Why New Orleans' $15B levee held during Hurricane Ida and what experts worry about next.
The two generators in New Orleans that operate the system are so outdated that the agency that runs them has to build its own parts in-house to repair them, Campanella said. There has been a growing effort to connect the pumps and drainage system to the main power grid, but the fact that that has not happened yet also proved to be the city's saving grace.
. A key issue is the loss of natural protections, such as the depleted wetlands along Louisiana's coast and the disappearance of its barrier islands. "Outside the fortress of New Orleans, those folks are a lot more vulnerable to storms," Link said."They're looking at alternatives like marshes and some mix of green and gray infrastructure, but I don't know where the money is going to come from to do that."
He said the infrastructure bill, which the House is scheduled to vote on at the end of the month, would help harden the country — as well as Louisiana — against natural disasters by investing billions of dollars in the country's levees, flood mitigation and coastal restoration programs, water systems and electric grid, as well as expansion of access to broadband, which would help keep people informed.
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