The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina--the Inside Story from One Louisiana Scientist - Hardcover

Van Heerden, Ivor; Bryan, Mike

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670037818 ISBN 13: 9780670037810

Publisher: Viking Adult, 2006

Synopsis

The ultimate inside story: how bureaucracy, politics, and a disregard of science combined to cripple—perhaps forever—a great American city

As deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center, Ivor van Heerden had for years been warning state and local officials about New OrleansÂ's vulnerability to flooding. But like CassandraÂ's, his predictions were ignored—until Hurricane Katrina hit on August 29, 2005. Suddenly, van Heerden found himself at the center of a media maelstrom. Stepping forward to challenge the official version of events, he revealed the truth about the cityÂ's shoddy levee construction.

Now, in The Storm, van Heerden shares up-to-the-minute reporting from his investigations and connects the dots among the Army Corps of Engineers, the bureaucrats, the politicians, and the chain of events—both natural and human—that culminated in catastrophe. An epic of cutting- edge science and systemic bureaucratic failure, The Storm is the first book from a major player in the Katrina disaster and a riveting narrative that brings expertise, passion, and a human viewpoint to AmericaÂ's greatest natural disaster.

About this title

About the Author:

Ivor van Heerden, a native of South Africa, is deputy director, LSU Hurricane Center; director, Center for the Study of Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes; and associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at LSU.

Mike Bryan, a native Texan, is the author of the bestselling Cal Ripken autobiography, The Only Way I Know, along with many other books.

From Publishers Weekly:

Starred Review. This serious, scientific explanation of what exactly happened in the hours-and years-leading up to Hurricane Katrina's devestation of New Orleans brings a fresh perspective to a tragedy that has generated remarkably similar news accounts over the past eight months. Van Heerden, Deputy Director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center, gives a passionate, rigorous account of what went wrong in New Orleans that, if admittedly non-objective, is a noble and credible call for truth and accountability Long recognized by FEMA as one of the three most likely and dangerous disasters threatening the country, the possibility of a hurricane like Katrina was ignored by corrupt politicians and discounted by residents tired of past evacuations (George, Floyd, Ivan, and Rita) that in hindsight seemed unnecessary. Technical details threaten at times to overwhelm readers interested in the human story of the storm, but van Heerden manages to navigate the narrow path that fuses scientific data with a gripping narrative worthy of a Tom Clancy thriller. Informative and emotional, Van Heerden's book sheds new light on one of the most destructive-and important-natural disasters to hit the U.S. in modern history, and is a must-read for anyone truly interested in the facts behind Hurricane Katrina.
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About this edition

• Publisher: Viking Adult
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0670037818
• ISBN 13: 9780670037810
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320