Special Geotechnical Lecture at ASU - Katrina Levee Failures

SPECIAL GEOTECHNICAL LECTURE
Monday, February 1 LSE 106
Reception 5:30 - 6:00 PM: Lecture 6:00 – 7:00 PM
KATRINA AND LEVEE FAILURES BY OVERTOPPING
Jean-Louis Briaud, Ph.D., P.E.
President, The Geo-Institute of ASCE
Professor and Holder of the Buchanan Chair
Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina landed a devastating blow to New Orleans and its surroundings. Levees and bridges failed and about 1500 people died. The engineering aspects of this disaster are presented with particular emphasis on levee overtopping and associated erosion, which was the cause of about 80% of the levee failures. An NSF sponsored study undertaken to evaluate the resistance of levees to overtopping is presented including sampling of the levees around New Orleans and associated erosion susceptibility testing. A methodology that was developed to take the overtopping into consideration in design issue and thereby reduce the risk of failure by overtopping in the future will also be presented. Other related levee situations around the country such as the Upper Mississippi floods of June 2008 and the evaluation of the California levee system are discussed to paint the national picture. A risk approach to levee overtopping management is proposed.

Also of Interest
2009 ARIZONA PAVEMENTS/MATERIALS CONFERENCE
February 2-4 at ASU

www.fulton.asu.edu/paving

Presentations on: Arizona Economic Outlook, Long Life Pavements, ITS, Arterial Incident management, Bridge Scour, Expansive Soils, Warm Mix Asphalt, Asphalt Recycling, Pervious Pavements, Resilient Modulus Testing, MEPDG Implementation, BMPs for Fugitive Dust Control, Context Sensitive Design, and much more!