Technical Resources

The failure of the New Orleans regional flood protection systems, and the resultant catastrophic flooding of much of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, represents the most costly failure of an engineered system in U.S. history.

Erodibility of a soil is defined here as the relationship between the erosion rate of a soil dz/dt and the velocity v of the water flowing over it, or the relationship between the erosion rate of a soil dz/dt and the shear stress developed by the water at the water-soil interface.

The recent flooding and devastation of the greater New Orleans region during hurricane Katrina represented the most costly peace-time failure of an engineered system in North American history.

Twenty three samples were retrieved from eleven locations at the top of the levees around New Orleans.