On 9/29/2020, Sandy Rosenthal, Author of the book "Words Whispered in Water", spoke to the membership of the Magnolia Rotary Club about what happened to New Orleans in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina came through that city. Pictured above is Sandy Rosenthal talking to a local news station about what happened to New Orleans and why it happened.
Sandy Rosenthal told everyone about what Hurricane Katrina did to New Orleans and why the city was completely flooded. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Sandy told everyone about the story of her fight––against all odds––to expose a mammoth federal agency, and win. Sandy provided a slide show that showed that ultimately, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was at fault.
Sandy told everyone that although she was living in an area of New Orleans that did not get flooded, she was able to watch the enormous flooding event take place. Sandy explained that during this time, the American people were given three reasons for the flooding of New Orleans:
- A monster storm
- New Orleans is below sea level
- Local corruption of city leaders
Sandy explained that almost everyone bought these reasons because they were so believable. However, after asking a great of questions and filing multiple FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) inquires, she came to the realization that the city levees that protected it from the ocean failed. In fact, the most recent levees completed in the year 2000 were the ones that failed (see before and after below):
From a FOIA request she found a USACE report that concluded that the sheet steel pilings anchoring the flood walls were too short. There were only 16 feet in the ground instead of the 50 feet they should have been put into the ground. As a result, the levee failed and the city flooded. When asked why anyone other than the people living in New Orleans should be concerned, Sandy explained that 62% of the people living in the USA live by a levee of some sort (see map below).
After the truth came out, Sandy wrote the book ""Words Whispered in Water" to document everything she had discovered and to let the world know what really happened. The book is available on Amazon.com. A photo of her book is below:
Sandy told everyone that the federal government eventually fixed the problem with an enormous floodgate in the area that could be closed when a menacing storm approaches. When asked if the new floodgate has been tested against another hurricane, Sandy said that no hurricane as large as Katrina has been seen to date but that everyone believes that it will protect the city.
A photo of those in attendance via zoom can be seen below:
