11:29 AM CDT on Thursday, October 13, 2005

Dennis Woltering / WWL-TV Reporter

Two large breaches on the east side of the Industrial Canal led to flooding and miles of destruction. Rev. Jesse Jackson believes a runaway barge caused one of those breaches.

WWL-TV

Ernest Murry of the Army Corps of Engineers and Rev. Jesse Jackson discuss what they think caused the breach in the Industrial Canal.

“This was a tsunami of sorts,” Jackson said.

Jackson said people on that side of the Industrial Canal survived Hurricane Katrina. But many of them did not survive the floodwater that poured through this huge breach in the floodwall like a tidal wave.

“Here, where the water came gushing in it just…wiped out,” Jackson said.

There used to be a neighborhood of homes in the area before that flooding.

Jackson believes a big barge crashed through the floodwall here, bringing the tidal surge into this neighborhood, causing the devastation.

But Ernest Murry of the Army Corps of Engineers doesn’t agree with Jackson’s assessment.

“That's still under investigation,” Murry said. “My theory is the barge came through after the wall fell.”

The Army Corps of Engineers said the sheet pilings for the flood wall on the Industrial Canal were driven 20 feet deep. That's what engineers specified to protect the area from a category-3 hurricane.

As crews continue to make repairs, Murry said he thinks water came over the top of the floodwall, undermining the levee.

WWL-TV

The Army Corps of Engineers said it does not know who owns the barge that came crashing through the neighborhood during Hurricane Katrina.

“It eroded all the ground on the backside of the wall and then the wall just collapsed over,” Murry said, pointing out one of two breaches on the east side of the Industrial Canal.

But why, Jackson asked, was that barge in this canal as a category-4 hurricane made landfall?

“When they anticipate a hurricane coming, don’t they move barges further away from the possibility of this kind of collision?” Jackson said as Murry nodded in agreement.

When the barge did come through, Murry said it landed on top of some homes.

“Actually, it was about 30 feet over…during Katrina. And then when Rita came through, it floated through again and came over this way,” he said.

Who owns that barge, and why wasn't it moved before the storm? Apparently, it'll take an investigation to get to the bottom of that, too.

Despite the ID number painted on the side of the vessel, the Corps of Engineers said it's not sure who owns the barge.