US Army blamed for Katrina floods
Published:Thursday | November 19, 2009 | 2:04 PM
A US Judge has ruled that negligence by army engineers led to massive flooding in an area of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The court upheld complaints by six residents and a business against the US Army Corps of Engineers over its maintenance of a navigational channel.
The Army Corps is responsible for maintaining a system of canals and earthworks that protect New Orleans from storm surges.
US District Judge, Stanwood Duval ruled that failure to maintain the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet - a shipping channel had led to flooding in the city\'s Lower 9th Ward and nearby St Bernard Parish.
The complainants were awarded damages totaling $720,000. More than 1,800 people died on the US Gulf coast in the devastating storms.