In the wake of the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina earlier this year, Engineering News-Record reported on the current state of the flood protection system in place, and the changes that have been made since the storm.
"The fact that floodwalls around New Orleans were designed to be overtopped but remain standing says much about the post-Katrina hurricane-protection system that rings the city—and about the risks that those who live within that system still face.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other experts don’t hesitate to affirm that the Corps's $14.6-billion system designed to protect New Orleans is bigger, better and stronger than the flood barriers that failed when Katrina hit in 2005.
The system, says University of Maryland engineering professor Gerry Galloway, is a magnificent engineering feat."
Read more about that system, improvements that have been made in the past 10 years, and concerns that still remain here: http://enr.construction.com/infrastructure/environment/2015/0824-Katrina-Spawns-a-Decade-of-Flood-Protection-Design-and-Protection.asp