Bush said this morning, “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.” That’s not true at all. A quick review of headlines from national and regional papers over the course of the Bush presidency demonstrate that the federal government was very much aware of the problem.
New Orleans CityBusiness, 6/6/05:
New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers faces $71.2M in federal cuts
Times-Picayune, 5/28/05:
As federal aid wanes, local leaders are trying to find ways — including movable barriers to ward off storm surge — to protect the metro area from the fiercest hurricanes
Times-Picayune, 12/3/04:
Levees don’t measure up, corps warns; Many not as high as previously thought
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10/17/04:
New Orleans In Danger of Drowning; Hurricane Ivan Passed It By, But a Direct Hit By Another Storm Would Swamp Its Levees and Leave Thousands Dead
Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/8/04:
New Orleans’ growing danger; Wetlands loss leaves city a hurricane hit away from disaster
Times-Picayune, 10/6/04:
Taxes will rise to pay for levee work; Feds no longer paying for it
Houston Chronicle, 9/15/04:
Hurricane Ivan; Direct Hit Could Spell Doom for New Orleans; Residents Fleeing Deluge That Could Sink Low-Lying City
Times-Picayune, 6/11/04:
Flood-project firm left high, dry; Federal dollars are tapped out
Times-Picayune, 6/8/04:
Shifting federal budget erodes protection from levees; Because of cuts, hurricane risk grows
Times-Picayune, 4/13/04:
Levee money falling short; Corps says millions needed to close gaps
New York Times, 7/4/03:
New Orleans’s Hurricane Problem
Lafayette Daily Advertiser, 10/14/02:
Hurricane levees talked about for decades
Times-Picayune, 10/10/02:
La. needs new plan to survive big storms; Put politics aside, Army Corps warns
CBS Evening News, 10/2/02:
Damage that a major hurricane could do to New Orleans
AP, 8/5/02:
Louisiana sinking: One state’s environmental nightmare could become common problem
Times-Picayune, 6/27/02:
Cost of survival; New Orleans and south Louisiana will always be vulnerable to a catastrophic hurricane, yet there are ways to make the area safer. But implementing the proposals may be prohibitively expensive.
Times-Picayune, 5/31/01:
A study shows that coastal Louisiana is sinking more than thought, and that could spell trouble as hurricane season rolls in
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