Quintin Anthony
Professor Woodbury
11/20/14

In the Shadow of Disaster (Ari Kelman) Revision In the article, “In the Shadow of Disaster” Ari Kelman explains “This is how New Orleans has been engineered: to control stray water and to clarify the border between the city and its surrounding.” “It has been a losing battle says,” (Kelman). Much of New Orleans lies below sea level. Also, New Orleans does not have a drainage system, so this is caused due to lots of flooding areas and massive damage. Even though New Orleans has access to the river and the Gulf, they enjoy a near-perfect situation; but have a horrid site. Geographer Peirce Lewis sums it up: “New Orleans is impossible yet inevitable.” Lewis means that even if the city’s situation is good, people can improve the site no matter the costs. New Orleans seems to have things under control again; but still seems to seek danger. “This notion has been as destructive as the worst flood and as difficult to avoid,” says (Kelman). Andy Kopplin, executive director of the governor’s panel, explains, “We have to rebuild the levees first, so people believe they’re safe.” Ari Kelman says “To anyone familiar with the city’s ecological history, this sounds like a recipe for more disasters.” First, the city of New Orleans levees grew bigger, which cause the 1849 flood to flood the city for months. Since, the 1849 flood sponsors shows two studies. The first study advocated multi-tiered flood control: levees, spillways and “reservoirs,” swaths of wetlands acting like sponges. The second study began a policy known as the “levees only policy.” There was one problem “They didn’t work.” The river became unsafe, and New Orleans less safe. With the water trapped behind the levees, “the Mississippi River rose higher than ever. The 1927 flood was even more destructive. They created a fifteen mile levee downstream, that destroyed