ML161614
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Subject 1: (Interview). Subtitle: Harry Roberts. Timecode In: 00:00:35. Timecode out: 00:16:16. Notes: Hurricane Katrina. Subject 2: (Sound Effects). Subtitle: Airplane start up, Aiplane Idle. Timecode In: 00:26:51. Timecode out: 00:31:20. Subject 3: (Sound Effects). Subtitle: Business telephone ringing. Timecode In: 00:41:30. Timecode out: 00:41:33. Subject 4: (Sound Effects). Subtitle: Airport tarmac sounds. Timecode In: 01:07:35. Timecode out: 01:11:57. Subject 5: (Sound Effects). Subtitle: Helicopter. Timecode In: 01:16:56. Timecode out: 01:17:29. Equipment Notes: Two-Channel Mono. Show: Louisiana Swamps Date: 09/15/05 HR = Harry Roberts CJ = Chris Joyce JG = Jessica Goldstein HR: Directions to pilots... Seeing algal bloom in Lake Pontchartrain. Directions to pilots... 3:35 HR: But I think you'll see that when we review the damage, that really most of the visible is out here along these barrier islands. This was a consistent barrier island arc just like it shows on this map prior to this storm. CJ: sort of a crescent shape HR: And it represents the distal end or the seaward end of an old delta that built out in this space about 3000 yrs ago and so these islands represent the reworked end of that old delta. And the rest of the delta has subsided out of sight and that's we have this big open water area here. But that island arc sort of marks the seaward end of that once active delta that was active just like this one that we call the birdfoot delta. 4:36 HR: So we should see all the elements. And the worst areas that were affected by the storm and that's the reason for the flight. Informal conversation with pilot, CJ. 5:30 HR: Boat which they had to get out of Chalmette. 6:30 HR: Still talking about getting boat to Baton Rouge. River packed with large ships anchored along banks. 7:20 HR: But this was an interesting storm. You it, I think- We have weathered so many tough storms in Louisiana that people get complacent, but now, with all the pre-storm activity and images that people can look at, it was pretty evident to all the scientific community that this was going to be a really severe storm and a very hard hit on coastal Louisiana. We have all expected that if the perfect storm came up to the right side of New Orleans and literally put a wall of water into Lake Pontchartrain that New Orleans would have a real problem and that's exactly what happened and if you look at this map, the storm surge came up from this direction, the southeast. 8:19 CJ: Say that again. 8:23 HR: It came up from the southeast see the storm track was basically north, so the storm surge was being pushed from that right quadrant into New Orleans and into Lake Pontchartrain. This is high ground comparatively. ... 8:55 HR:...and then the levees of the miss river it forms a "V". And so when that storm surge came in adjacent to Chalmette it got amplified because of these two high areas. So it amplified the storm surge and pushed it right into the city of New Orleans. And that's where the breach is if you look where the breaches in the levees occur, it's opposite this V, which just literally focused that storm surge right into the city. 9:24 CJ: kind of like a funnel 9:25 HR: Like a funnel, except rather than just funneling the water, it increased the height of the water. As that surge came in. 9:35 CJ: Like the bay of fundi. HR: bonds with CJ over the Bay of Fundi analogy. 10:00 HR: So it was a not The perfect storm. But it was a near perfect storm and it certainly caused the damage that many in the scientific community have predicted for years and years would happen if we got a storm like this. And it certainly proved a lot of our previous thinking and a lot of our models of how new Orleans and the surrounding area would react to a storm of this magnitude. 10:36 CJ: storm logist... (Notes truncated)
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Archival information
- Cataloged
- 19 Apr 2010 - Ben Brotman
- Digitized
- 19 Apr 2010 - Ben Brotman
- Edited
- 19 Apr 2010 - Ben Brotman