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 September 29, and local emergency offices enforced strict curfews for New Orleans as landfall approached; meteorologist Isaac Cline stated in an entry to the Monthly Weather Review that the effective dissemination of warnings and strict enforcement of curfew "unquestionably" mitigated additional loss of life in the city. As the hurricane traversed the Gulf of Mexico from September 28 to September 29, it produced rough surf along its path. The cutter "Miami" was caught in the storm, but was able to use a heavily damaged ship as an anchor before resuming its trek towards Key West, Florida. Storm surge and rough