Though the floodwalls and levees protecting New Orleans did their job as Isaac barreled into the region as a Category 1 hurricane earlier this week, rural sections outside the city didn't fare as well. Plaquemines Parish, where the storm came ashore, flooded quickly and forced emergency crews to conduct search and rescue operations. After Katrina hit in 2005 the Army Corps of Engineers used $14 billion to beef up the levee system around New Orleans, but didn't use the funds for outlying areas. Plans to build a $1 billion levee system that would protect rural areas was scrapped last year after the agency decided the cost could not be justified, considering the low probability of flood events and small population in the region. Now residents and politicians are pushing for more protection. "These people don't deserve this," Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu told WVUE-TV near Braithwaite, and area flooded to the rooftops by Isaac. "We have to fight harder and stronger for protection for everyone."
