According to the US Army Corps of Engineers, the city of New Orleans is twice as likely to be struck by a hurricane as any other metropolitan area bordering the Gulf of Mexico. In this work, authors David F. Bastian and Nicholas J. Meis explore the historical records of storms that have affected the region in and around south Louisiana since the first colonizers set foot on the Mississippi delta in the late seventeenth century. Using letters, personal diaries, official records, newspaper articles, and expert analyses, Bastian and Meis delve into the effects of the monstrous storms that have irreparably impacted south Louisiana, including what went awry during Katrina in 2005. Also examined is the evolution of New Orleans’s protection systems as well as what the city can do to avoid another catastrophe.
About the Authors
David F. Bastian is a former US Department of State appointee and a retiree from the US Army Corps of Engineers. Following Hurricane Katrina, Bastian served as a consultant to the New Orleans rebuilding effort. In addition to having published more than fifty articles and technical papers involving engineering, he is also an author of texts about the Civil War. Bastian lives in Annapolis, Maryland.
Nicholas J. Meis is a technical writer for the US Army Corps of Engineers in New Orleans. He is part of the Periodic Inspection Program that monitors the condition of levees and other structures protecting Louisiana’s gulf coast. Meis joined the Corps just a few months after Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, and he witnessed the historic reconstruction firsthand. He lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.
NEW ORLEANS HURRICANES FROM THE START
By David F. Bastian and Nicholas J. Meis
HISTORY / United States / State & Local
SCIENCE / Earth Sciences / Meteorology & Climatology
TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Civil / Flood Control
160 pp. 5 1/2 x 8 1/2
2 photos 4 illus. 11 maps 4 charts
Notes Biblio. Index
ISBN: 9781455619399