“The Big Uneasy” by Harry Shearer is a documentary about the disastrous flooding of New Orleans during the Hurricane Katrina in a different viewpoint. While mass media describes the flood as well as the hurricane as a natural disaster, Shearer claims that the flooding was actually a man-made disaster, not a natural one; and the film contains comprehensive investigations with scientific data to support the claim. “The Big Uneasy” emphasize on the ineffective design and maintenance of the flood-protection system as well as the engineering structure of Mississippi River’s waterway in the city. Severe environmental damages due to poor infrastructural planning also ruin the natural flood barrier of the region. Furthermore, these problems are supported …show more content…
The Corp built the floodwall’s foundation on sand, a weak material that can easily subside when contacting water. That foundation could not hold concrete walls in position under the pressure of heavy floodwaters. Additionally, Maria Garzino, an engineer and contract specialist of the Corp had said that the pumps installed to handle floodwaters were inadequate and broken. Moreover, several floodwalls were reported to be only ten feet tall instead of fourteen feet as the Corp had claimed. By showing that evidences, Shearer wants to say how the malfunctioned levee and floodwall system had put New Orleans into the “wet ankles” position. Perhaps, if the flood-prevention system is strong enough, the impact of Hurricane Katrina would have been reduced. Unfortunately, having a poor flood-prevention system was not the only reason why New Orleans could not withstand the flood. When Hurricane Katrina arrived at the coast, its waters found a trail to enter the city due to the construction the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, which is known as “Mr. Go”. Mr. Go is a 76 miles canal that was constructed in 1968. The Corp stated that this canal could reduce the time and distance needed for …show more content…
Army Corps of Engineers’ negligent behaviors supported by certain political entities had allowed Hurricane Katrina to turn into a disaster. The government might only look at the benefit of a grow economy and lower rate of employees without oversighting the dangerous of a poor infrastructure. Even though, the flood-prevention system’s management was a failure prior to Katrina, federal funds were used for project such as “Mr. Go”. However, there were more controversies around the Corps. One of the contractors that constructed the levees even argued the Army Corps' plans in court and lost. Additionally, the Corps built the flood-prevention system on a non-updated standard back in the 1950s. Shearer also provides information about how the Corp sponsored for certain governors and got approved to work on the new levees, floodwall and pumping system. They asked for almost 20 million dollar for a 14 years project that could have cost way less and built in a shorter time. Furthermore, while the Corp did not pay for its negligence, people who investigated the failure are still facing criticism until today. The government had not made any good investments in extensive researches before the hurricane. In the aftermath of disasters, they are still allowing the Corps to reconstruct the areas that will certainly be flooded in the