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Sunken Cities: Why New Orleans Is "Doomed" But Amsterdam Is Safe
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Apr 2, 2025
Watch the podcast: @GeographyPod Listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/geographyiseverything Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geographybygeoff/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@geographybygeoff Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/show/geography-is-everything Linktree for everything: https://linktr.ee/geographybygeoff Map store: https://geoffxmuirway.com/ New Orleans is often considered to be a "doomed" city. Already well below the sea level on average, the city suffered a catastrophic disaster in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina. But its issues go far beyond a single storm. Due to the ever encroaching issue of climate change and land subsidence, the city could very well be underwater in a few decades if nothing is done. But what's weird in all of this is that Amsterdam is safe from sea level rise despite existing in conditions that are otherwise pretty similar geographically. So, if this is the case, why is New Orleans doomed, but Amsterdam considered to be thriving well into the future? -- Land subsidence graphics by Mpetty1 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14698311 Stock footage is acquired from www.storyblocks.com and videvo.net. If you think there's been an error in using a video clip, please contact me Animation support provided by DH Designs (needahittman.com) Video editing support provided by Kat Olsen This has been a production of Sound Bight Media (soundbight.com)
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New Orleans is a vibrant and beautiful city with a very unique culture within the United States
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It also happens to be sinking into the ocean. This has led to some calling the city doomed
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Which is interesting because, if we look to northwestern Europe, we can see a similar city with a similar underwater elevation, but without all of the doom and gloom
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So why is New Orleans doomed, but Amsterdam considered to be safe and thriving well into the future
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Few cities get lumped in the same sentence with the word doomed as much as New Orleans
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And there's a reason for this. The city's unique geography at the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico
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means that it's particularly susceptible to sea level rise, especially since it's already below sea level on average
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But there is hope for the city, and that hope comes from another city below sea level
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Amsterdam. But first, trains have moved us and our goods around the planet in a pretty efficient manner
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And while the United States is not necessarily considered to be a trained country due to lacking a quality passenger rail system
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we do still have an extensive rail network. And you can listen all about it on today's podcast
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All links are in the description below. New Orleans and Amsterdam share a lot of similarities in their physical geography
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Both sit next to lakes that are connected to larger bodies of water. Lake Pontchartrain with the Gulf of Mexico and Marcomere with the North Sea respectively
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And both are low-lying regions within their respective countries that are highly susceptible to flooding
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In fact, when looking at the average elevation across both cities, they're remarkably similar with both being about 7 feet below sea level on average
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But there are some key differences to keep in mind as we discuss both throughout this video
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Louisiana's physical geography, particularly in the southern portion around the Mississippi River
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Delta, is characterized by its vast wetlands, bayous, and extensive river systems. And New
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Orleans, situated on the banks of both Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River
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has had to contend with these physical features for centuries. The Mississippi River Delta
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one of the world's largest and most complex deltaic systems, was formed over thousands of
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years by the deposition of sediment carried by the river and its vast network of tributaries
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This process created a network of wetlands, marshes, and barrier islands that are crucial
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for flood protection, wildlife habitats, and fisheries. The physical geography of southern
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Louisiana is marked by the challenges of land subsidence and coastal erosion. Subsidence
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the gradual sinking of land, is caused by natural processes such as the compaction of sediments
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and human activities like oil and gas extraction. Coastal erosion is exacerbated by sea level rise
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and the loss of sediment supply due to river channelization and levee construction
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Finally, the region's climate is humid subtropical, characterized by hot, humid summers and mild
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winters, with frequent rainfall and a susceptibility to hurricanes and tropical storms
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All of these factors paint a picture of a pretty harsh and unforgiving physical geography
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that New Orleans has had to deal with. In contrast, the Randstad region of the Netherlands, with a focus on Amsterdam
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showcases a different geographic relationship between the land and water. The Randstad is a densely populated urban area in the western part of the Netherlands
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encompassing major cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht. The region is characterized by its flat, low-lying terrain
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much of which is below sea level and protected by an extensive system of levees and cs
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Amsterdam, the capital city, is situated in a region of reclaimed land known as polders
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which are areas of land that have been drained and protected from the sea by levees
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This engineering marvel is a testament to the Dutch expertise in water management and land reclamation
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The climate of the Randstad is classified as oceanic with mild wet winters and cool damp summers And the proximity to the North Sea moderates the climate and brings frequent
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though less severe, precipitation throughout the year. New Orleans and Amsterdam are both low-lying cities with a long history of flooding
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But in recent decades, that historic geographic pattern has basically ended for Amsterdam
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But before we get to the history of floods in both cities, if you're enjoying this video, hit that subscribe button
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More fun geography videos are just a single click away. New Orleans and Amsterdam share a commonality in their constant battle against flooding
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due to their low-lying geographic positions. New Orleans, founded in 1718 by the French Mississippi Company
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was strategically located at the bend of the Mississippi River, making it an ideal spot for trade and military advantage
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The city was named in honor of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans. Its early growth was driven by its position as a port city, facilitating the movement of goods along the Mississippi River and across the Gulf of Mexico
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This location also made it a melting pot of cultures, blending French, Spanish, African, and later American influences, which have profoundly shaped its unique cultural and architectural heritage
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But from its inception, New Orleans faced significant flooding challenges. The city's foundation on soft, marshy ground, coupled with its below sea level elevation
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made it highly susceptible to water inundation. To combat these issues, a series of levees and drainage systems were constructed
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However, these measures were often overwhelmed by the Mississippi River and seasonal hurricanes
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The catastrophic flood of 1927 led to substantial federal investment in flood control infrastructure
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including the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project, which involved constructing extensive levee systems, spillways, and floodways
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Despite these efforts, New Orleans' vulnerability was starkly highlighted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005
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The failure of levee systems resulted in widespread devastation, prompting a re-evaluation and strengthening of flood defenses
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All told, New Orleans has had to contend with 69 floods between 1997 and 2019
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or about three on average per year. Amsterdam, on the other hand, traces its origins to the late 1100s
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when it was established as a fishing village at the mouth of the Amstel River, which is also where it gets its name. The city quickly grew into a significant trading hub due
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to its advantageous location and access to the North Sea. By the 1600s, Amsterdam had become one
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of the world's most important ports and a center of finance and trade during the Dutch Golden Age
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This is also the era when Amsterdam began construction of the cs it has since become
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famous for. And like New Orleans, Amsterdam faced the constant threat of flooding given its low-lying
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topography with much of the city below sea level. To manage this, the Dutch developed a sophisticated
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system of levees, cs, and pumps to manage water levels and protect the land from the sea
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The construction of the Afslut Dijk in 1932, which transformed the Zwijderdse into the Isomir
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was a monumental achievement in Dutch water management, significantly reducing the risk
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of flooding. Amsterdam's resilience against flooding is epitomized by the Dutch Delta Works
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a series of construction projects initiated after the disastrous North Sea flood of 1953
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where 1,836 people died across the Netherlands. These projects included the building of storm surge barriers, sluices, locks, levees, and dams
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designed to protect the Netherlands from the sea. Both New Orleans and Amsterdam have developed distinct engineering strategies
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to cope with their inherent flooding risks posed by their respective geographies
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But where New Orleans has had dozens of flood events over the last few years, with one almost destroying the entire city
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the last major flood to hit Amsterdam was in 1995 when around 250,000 people had to leave their homes
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And while there have been floods in Amsterdam in recent years, the frequency and intensity of them are much less severe which leads to the question of today video If both cities are low and constantly have to deal with water and flooding then why is New Orleans often considered to be doomed but Amsterdam is safe well into the future
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New Orleans and Amsterdam, both iconic cities built in low-lying areas, face significant threats from rising sea levels and the ever-present danger of flooding
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However, the outlook for each city is markedly different. New Orleans is often seen as a city on the brink of ruin, while Amsterdam is considered
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well-prepared to thrive into the future. The reasons for these contrasting perceptions lie
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in the historic, technologic, and policy differences in their approaches to dealing
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with the sea. New Orleans' vulnerability stems from its geographic and environmental context
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The city is situated at or below sea level in many areas, nestled within a complex system of
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wetlands and water bodies, including the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. This unique geographic position actually makes New Orleans more susceptible to flooding from both river and coastal sources
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the latter being exacerbated by sea level rise. The Mississippi River has one of the largest discharge volumes in the world
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and New Orleans feels the brunt of that discharge when multiple areas within its watershed experience heavier-than-normal precipitation
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Additionally, New Orleans faces rapid land subsidence due to the natural settling of deltaic sediments
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This subsidence exacerbates the impact of rising sea levels, effectively lowering the
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city's elevation further each year than it would under normal conditions. And despite extensive flood defense infrastructure, including levees, flood walls, and pumping
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stations, New Orleans remains highly vulnerable to extreme weather events. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was a stark reminder of this vulnerability, when the failure of
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the levee system led to catastrophic flooding, resulting in widespread destruction and loss
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of life. The city's flood management strategies have since been improved, but the challenges posed by climate change, including stronger hurricanes and higher sea levels, continue to threaten its future
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Amsterdam, while also a low-lying city with much of its area below sea level, presents a different picture
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First, the Dutch have a long-standing and well-documented history of mastering water management
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The city's foundational approach to dealing with water began with the construction of levees and cs, which transformed swampy land into habitable and arable spaces
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Over centuries, this expertise has evolved into one of the most advanced and comprehensive flood defense systems in the world
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At a fundamental level, Amsterdam's success in water management is rooted in its social and political commitment to resilience
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The city integrates water management into its urban planning, ensuring that new developments are designed with flood risks in mind
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This includes creating multifunctional spaces that can serve as parks or public areas during normal conditions and as water retention basins during high water events
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Moreover, the Dutch public is highly aware of the flood risks and supportive of the necessary
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investments and policies to mitigate these risks. Finally, Amsterdam, unlike New Orleans
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transformed itself into a c city. Everywhere you go, you find cs crisscrossing the city
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in the same way that the road network does. And while this was primarily done for trade
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and economic purposes, today, these same cs are an incredible tool in managing water
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The cs can absorb a lot of rainwater and water runoff in ways that roads and sewer networks can't
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New Orleans, despite sharing similarities, never adopted the c city ethos, at least not nearly
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to the same degree. Today, New Orleans is home to about 1.3 million people in its metro region
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This means that, if the worst should happen, these people will need to migrate somewhere else in the
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country. This would be more than when nearly 800,000 were displaced by Hurricane Katrina
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Meanwhile, Amsterdam is home to about 2.5 million people in its metro region
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with the Randstad as a whole being home to over 8 million, a population capacity that would not
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be possible were it not for the Netherlands' extensive flood management and reclaimed polders
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Overall New Orleans faces greater obstacles due to a combination of geographic disadvantages economic constraints and political challenges The piecemeal and reactive nature of flood defense improvements coupled with underfunded
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infrastructure, makes it difficult to implement the comprehensive and forward-thinking strategies seen in Amsterdam
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But does this actually mean the city is doomed? It's often been said that New Orleans is living on borrowed time
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The levees constructed and built over the last few decades are keeping the city afloat
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when it otherwise would have sunk a long time ago. In some ways, this is true, but it's also true for a lot of cities
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Still, New Orleans does face some acute issues over the next few decades that make it easy
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to predict that the city is doomed. But that might not actually be the case
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According to recent estimates, due to rising sea levels and subsidence, southern Louisiana
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loses about 34 square miles of land every year. At this rate, it's expected that by 2040 or 2050, if nothing were done, New Orleans, or at least a large part of it, would be permanently underwater
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But despite this outright bleak projection, there is hope for New Orleans
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By adopting and adapting strategies similar to those employed by the Netherlands, New Orleans could yet survive
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And in fact, in 2013, New Orleans adopted a plan called the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan, which borrows heavily from the Netherlands water management efforts
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This includes the adoption of, and emphasis on, an intricate c system
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Currently, much of New Orleans' excess water is pumped down and out of the city
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and while this is one strategy to use, cs offer an additional resilient layer
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But also, New Orleans' natural geography could also be the answer in much the same way that it became Amsterdam's answer as well
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You see, New Orleans sits away from the coast in a similar way that Amsterdam does
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In the Netherlands, this geographic positioning allowed for these Vidersea works to be constructed
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which essentially closed off Amsterdam's nearby lakes to the North Sea. New Orleans could, in theory, do something similar to Lake Bourne and Lake Pontchartrain
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and seal them off from the Gulf of Mexico. And while this might seem impossible
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it's worth highlighting that a small portion of this very idea has already been implemented
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In 2008, construction began on the Lake Bourne Surge Barrier, a 1.8-mile surge wall where the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway meets the lake
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Similar surge barriers, built at key locations across the various lakes, could provide Louisiana and New Orleans with more control over the water
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But unlike the Netherlands, which built all of their infrastructure on relatively rocky and hard ground
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New Orleans is surrounded by what is essentially muddy marshes. This makes building on them much more challenging
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It also means that, unlike the Netherlands, which has been able to effectively seal off the sea at key locations
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New Orleans has water encroaching in on it from basically all sides
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So while they have some geographic advantages they're not fully utilizing, their issues are much more pronounced than anything the Netherlands has ever had to deal with
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At some point, Louisiana and the United States will need to invest potentially hundreds of
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billions of dollars to secure New Orleans, or leave it alone and let nature take it back
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New Orleans faces some pretty extreme challenges. In some ways, they seem too intimidating to manage
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but they're not impossible. And in fact, New Orleans could adapt and thrive if they follow
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the lead set by Amsterdam. Hey, you might have noticed two maps behind me of Louisiana and the
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Netherlands. These maps are part of a new partnership with Muir Way. Together, we've
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opened up a new map store specifically for my viewers, and you can check it out via the link
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in the description. Be sure to use Dad15 to get an amazing Father's Day present. Also, both of
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these maps will be signed by me and given away to two lucky viewers in the very near future
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so stay tuned. I hope you enjoyed learning all about New Orleans and how it contrasts with Amsterdam
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If you did, please subscribe to my channel. If you wanna watch more videos, click here
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If you wanna listen to the podcast, click here. Thanks for watching. See you next time
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