[jyl]

My impression is that when New Orleans was founded, it was not below sea level.

It was marshy silty ground which tended to sink but the ground level was maintained by silt flows from the river, floods and storms. As the city was built up, levees were constructed, the river was channeled, and marshland was drained and developed. This reduced the supply of silt to maintain ground levels and reduced the area of marsh which absorbed flood and storm-water. Fast-forward to today and the city has come to be well below river and sea level, and protected by levees rather than marshland. Neither the French settlers nor the Americans planned this outcome, people probably didn't even understand it until the urbanization was too far along to stop. This is just the Reader's Digest version based on some quick reading, someone correct me please.

Anyway, if it is in fact too late to restore lots of natural marshland around New Orleans, then seems the only solution is better levees and bigger pumps. I heard an interview with someone from the Army Corps of Engineers saying that the levees were built for a category 3 storm. Since the Gulf Coast is always at risk of bigger storms, seems the levees should be raised and strengthened? Maybe interior levees as well, so the whole city isn't threatened by one levee breach? And maybe some raised main roads so that people and vehicles can get to flooded areas? I'm just thinking out loud here.

Assuming it makes sense to rebuild New Orleans, that is. I think yes - there's so much energy infrastructure there that needs to be staffed, a lot of history and culture, and lots of tourist industry. But I guess I "want" to conclude yes, and am not really objective about this.