> Well, I don't know about the meteorological history of The Big Easy, but until the early 20th century, "construction was largely limited to the slightly higher ground along old natural river levees and bayous, since much of the rest of the land was swampy and subject to frequent flooding." (from the Wikipedia article on New Orleans) I also don't know how high this higher ground was, so it might not make too much difference. Then again, slightly higher was the difference between our immediate backyard and our back backyard, and between our house and the house two doors over. I think I still have video footage of water washing across the road into their driveway.


"Slightly higher" would certainly help in times of normal flooding, but when you're dealing with a 15 or 20 foot storm surge, "slightly" doesn't do much good.