Late in 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, . newspapers were filled with speculation as to whether New Orleans would continue to exist as a great and unique American city. Levee and floodwall failure had inundated large parts of the city and resulted in more than 1,500 deaths and catastrophic damage to property and the economy. In 2011, extreme amounts of precipitation, inadequate levees, and possible mismanagement of reservoirs contributed to widespread flooding around Bangkok, Thailand. More than 500 deaths have been associated with that flood,1 and the closing of more than 1,000 industrial facilities had severe repercussions for global supply chains in the electronics and.
