Judge: Army Corps’ failure to maintain navigation channel led to massive flooding by Katrina

Judge: Corps’ negligence caused Katrina flooding

NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge has ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers’ failure to properly maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding in Hurricane Katrina.

U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval late Wednesday ruled in favor of residents who alleged the Army Corps’ shoddy oversight of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet led to the flooding of New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward and neighboring St. Bernard Parish.

Many in Katrina have argued that Katrina, which struck the region Aug. 29, 2005, was a manmade disaster caused by the Army Corps’ failure to maintain the levee system protecting the city.