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Sorry but that is not true. In 1992 Miami was hit with Hurricane Andrew which was a Category 5 hurricane (much worse than Katrina) and yes the city did flood but Miami has an excellent canal system that drains flood waters and flushes it out to Biscayne Bay and the ocean. The area was dry within a few days unlike New Orleans which took months.
Some of these canals are deep and water management lowers the canal levels in anticipation of a hurricane.
1)I'm sorry but Andrew was not worse than Katrina. They were close, but Katrina was little more intense. The only difference is that Katrina was downgraded before landfall but it still carried the effects of a Cat 5 as well as a Cat 5 storm surge to trail.
2)New Orleans pump and canal system is way more extensive then that of Miami. (They do have to constantly pull ground run-off above sea-level and then out to the gulf, lake, etc.)
3)I was not talking about Floods in reference to my comment, we're talking about actual damage. Katrina was only a wind event for New Orleans and actually hit Mississippi head on. New Orleans flooded a day later and even after the floods the buildings were still there just flood damaged. Cities that were actually hit by Katrina no longer exist or had/has to be rebuilt from the ground up. We're talking about no buildings left, just barren land.
4)New Orleans sits anywhere from +2 above to -10 below sea level but is surrounded by 20ft walls. Miami sits anywhere from 0 to +6 above sea level and sits right on the Ocean. If the right storm hits Miami dead on with the right surge everything from Miami Beach to almost the Palmetto Expwy will be pushed in then pulled clean out into the Atlantic Ocean, just as Katrina pulled almost all of Coastal Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico. New Orleans being hit with the same storm would have a serious wind event with some structural collapses, but would remain fairly dry and intact given the walls hold (which they should).
New Orleans got nowhere near the worst of Katrina and wasn't even associated with hurricanes by most people until Katrina. Now it's just some giant floating hurricane target, whereas Miami has been just that forever.
I was having a debate with one of my friends about which major city would "Flood Easiest" due to hurricane, excessive rain, melting snow.
Levees, dams breaking, and sea walls falling can be included also.
Here is our top 15 cities.
Miami
Tampa
New York City
Houston
New Orleans
Chicago
Cincinnati
Memphis
Minneapolis
Austin (TX)
Boston
San Diego
Baltimore
Atlanta
Mobile (AL)
He chose Houston
I chose Miami.
Don't know if Pittsburgh is one of the most prone to flooding... but they've had quite a few and a couple of really bad ones. I used to be amazed to see the watermarks of the St. Patrick's Day Flood (1936) on the second floor of many buildings. Downtown: 1936 Flood, March 20
1)I'm sorry but Andrew was not worse than Katrina. They were close, but Katrina was little more intense. The only difference is that Katrina was downgraded before landfall but it still carried the effects of a Cat 5 as well as a Cat 5 storm surge to trail.
2)New Orleans pump and canal system is way more extensive then that of Miami. (They do have to constantly pull ground run-off above sea-level and then out to the gulf, lake, etc.)
3)I was not talking about Floods in reference to my comment, we're talking about actual damage. Katrina was only a wind event for New Orleans and actually hit Mississippi head on. New Orleans flooded a day later and even after the floods the buildings were still there just flood damaged. Cities that were actually hit by Katrina no longer exist or had/has to be rebuilt from the ground up. We're talking about no buildings left, just barren land.
4)New Orleans sits anywhere from +2 above to -10 below sea level but is surrounded by 20ft walls. Miami sits anywhere from 0 to +6 above sea level and sits right on the Ocean. If the right storm hits Miami dead on with the right surge everything from Miami Beach to almost the Palmetto Expwy will be pushed in then pulled clean out into the Atlantic Ocean, just as Katrina pulled almost all of Coastal Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico. New Orleans being hit with the same storm would have a serious wind event with some structural collapses, but would remain fairly dry and intact given the walls hold (which they should).
New Orleans got nowhere near the worst of Katrina and wasn't even associated with hurricanes by most people until Katrina. Now it's just some giant floating hurricane target, whereas Miami has been just that forever.
point taken but off topic.I lived through Andrew and saw the aftermath living in south Dade county at the time which bore the brunt of the storm. Most of the structural damage were roofs being blown away thereby comprimising the rest of the structure. We had a 17 foot tidal surge at Key Biscayne and no buildings were washed out to sea either. Most of the buildings in Miami are concrete block structures not the flimsy wooden beach structures you see on the beaches of the Texas Gulf or North Carolina coast. Miami has one of the strongest building codes in the nation too.
Most of the buildings in Miami are concrete block structures not the flimsy wooden beach structures you see on the beaches of the Texas Gulf or North Carolina coast. Miami has one of the strongest building codes in the nation too.
The surge from Katrina was 28 feet, with 55 foot waves.
Most of the development along Mississippi was new. Highrise casino's, condo buildings, malls, plenty of concrete all washed away. In NOLA the wooden structures tend to hold up better than the concrete and brick structures, but of course it probably wasn't built to South Florida standards either.
WestbankNOLA the rest of the state of Florida was supposed to adopt Dade county's new building codes after Andrew and you want to know what the elected officials said? It would be to cost prohibitive to the construction industry and to home buyers!
WestbankNOLA the rest of the state of Florida was supposed to adopt Dade county's new building codes after Andrew and you want to know what the elected officials said? It would be to cost prohibitive to the construction industry and to home buyers!
Typical. Who care's how cost prohibitive it is to the homeowners when the next storm comes through. That sounds just like Louisiana. Let me guess, you'll are limited to overpriced flood coverage from the state just like us huh?
actually flood insurance is provided by the Feds and is very reasonable, usually a few hundred dollars a year. We have flood zones where the mortgage companies make you carry it if you live in a very flood prone area. Property insurance in Florida if you live near the coast is absolutely insane.
actually flood insurance is provided by the Feds and is very reasonable, usually a few hundred dollars a year. We have flood zones where the mortgage companies make you carry it if you live in a very flood prone area. Property insurance in Florida if you live near the coast is absolutely insane.
Property insurance here is outrageous. On top of that not company will write a flood policy in the metro area and many won't insure homes period so people are forced to sign up with a policy from the state which is required by law to be more expensive than any competitive policy (instant rip-off).
I was having a debate with one of my friends about which major city would "Flood Easiest" due to hurricane, excessive rain, melting snow.
Levees, dams breaking, and sea walls falling can be included also.
Here is our top 15 cities.
Miami
Tampa
New York City
Houston
New Orleans
Chicago
Cincinnati
Memphis
Minneapolis
Austin (TX)
Boston
San Diego
Baltimore
Atlanta
Mobile (AL)
He chose Houston
I chose Miami.
Its a given as to why New Orleans is voted #1 so far. I voted other. From what I understand, Phoenix and Las Vegas are very flood prone cities. The dry desert soil is so hard baked from the heat none of the water gets absorbed thus triggering a flash flood
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