In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. Gulf Coast and became one of the largest natural disasters in the history of the United States. It resulted in more than 1,800 deaths and more than $150 billion in damages. Katrina's storm surge measured up to 30 feet along the Mississippi coast, with winds at 127 miles per hour when it made landfall in Louisiana. Nearly 80 percent of New Orleans was under water.

In the aftermath of Katrina, Colonel Lewis F. Setliff III, Commander/District Engineer, St. Louis District, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was selected to command Task Force Guardian, the team responsible for restoring New Orleans' flood and hurricane protection system to its pre-storm levels before the 2006 hurricane season began. In the June issue of Defense Tech Briefs, Col. Setliff describes the challenges his team - and local contractors - faced in accomplishing their almost impossible goal of providing a measurably stronger level of protection to the city of New Orleans in a compressed time frame.

Read Colonel Setliff's perspective on page 10 of the June issue of Defense Tech Briefs, or visit here .


Topics: