See an animated movie illustrating New Orleans's latest stormproofing strategy here.

By now you know that engineers had long predicted the cataclysmic flooding that struck New Orleans. But what you might not realize is that Katrina-a category-4 cyclone when it made landfall in Louisiana on August 29-was not the worst-case scenario. That would be a direct hit from a category-5 hurricane, which would send a storm surge over the city's levees and submerge New Orleans in minutes. Anyone who had ignored evacuation orders would drown.
New Orleans needs more protection than levees alone can offer.