2005 levee failures in Greater New Orleans flooding from hurricanes to the forefront. In response, the Congress passed the Flood Control Act of 1965 which mandated that henceforth, the Corps of Engineers is the agency responsible for design and construction of flood protection projects, to include those in Greater New Orleans. The local interests' role was maintenance once the projects were complete. Also that year, Congress authorized the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity Hurricane Protection Project (LPVHPP) which reiterated the principle of local participation in federally funded projects. The project was initially estimated to take 13 years, but when Katrina struck in 2005, almost 40 years later, the
1915 New Orleans hurricane 1915 New Orleans hurricane The New Orleans Hurricane of 1915 was an intense Category 4 hurricane that made landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana during the 1915 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm formed in late September when it moved westward and peaked in intensity of 145 mph (230 km/h) to weaken slightly by time of landfall on September 29 with recorded wind speeds of 126 mph (206 km/h) as a strong category 3 Hurricane. The hurricane killed 275 people and caused $13 million (1915 US dollars) in damage. According to the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project, the 1915 New Orleans hurricane began