New research from Tulane University and the California Institute of Technology has raised new concerns about New Orleans’ hurricane protection system. NOLA.com reported that parts of the city’s levees and floodwalls are sinking faster than sea levels are rising, potentially putting residents at risk from future storms.
What’s happening?
Researchers used satellite radar data to track elevation changes across the city’s Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System.
Some floodwalls are sinking nearly 1 inch a year — up to 10 times faster than the pace of sea level rise. Areas experiencing the fastest drop include parts of New Orleans East, St. Bernard Parish, and the West Bank.
Land loss isn’t unusual for the region, and the floodwall system was only completed in 2022 — some of the sinking may be due to post-construction short-term settling. Still, researchers didn’t expect to see sections dropping this quickly…