The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why during Hurricane Katrina--The Inside Story from One Louisiana Scientist.

THE STORM: What Went Wrong and Why during Hurricane Katrina--The Inside story from One Louisiana Scientist IVOR VAN HEERDEN AND MIKE BRYAN 

On Aug. 29, 2005, New Orleans officials believed that they had dodged a bullet. Hurricane Katrina, the category-4 storm that threatened to smash the city with a direct blow, had followed a different, less damaging path. The worst was yet to come, however. New Orleans became victim to a scenario that had been predicted for years, according to van Heerden, deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center. The city's position below sea level made it vulnerable to flooding. with the failure of the levees in the hours following the storm's landfall, that's exactly what happened. Van Heerden and Bryan unapologetically reveal the hurricane specialist's take on the many failures that resulted in the destruction of many parts of New Orleans. As the scope of the tragedy became apparent, van Heerden was sought out by reporters to explain the event. Here he collects his thoughts in harrowing detail on that subject. With Bryan, he describes the levees built by the Army Corp of Engineers and how storm-surge models for years had demonstrated their insufficiencies. He charges that the Federal Emergency Management Administration ignored his and others' scientific models of hurricane damage to the city when conducting an exercise in 1994. He explains how Louisiana's unique geography and eroding wetlands made it all the more vulnerable. At every turn, bureaucracy, petty politics, and breakdowns in communication combined to create a highly preventable tragedy, Van Heerden and Bryan assert. Finally, the authors outline the necessary steps that New Orleans officials must take to prevent such a catastrophe from recurring. Penguin, 2006, 320 p., b&w illus., hardcover, $29.95.