The unexpected closing of the Judge Seeber bridge couldn’t keep dedicated citizens away from a Levees.Org-sponsored photo shoot at the Lower Ninth Ward this morning.

With ground zero of the Industrial Canal as a backdrop, actor/producer Harry Shearer joined Levees.Org, its supporters, and residents from the metro New Orleans community for a photo shoot marking the launch of a new campaign.

As a public service, Levees.Org has created a second website with a searchable data base so citizens anywhere can find out if they’re at risk of flooding by going to AreWeAtRisk.org and entering their zip code.

Stanford Rosenthal, 18, webmaster for Levees.Org wrote a program that converted the US Army Corps of Engineers’ list of at-risk levees into a simple searchable data base.

The new website will help educate citizens nationwide that levee failure and flooding is not a distinctly New Orleans problem especially since over 40% percent of the American population lives in areas protected by levees.

We also launched a tee-shirt campaign with the theme that many are “in the same boat as New Orleans” and should “demand the 8/29 Investigation.” The campaign is a cooperative venture; for every t-shirt Dirty Coast sells, Levees.Org will get a portion of the profits. Tees will be available online at Dirty Coast by 5pm Saturday CST.