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289:. Again during record-breaking flooding in 2011, the US Army Corps of Engineers blew up a section of a Mississippi River levee with dynamite to open the New Madrid Floodway. The floodway was used for farming and had about 200 residents at the time. The levee at Bird's Point was designed to be removed if necessary so that Mississippi water levels would be lowered, taking pressure off levees for miles upstream in more populated areas such as
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173:. The underseepage resurfaces on the landside, in the form of a volcano-like cone of sand. Boils signal a condition of incipient instability which may lead to erosion of the levee toe or foundation or result in sinking of the levee into the liquefied foundation below. Some engineers think that boils lead to a form of
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passed east of the city. Levees breached in over 50 different places submerging 80 percent of the city. Most levees failed due to water overtopping them but some failed when water passed underneath the levee foundations causing the levee wall to shift and resulting in catastrophic sudden breaching.
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will likely take a chunk of the saturated soil out of the levee. This shallow hole can quickly erode and result in a breach. If the tree falls in the water and floats away it can damage the levee further downstream. Floating trees near levees should be quickly removed by the agency responsible for
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caused dike breaches on the west coast of the
Netherlands. The total number of dead, including in foreign countries, must have been above 20,000, but exact data is not available. Tens of thousands of people became homeless. Livestock was lost in huge numbers. Winter stocks of food and fodder were
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Surface erosion of the surface of a levee is usually caused by the action of wind and water (waves but also normal flow). Erosion can be worsened by pre-existing or new damage to a levee. Areas with no surface protection are more prone to erosion. A levee grazed by certain types of animals, like
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In some cases levees are breached intentionally. This can be done to protect other areas, to drain flooded areas, or to give back land to nature. In most cases an intentional breach is not without discussion since valuable land is given up.
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in the
Netherlands failed and flooded that town due to the dike not having enough weight to withstand the water pressure of the canal after a long drought. 1,500 inhabitants were evacuated with no loss of
265:-like depression just behind the breach where soil and other material has been violently scoured out by the rushing water. After a breach, a kolk lake can sometimes remain after the water level recedes.
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In some areas reclaimed land is given back to nature by breaching and removing dikes to allow flooding to occur (again). This restores the natural environment in the area. This happened in the
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was caused by a surge of seawater being forced upriver during a storm, overflowing the river dikes and submerging approximately 300 square kilometres (100 sq mi) of land in the
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A breach can be a sudden or gradual failure that is caused either by surface erosion or by a subsurface failure of the levee. Levee breaches are often accompanied by levee boils, or
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and subject to local participation requirements, some of which were later waived. Fault has been aimed at the Corps of
Engineers, their local contractors, and local levee boards.
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from central parts of the
Netherlands after river dikes had become dangerously unstable. The dikes were not breached after intensive works to stabilize the embankments, aided by
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Taking land from the cycle of flooding by putting a dike around it prevents it from being raised by silt left behind after a flood. At the same time the drained soil
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was flooded to a depth of 3m and over 2000 people had to be evacuated. This disaster prompted the drafting of
Belgium's Sigma Plan as a counterpart to the Dutch
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fences can collect large amounts of floating plant material, resulting in a large amount of drag from the water. Whole fences can be dragged away by the water.
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of the levee or even be the mechanism for complete breach. Often levees are armored or reinforced with rocks or concrete to prevent erosion and failure.
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Trees in levees are a special risk. A tree can become unstable after the soil of the levee has become saturated with water. When the tree falls the
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The sudden breaching released water at a high velocity that moved houses off their foundations and tossed cars into trees. This happened in the
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can be caused when flood waters simply exceed the lowest crest of the levee system or if high winds begin to generate significant swells (a
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393:. Estimates of people having died range from 2,000 to 10,000. Parts of the submerged lands have still not been reclaimed resulting in the
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September 1928: Storm surge from the
Okeechobee Hurricane breaches levees surrounding Lake Okeechobee, killing an estimated 2500 people.
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breached levees and flooded 27,000 square miles (70,000 km), killing 246 people in seven states and displacing 700,000 people.
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land was flooded. A number of villages were swallowed by the flood and were lost, causing between 2,000 and 10,000 casualties.
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and a northwesterly storm. The resulting flood killed 1,835 people. A further 307 people were killed by dike breaches in the
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is when part of the levee actually breaks away, leaving a large opening for water to flood the land protected by the levee.
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night of 1717. In total, approximately 14,000 people drowned. It was the last large flood in the north of the
Netherlands.
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were brought heavily into the public consciousness after the levee failures in metro New
Orleans on August 29, 2005, when
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312:. In this way the difference between the water level on one side and land level on the other side of the dike grows.
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233:) in the ocean or river water to bring waves crashing over the levee. Overtopping can lead to significant landside
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in the
Netherlands. 1558 people, 1387 horses and 7861 cows died. 631 houses were swept away and 616 houses damaged.
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Other forms of damage can be caused by ships or other (large) floating objects or from objects in the levee, like
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coincided with a large volume of water flowing down the Rhine and Meuse rivers causing dozens of dike breaches
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which undermines the levee, but others consider them a symptom of generalized instability of the foundation.
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Man-made levees can fail in a number of ways. The most frequent (and dangerous) form of levee failure is a
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in Yuba County, killing three people. More than 100,000 people in Yuba and Sutter counties were evacuated.
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3 June 2004 – Jones Tract, an inland island that is protected by a series of levees located in the
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Staatkundige historie van
Holland: Benevens de Maandelijksche Nederlandsche Mercurius ...
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is the Federal agency responsible for levee design and construction as defined in the
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UC Davis, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering: Delta Levee Failures
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was flooded after several breaches of the dikes, the coasts of Netherlands and
404:, in the night of 31 January – 1 February 1953, many dikes in the provinces of
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448:. In the Netherlands this flood was a main reason for the construction of the
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in the Netherlands froze, ice dams caused a rapid rise in waterlevels in the
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California Dept Water Resources, Comments on Delta Risk Management Strategy
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broke on the Little Calumet River resulting in flooding in most of Munster.
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was the result of a northwesterly storm, which hit the coast area of the
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452:, probably the most innovative and extensive levee system in the world.
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895:"New Study of Levees Faults Design and Construction - New York Times"
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February 26, 2010 – Levees were submerged by wind and a huge tide in
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1855 – Large parts of the central Netherlands were flooded after the
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Dec 24, 1955 – Just after midnight, a levee on the west bank of the
682:, deliberate military flooding by the Allies using air-dropped bombs
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or fences that are damaged or completely removed by wind or water.
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http://www.sigmaplan.be/nl/sigmaplan/hoe-is-het-sigmaplan-ontstaan
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were breached in a number of places during a heavy storm near the
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http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/civil-engineering-wonders.aspx
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breached. At least 1,464 people perished. In New Orleans, the
29:
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Jan 3, 1976 – A dike failed on the Vliet, a tributary of the
689:, military flooding, to cover the retreat of the German army
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deal primarily with Western culture and do not represent a
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collapsed at the northern Sacramento Valley community of
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breached and also in the Lakeview neighborhood when the
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54:
27:
Situation where a levee containing water is breached
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in the Netherlands were flooded after dike breaches
1099:"Missouri levee fails; prompting more evacuations"
700:, Ca., resulting in the drowning of 38 residents.
722:Feb 20, 1986 – A levee on the south bank of the
1038:Regional archive Bommelerwaard: evacuation 1995
756:Jan 2, 1997 – A levee on the east bank of the
626:in the Netherlands flooded after a dike breach
221:Sometimes levees are said to fail when water
43:The examples and perspective in this article
8:
990:Man v. Nature, National Geographic, May 2001
822:causing widespread flooding in many regions.
420:were unable to withstand the combination of
141:, causing the previously contained water to
876:"Officials Blow Up Mississippi River Levee"
334:2005 levee failures in Greater New Orleans
852:failed, sending water rushing into rural
811:August 8, 2009 – Levees fail in Southern
629:1825 – Parts of Groningen, Friesland and
81:Learn how and when to remove this message
866:
1003:"'55 flood project attracts 33 so far"
945:
934:
573:ever recorded in the southern part of
979:BBC article – The Great Storm of 1703
365:United States Army Corps of Engineers
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137:(or dyke) fails or is intentionally
745:Jan 31, 1995 – 250,000 people were
619:, which resulted in dike breaches.
25:
874:Sulzberger, A. G. (May 2, 2011).
840:April 26, 2011 – A levee on the
800:September 14, 2008 – a levee in
463:
34:
1053:"Evaluation dike breach Wilnis"
893:Schwartz, John (May 22, 2006).
687:Inundation of the Wieringermeer
660:Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
279:Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
99:Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
1009:, Retrieved on August 12, 2009
1001:Howard Yune, August 05, 2009.
202:the maintenance of the levee.
109:A breach in a dike during the
1:
786:January 5, 2008 – A levee in
498:St. Elizabeth's flood of 1421
387:St. Elizabeth's flood of 1421
261:can often be seen. This is a
781:Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
651:1916 – A storm surge on the
381:Storm tides of the North Sea
546:flooded large parts of the
308:decomposes leading to land
285:to prevent the flooding of
145:the land behind the levee.
97:A levee failure during the
57:, discuss the issue on the
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771:26 Aug 2003 – A dike near
726:collapsed at the northern
512:coast and the lower lying
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331:
323:Examples of levee breaches
281:a levee was blown up with
565:, it was the most severe
369:Flood Control Act of 1965
225:the crest of the levee.
133:) is a situation where a
1073:Meehan, Richard (2009).
1062:(in Dutch). 3 June 2004.
696:collapsed just south of
1060:Gemeente De Ronde Venen
854:Butler County, Missouri
680:Inundation of Walcheren
673:1938 Yellow River flood
648:and dikes were breached
582:Christmas flood of 1717
402:North Sea flood of 1953
257:After a levee breach a
248:lake in the Netherlands
111:North Sea flood of 1953
992:Accessed June 14, 2008
968:Vol. 24–27. 1768.
539:were heavily battered.
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557:caused havoc between
548:province of Groningen
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108:
96:
1140:Engineering failures
477:adding missing items
295:New Madrid, Missouri
269:Intentional breaches
63:create a new article
55:improve this article
1075:"Delata Levee Blog"
555:Great Storm of 1703
1024:2015-09-16 at the
899:The New York Times
880:The New York Times
751:military engineers
662:occurred when the
544:St. Martin's flood
527:1651 – During the
475:; you can help by
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185:Erosion and damage
165:Foundation failure
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103:
1105:. April 27, 2011.
944:Missing or empty
728:Sacramento Valley
711:. The village of
678:3 October 1944 –
664:Mississippi River
529:St. Peter's Flood
521:All Saints' Flood
493:
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361:17th Street Canal
348:Hurricane Katrina
227:Levee overtopping
149:Causes of failure
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65:, as appropriate.
16:(Redirected from
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685:17 April 1945 –
571:natural disaster
537:Northern Germany
504:was caused when
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357:Industrial Canal
353:Lower Ninth Ward
175:internal erosion
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1079:Delta Levees
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846:Poplar Bluff
605:De Biesbosch
603:1809 – When
531:the city of
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434:Lincolnshire
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344:levee breach
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842:Black River
740:Yuba County
658:1927 – The
638:Lower Rhine
622:1820 – The
594:Scandinavia
586:Netherlands
580:1717 – The
553:1703 – The
542:1686 – The
519:1570 – The
502:Netherlands
496:1421 – The
450:Delta Works
422:spring tide
418:Netherlands
400:During the
391:Netherlands
328:New Orleans
317:Glory River
287:New Orleans
277:During the
231:storm surge
217:Overtopping
211:Barbed wire
199:root system
127:dyke breach
1129:Categories
1084:2011-07-12
1041:(in Dutch)
927:August 16,
904:2008-09-12
861:References
766:California
736:California
724:Yuba River
717:Delta Plan
631:Overijssel
524:destroyed.
473:incomplete
397:wetlands.
379:See also:
338:The words
310:subsidence
253:Kolk lakes
171:sand boils
783:, failed.
747:evacuated
713:Ruisbroek
698:Yuba City
653:Zuiderzee
598:Christmas
563:Friesland
533:Amsterdam
510:North Sea
428:, in the
395:Biesbosch
375:North Sea
355:when the
319:in Iraq.
259:kolk lake
71:July 2018
59:talk page
1022:Archived
937:cite web
850:Missouri
430:counties
283:dynamite
223:overtops
139:breached
53:You may
835:Xynthia
820:Morakot
817:Typhoon
815:due to
806:Indiana
802:Munster
788:Fernley
709:Belgium
617:Merwede
590:Germany
500:in the
442:Suffolk
438:Norfolk
416:in the
406:Zeeland
235:erosion
177:called
837:storm.
831:France
827:Vendée
813:Taiwan
792:Nevada
773:Wilnis
762:Arboga
642:dammed
514:polder
293:, and
263:crater
179:piping
155:breach
1135:Dikes
1056:(PDF)
795:burst
776:life.
732:Linda
705:Rupel
609:Meuse
567:storm
559:Wales
506:dikes
446:Essex
340:levee
192:sheep
157:. A
143:flood
135:levee
61:, or
950:help
929:2010
640:was
615:and
613:Waal
592:and
561:and
444:and
412:and
385:The
342:and
306:peat
304:and
246:kolk
1103:CNN
844:in
738:in
707:in
646:ice
644:by
596:on
569:or
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432:of
129:or
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
