Army Corps of Engineers Acknowledges Levee Failures Were Result of Design Flaws

Independent investigations, including a congressionally mandated study by the American Society of Civil Engineers, concluded that the levee failures that flooded New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina resulted from engineering and design failures by the Army Corps of Engineers — not the storm surge alone. The Lower Ninth Ward, a predominantly Black neighborhood, suffered the worst flooding. The federal government was found liable in 2009.