text: did we really not know the levies would break in new orleans?  how can we predict other natural disasters?   of course we'd known that the levies would break; in fact, the president had the information about a more powerful hurricane destroying the levees, yet he chose not to develop any emergency planning. the levees themselves were only built to withstand a category 2 or possibly category 3 hurricane. we can definitely predict that these disasters will happen, with advanced computer models and other new technologies.