Fire & Flood: How the Lessons of the Past can Apply to the Present to Build the Future

• Main Author: Munster, Jared
• Format: Others
• Published: ScholarWorks@UNO 2006
• Online Access: http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/497; http://scholarworks.uno.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1497&context=td

On August 29, 2005 the most destructive natural disaster to ever befall the United States made landfall initially near Buras, Louisiana and then ultimately near the mouth of the Pearl River. The associated storm surge caused New Orleans' protective levee system to fail, inundating the City with brackish floodwaters for weeks on end. This was not the first time the City of New Orleans was crippled by disaster. In 1788 and 1794, the city suffered two major fires; the first burning 856 buildings and the second 212. These were significant losses in a city that had a building stock of approximately 1,000 buildings before the events. By recognizing the lessons learned in the earlier reconstructions of New Orleans, we can gain a better understanding of the rebuilding process that may forever effect the physical and cultural environments in the City of New Orleans.