Reconstruction of New Orleans

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The reconstruction of New Orleans refers to the process of rebuilding the city following the failure of levees and floodwalls during Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. The federally built hurricane protection, called the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity Hurricane Protection Project failed, resulting in breaches that released tens of billions of gallons of water flooding approximately 80% of the city. The flooding remained in the city for days, in many places for weeks. Over 204,000 homes were severely damaged or destroyed, and an estimated 200,000 vehicles were totaled. More than 800,000 citizens were displaced—the greatest displacement in the United States since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Residential reconstruction was hindered by bureaucratic problems in the heavily criticized Road Home rebuilding program which was federally funded and state-managed. Critics also said that national politics factored into the program which was based on pre-storm home values, leading to disparities...

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