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a storm surge of what is it.... 10 ft or so would flood the city.

I read somewhere that this, bad as it is, isn't the worst threat to New Orleans -- the real threat is that a combination of storm surge and flash flooding could overtop and destroy something called the Old River Control Structure, sending the entire Mississippi flow down the Atchafalaya River instead and cutting off New Orleans's freshwater supply. Was this just scaremongering of the "Yellowstone's going to erupt and kill us all" variety, or is it a genuine risk? (Looking at a map, the Atchafalaya doesn't seem all that far away for pumping freshwater to New Orleans; I bet there are plenty of cities in California that get their water from further away.)

Peter