 30, 08 10:19 PM CST

      Katrina Victims Can't Sue Army Corps

      (Newser) -  A federal judge ruled yesterday that thousands of New Orleans homeowners affected by devastating levee breaches after Hurricane Katrina can't sue the Army Corps of Engineers, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Judge Stanwood Duval called the case "heart-wrenching" but said a 1928 law gives the Corps immunity from such suits. The failures of three levees caused 80% of the flooding after Katrina. More »

      Tags

      Hurricane Katrina  • New Orleans  • levees  • Army Corps of Engineers

    • Katrina Victims' Claims Number in the Trillions

      USA Today  |  Jan 7, 08 5:14 PM CST

      Katrina Victims' Claims Number in the Trillions

      (Newser) - New Orleans residents have peppered the Army Corps of Engineers with claims for trillions in damages, USA Today reports, asking for sums higher than the nation’s entire economic output. One claim alone seeks $3 quadrillion . In all, the corps has received more than 489,000 claims, with more still coming. “That’s totally off-the-wall,” said one New Orleans lawyer. More »

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