Engineers are finishing repairs to New Orleans' levees, just as hurricane season is about to start. But will the repairs be good enough to prevent another catastrophic flood? Join Ira and guests in this hour of Science Friday for the latest findings on how the New Orleans levees failed during last year's storms, and a conversation about the best ways to protect low-lying coastal areas in the future.

Plus, this year's hurricane forecast--could we see another Katrina? The latest outlook, released this week, calls for an 80% chance of an above-normal hurricane season, which could include 13-16 named storms, 8-10 hurricanes, and 4-6 major hurricanes. We'll talk with the lead author of the forecast.

Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (2-3 Eastern). Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.

Guests:
Gerald Bell
Lead Forecaster for NOAA's Seasonal Hurricane Outlook
Climate Prediction Center
National Weather Service
Camp Springs, Maryland

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Robert Bea
Member, The Independent Levee Investigation Team
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, California

Ivor van Heerden
Author, "The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina-The Inside Story from One Louisiana Scientist (2006, Viking)
Director, Center for the Study of Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes
Deputy Director, LSU Hurricane Center
Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

David E. Daniel
Chair, American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) External Review Panel
President, University of Texas at Dallas
Richardson, Texas

Books/Articles Discussed:

"The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina-The Inside Story from One Louisiana Scientist," by Ivor van Heerden. Viking, 2006.

Independent Levee Investigation Team report

(find books discussed on previous broadcasts)

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This segment produced by Karin Vergoth