Global Weather & Climate Center
  • Home
  • About
    • GWCC Is
    • Where in the World is GWCC?
    • Contact Us
  • Global Regions
    • Africa
    • Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea
    • Central and Eastern Pacific Ocean
    • Central and South America
    • Europe
    • North America
    • Indian Ocean and Asia
    • Polar Regions
    • South Pacific Ocean and Australia
    • Western Pacific Ocean
  • Weather
    • Applied Meteorology >
      • Air Quality
      • Aviation
      • Droughts
      • Fire Weather
      • Flooding
      • Geosciences
      • Global Environmental Topics
      • Weather Observations
    • Weather Education
    • Weather History
    • Weather Research
    • Weather Safety and Preparedness
    • Severe Weather
    • Social Sciences
    • Space Weather
    • Tropical Cyclones
    • Weather and Health
    • Winter Weather
  • Climate
  • GWCC Global Imagery Archive
  • GWCC Window to the World
    • GOES-16 Live Satellite Imagery Portal
    • GOES-16 ABI Channel Description and Examples
    • GOES-16 ABI Satellite Products
    • GOES-17 Live Satellite Imagery Portal
    • Himawari-8 Live Satellite Imagery Portal
    • Meteosat-11 Live Satellite Imagery Portal
  • Kids Corner
    • Kindergarten to 5th Grade
    • 6th to 12th grade
    • Fun Facts & Weather Trivia
    • GWCC Weather Radar Education
    • GWCC Wheel of Science

Climate Topics

How Will New Orleans Handle Rising Sea Levels (Credit: CNN)?

7/25/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
               In a city already plagued by constant flooding and storm surge, climate change is a clear problem facing New Orleans. Located next to the southern tip of Louisiana, the Crescent City’s unstable ground and exceedingly low sea level have placed it in a zone ripe for encroaching seas. On top of that, hurricanes that form as a direct consequence of the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico frequently bombard Louisiana, and this will only get worse as the global temperature continues to rise. This begs the question: How will New Orleans survive?

                   In response to this question, the U.S. government has tried to prepare the coastal city for increasingly pervasive storm surge by installing storm surge countermeasures through the United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE). These countermeasures include, but are not limited to, levees, sea walls, and pumps. Such provisions can also be found in other vulnerable coastal cities around the world, such as Shanghai, Jakarta, and London. Unfortunately, New Orleans has had difficulty utilizing their defenses in the past.
​
                  When Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana in 2005, it absolutely overwhelmed the flooding countermeasures put in place by the USACE. In fact, the flooding countermeasures were so ineffective that the levees themselves are often cited as the main reason why New Orleans flooded to the degree it did. The levees, canals, and floodwalls were annihilated by storm surge, allowing waters from nearby lakes and the Gulf of Mexico to invade the city. To make matters worse, it was revealed a year later that some of the pumps installed to get rid of floodwaters were defective. The storm surge was so monstrous that a large amount of buildings were completely unusable until they were pumped and rebuilt. This tragic fate could be indicative of the future of New Orleans.

                 Thankfully, there might still be hope for this important cultural and economic center. Lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina have better prepared the engineers, scientists, and officials for future disasters. Better designed levees, higher floodwalls that can stop up to 20 feet of storm surge, and warier city officials make it less likely that New Orleans will experience a Katrina-like failure again. However, it’s probable that these improvements won’t entirely save New Orleans from disastrous flooding in the future. Despite valiant efforts from engineers and officials, the city’s geography often leaves it defenseless from storm surge. As a result, there may be no way to completely erase the threat of storm surge from happening in New Orleans, especially with the intensifying climate.  Regardless, the officials of New Orleans and the U.S. government must remain vigilant to protect this invaluable city from disaster. Hopefully, scientists and engineers will discover new ways to fight storm surge that will allow for more coastal security. Until then, it’s wise to remain watchful of incoming disasters that could devastate New Orleans and cities like it to minimize loss of life and property.

To learn more about other global climate topics, be sure to click here!



© 2019 Weather Forecaster Cole Bristow
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016


    RSS Feed

© 2020, Global Weather and Climate Center
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
​Webmaster - Stephen Piechowski
  • Home
  • About
    • GWCC Is
    • Where in the World is GWCC?
    • Contact Us
  • Global Regions
    • Africa
    • Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea
    • Central and Eastern Pacific Ocean
    • Central and South America
    • Europe
    • North America
    • Indian Ocean and Asia
    • Polar Regions
    • South Pacific Ocean and Australia
    • Western Pacific Ocean
  • Weather
    • Applied Meteorology >
      • Air Quality
      • Aviation
      • Droughts
      • Fire Weather
      • Flooding
      • Geosciences
      • Global Environmental Topics
      • Weather Observations
    • Weather Education
    • Weather History
    • Weather Research
    • Weather Safety and Preparedness
    • Severe Weather
    • Social Sciences
    • Space Weather
    • Tropical Cyclones
    • Weather and Health
    • Winter Weather
  • Climate
  • GWCC Global Imagery Archive
  • GWCC Window to the World
    • GOES-16 Live Satellite Imagery Portal
    • GOES-16 ABI Channel Description and Examples
    • GOES-16 ABI Satellite Products
    • GOES-17 Live Satellite Imagery Portal
    • Himawari-8 Live Satellite Imagery Portal
    • Meteosat-11 Live Satellite Imagery Portal
  • Kids Corner
    • Kindergarten to 5th Grade
    • 6th to 12th grade
    • Fun Facts & Weather Trivia
    • GWCC Weather Radar Education
    • GWCC Wheel of Science