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Case Study

Hurricane Katrina Flood Modeling

Overview

The performance of the hurricane protection system of the Greater New Orleans area was evaluated using an interior drainage analysis of Jefferson, Orleans, St Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes. The HEC-HMS and HEC-RAS numerical models were used to simulate design and actual conditions during the hurricane.

 

Project Highlights

To help answer the questions regarding the performance of the hurricane protection system of the Greater New Orleans area, an interior drainage analysis was performed for Jefferson, Orleans, St Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes. Numerical models were used to simulate water levels during Hurricane Katrina under two sets of conditions:

  • What would have happened had all the hurricane protection facilities remained intact, functioned as designed, and operated as planned; and
  • The event as it actually occurred, due to the lack of operational pumping facilities (caused by evacuations, power outages, and damages) for 1 to 1 ½ days.

Services

Greater New Orleans, LA, USA

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This project was the mission of the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET). The IPET was established by the Chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is comprised of some of the nation’s leading engineers and scientists from government (federal, state and local agencies), academia and private industry.

Baird was responsible for the development of hydrologic and hydrodynamic models of an approximately 16 square mile portion of the Metropolitan New Orleans area near Harvey, and the canals and pumping stations that serve this area. The hydrologic modeling included a HEC-HMS model to compute the runoff from the rainfall (more than 10” overnight) due to the hurricane. The hydrodynamic model included a HEC-RAS unsteady-state model that featured 100 storage areas, over 34 miles of interconnected canals, 80 culverts and bridges, and four pump stations. The HEC-RAS model was developed with several variations, including the actual pump operations, as well as for design (fully operational) modes. The end result of the modeling was flood inundation approximations due to both of these scenarios.

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