Wetlands erosion raises hurricane risk

The very technology that protects New Orleans from flooding has backfired, environmental experts say.

They say the levees that ring the city have led to the rapid decay of nearby wetlands during the past century, removing a crucial buffer zone that once protected the area from hurricanes.

Hurricanes quickly lose force when they hit land, but New Orleans is now vulnerable to violent storms because the land around it has been rapidly disappearing. Today, New Orleans is almost completely exposed to the Gulf of Mexico, said Val Marmillion, a consultant for the America's Wetland group, which is lobbying for the Louisiana coast area.

"There are almost open water conditions around New Orleans now," Marmillion said. "Because of wetland loss some areas of Louisiana are no longer protected at all." 

Wetlands act as a "speed bump," slowing down storms almost like dry land does, said Kip Patrick, spokesman for America's Wetland. "They take some of the brunt of the force of the hurricane, weakens the storm like any land mass would."

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