Originally posted by iceddodo:
If the town had been raised when it was built (like Chicago after the fire) I don't think it would have flooded.
Untrue. Or rather, that's a misunderstanding about the geology of New Orleans. The city sinks, to put it very basically. It's built on alluvial soil (I think I have the terminology right) at the mouth of the Mississippi, and that's not a stable foundation. Low density, high water content, yadda yadda yadda, imagine really slow quicksand and you're on the right path. The levees that were built to alleviate flooding also inadvertently alleviated the "re-soiling", if you will, of the area, so it was only a matter of time before New Orleans started having geologic problems. I've heard five decades bandied about as an estimate. IIRC, the oldest part of the city, i.e. the French Quarter, is on the most stable and highest land there.
"Think of it, if you like, as a librarian with a G-string under the tweed." Clarkson on the Mondeo.
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