Al Naomi Quotes (8 Quotes)

The water does circulate out of the basin eventually. But it depends a lot on meteorological conditions, which we really don't have much control or much knowledge of, at least not here.

It's not a significant decrease but it's not rising any more. It will still take a while to get the water out of the city. It's a lot of chaos right now.

It was disseminated. It went to our OEP in Baton Rouge, to the state, FEMA, the corps. The people in the field knew it. The people here in corps offices in Louisiana and Mississippi knew it. I don't know how communication worked in those agencies.

As I remember it the worst of the storm had passed when we got word the floodwall had collapsed. It could have been when we were experiencing westerly winds in the aftermath of the storm, which would have been pushing water against it.

The point is to eliminate that storm-surge threat with one of these plans. The philosophy of what we do during a hurricane would change. We could spend more time protecting our homes and less time trying to get out of the city in these desperate evacuations.

If you don't install some type of substantial hurricane protection along the Gulf coast it's going to be very hard to re-assure people. There were some very sound military and economic reasons for the city to be where it was. Now the policy-makers have to decide whether those reasons are enough to keep it there.

The system is in great shape, but the levees are sinking. If we don't get the money fast enough to raise them, then we can't stay ahead of the settlement. The problem is the federal funds have dried up.

I can't go above it by law. That's what I am authorized to do. Anything above that means I have to spend money that Congress specifically authorizes for that purpose. Only then we can go build it. It's not simple.