Reconnaissance of levee failures after hurricane Katrina

A volunteer team of engineers from the American Society of Civil Engineers visited New Orleans shortly after the catastrophic flooding caused by hurricane Katrina on 29 August 2005. Their mission was to make an independent initial assessment of the failed, US Army-engineered levees and floodwalls, as well as to collect perishable data to help provide answers to one of the worst civil engineering disasters in history. This paper reports on their observations and shows that they compared favourably with the findings of later in-depth investigations, to which the team also contributed valuable forensic data. It highlights the vital role engineering institutions can play in helping both the profession and society understand and learn from disasters.