Could a New Orleans Flood Be Coming to a City Near You?

[Louisiana1976]

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"Many believe that the levee failure and flooding during the Katrina was a distinctly New Orleans problem," says Sandy Rosenthal, executive director of Levees.org, founded in New Orleans after Katrina and now with chapters in six states.

"In fact, levee failure and flooding is something that can happen in every continental US state," she says.

“Manmade levees, like navigational channels, highways and dams are alterations to a region's hydrological character and landscape, and if done irresponsibly can be devastating,” says H.J. Bosworth, lead researcher for Levees.org. “This may be what happened in north Georgia.”

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Georgia floods were a "once in 500 years flood," meaning the odds of such a thing happening are less than 0.2 percent in any given year.

But Jacqui Jeras, CNN meteorologist, said the urbanization of Atlanta and its suburban sprawl also contributed to the floods. "There used to be a lot more earth and soil to help absorb this stuff," she said. "But the rain really fell on the concrete jungle."

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more...http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/279923

[virgogal]

1. I often wonder about Boston's man-made Back Bay section. Nature

can be a fierce opponent.

[panader0]

2. Here where I live at 4600 feet

we have a monsoon season. This year was about half the rainfall we usually get. But every once in a while we get a 'gully-washer'.
The rain comes so hard that there is flooding near the arroyos. In fact, several years ago a law called the 'stupid motorist law' was passed. If you drive around the barriers when the washes are flowing, and get swept away, you have to pay for your rescue.
But flooding on a scale of Katrina? Not around here.