What caused the bulk of the damage that was done by Hurricane ...

[rlane42]

What caused the bulk of the damage that was done by Hurricane Katrina to the city of New Orleans?
  Why was New Orleans so vulnerable? What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

What are two ways (one natural and one human-induced) in which the sediment budget of a coastline
  can become negative? What will be an ideal response?

[Liddy]

Answer to Question 1

Parts of New Orleans were built well below sea level, since the city was built on swampy, subsiding
land. The city was (and is) protected by a system of levees. Hurricane Katrina did not do the bulk of
the damage directly, but caused the levees to break and allow water to flood the city. The pumps were
overwhelmed and were useless when the city lost electrical power.

Answer to Question 2

The sediment source could be eliminated by rising sea level, a change in shoreline topography, or a
change in drainage pattern. Human-made dams across streams that feed sediment to the shore can
starve a shoreline of sediment