Myth Buster #7
Even the most insistent appeals from public officials to New Orleans residents to evacuate for Katrina did not warn that the levees could fail.
Scene of devastation at breach site of 17th Street Canal in New Orleans. Photo credit unknown
“While many of those who remained behind had little choice in the matter, many others reasoned that they could easily ride out the hurricane in their own homes. It is another easily overlooked fact that those people were, for the most part, quite right in their calculations. No one ever asked them to evacuate on the grounds that the levees and floodwalls were about to fail.”
Source: Catastrophe in the Making, Freudenburg et al,
Myth Buster #6
New Orleans was the first in the nation to place experts on its local levee boards.
When Louisiana passed legislation requiring experts on its levee board, the state had to write it from scratch because there were no other models in the entire nation. California followed suit and voted on similar legislation.
Source: New Orleans Times Picayune
Myth Buster #5
Pre-Katrina, more New Orleans residents had flood insurance than the rest of the nation.
Per capita, more New Orleans residents had flood insurance, even if it wasn’t required, than the rest of the nation, on the day the federal hurricane protection failed.
Source: New Orleans Times Picayune
Myth Buster #4
Pre-Katrina, New Orleans residents did not know the hurricane levees could breach.
Painstakingly researched by veteran journalist Carol Forsloff, this article was the launchpad for a 6-part series.
Source: The Digital Journal
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Myth Buster #3
U.S. counties protected by levees are wealthier and unemployment is lower.
A front page article by Mark Schleifstein of the New Orleans Times Picayune reported on a study for Levees.org by hazard mitigation geographer Dr. Ezra Boyd. The study concludes that the levees more than pay for themselves when their cost is compared to the investment they protect.
Source: New Orleans Times Picayune
Myth Buster #2
More than half the United States population lives in counties protected by levees.
Levees.org discovered in a Request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that 54.83% of the nation’s population lives in counties protected by levees. That translates to approximately 157 million people.
Source: PDF of Cover letter from FEMA and table of statistics.
Myth Buster #1
Half of New Orleans is at or well above sea level.
Data from in a joint study by Tulane and Xavier Universities’ Center for Bioenvironmental Research reveals that 50% of New Orleans is either at or well above sea level.
Source: New Orleans Times Picayune
