When I was younger
, it was decided that I was going to be a civil engineer. I did asphalt tests, I surveyed land, I designed and drew bridges. In classes we discussed the Dutch Delta Works, the 53 flooding disaster and the final stages of the Delta Works. My favourite part of the discussion was how Dutch engineers (at that time) slowly started to think about the environmental consequences of artificial dams and concrete water constructions: one of my teachers, a dedicated theoretical engineer, was highly skeptical of the giant works in the southern part of the country1.
But that said: Looking at the New Orleans flooding disaster, I cannot grasp why nothing was done to strengthen levees, build dikes or other methods to repeal or delay storm surges. Think of it: the bill of enforcing and strengthening dikes, levees and that wouldn’t be higher than the bill of a flood disaster, with thousands of dead people and land that needs to be recovered from water afterwards.
1.Yeah, yeah, the Deltaworks and Hans Brinker and that