Well I’ll be doggoned …
WASHINGTON — The federal government will strengthen New Orleans levees to withstand any future storm like the one that devastated the city more than three months ago, the top official for Gulf Coast reconstruction said Wednesday.
“They will be rebuilt stronger and better than they were before Katrina,” Donald Powell told USA TODAY. He said cost estimates and other details will be announced within days by federal officials.
While I have to agree with Nagin that seeing is believing, Powell gave some truly encouraging specifics:
Powell said the improvements will be designed to protect all neighborhoods that currently are within levees. “The footprint will be the same as now exists,” he said. In some places, it will include “armoring” over earthen surfaces to withstand erosion, he said. The federal government will bear the cost, he said. State officials have said it will cost $32 billion to bolster the levees.
Read the whole story here: Stronger levees in Louisiana promised, and
WaPo’s more detailed article here: Feds to Rebuild New Orleans Levees