New Orleans' Levees Being Rebuilt Don't Meet FEMA Standards

Levees now being rebuilt do not meet the standards set by Federal Emergency Management Agency. Fixing the problem will cost $6 billion more.

1 minute read

April 4, 2006, 2:00 PM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech

"New Orleans's levees do not meet the standards that the Federal Emergency Management Agency requires for its flood protection program, federal officials said yesterday â€" and they added that the problem would take as much as $6 billion to fix...the agency's flood maps have to treat the entire levee system as if it were not there at all, which means that people hoping to build in the affected areas might have to rebuild their homes at elevations of 15 or even 30 feet above sea level in order to meet new federal building standards...the levees that the Army Corps of Engineers is now building will not meet the new FEMA standard....Although people can rebuild without the federal flood maps today, many homeowners may well decide that the risks of rebuilding are too great."

Read the full story: Levee Plans Fall Short of FEMA Standards

Friday, March 31, 2006 in The New York Times

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