Levee

(noun)

An embankment to prevent flooding.

Related Terms

Examples of Levee in the following topics:

  • Hurricane Katrina

    • The most significant number of deaths occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, which flooded as the levee system catastrophically failed.
    • Because the storm surge produced by the hurricane's right-front quadrant (containing the strongest winds) was forecast to be 28 feet (8.5 m), emergency management officials in New Orleans feared that the storm surge could go over the tops of levees protecting the city, causing major flooding.
    • By August 29, Katrina's storm surge caused 53 different levee breaches in greater New Orleans, submerging 8% of the city.
    • Levee breaches in New Orleans also caused a significant amount of deaths, with over 700 bodies recovered in New Orleans by October 23, 2005.
    • That decision saved approximately US$100 million but significantly reduced overall engineering reliability, contributing to the massive failure of the levees in the face of Katrina.

  • Conclusion: The Development of Democracy

    • In President’s Levee, or all Creation going to the White House, Washington (1841), by Robert Cruikshank, the artist depicts Andrew Jackson’s inauguration in 1829, with crowds surging into the White House to join the celebrations.