text: was the catastrophe in new orleans caused by the hurricane or the poorly construction levey's?   ultimately it was the hurricane of course. but a closer look does show that the poor construction and upkeep of the levey's contributed to the disaster. there was so much political infighting in the region prior to katrina that the little folks in no had no chance. there were postponement of inspections of the leveys due to complacency, and poor planing by the city, state, and federal governments all contributed to the tragedy. no is a study in governmental idiocy on all levels.