Still in harm's way: Three months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, city, state and federal agencies have been unable to come up with a plan to protect the city from a similar storm.

Byline: Michael Oneal, Chicago Tribune

Dec. 15--Sitting at his computer recently in a messy office at Louisiana State University, civil engineer Hassan Mashriqui tapped out a few commands on his keyboard and his screen came alive with tiny swirling arrows and flowing fields of color. Within seconds the arrows organized themselves into the unmistakable spiral of a raging hurricane plowing into a virtual version of the southeastern Louisiana coast. "We can create the hurricane," Mashriqui said, describing how computer simulations are making it much easier for scientists to figure out how to protect New Orleans. What he can't do is push a few buttons and bring some coherence to the swirling forces of politics, bureaucracy and uncertainty that are complicating the task of rebuilding the city.

Three months after Hurricane Katrina hit, it is clear that New Orleans will wither and die unless residents and businesses can be made confident that the region will be rebuilt to withstand the worst storms nature has to offer. But with only six months to go before the next hurricane season, the effort to restore protection against another disaster is dogged by problems. Money, of course, is the biggest hurdle to protecting the Louisiana coast. Estimates run as high as $32 billion at a time when Republicans in Congress are at war with themselves over funding. But the effort also is hampered by organizational chaos, a lack of national resolve and a simple lack of time. At the moment, scientists are struggling to determine what the worst possible storm might be so engineers can figure out an appropriate protection strategy. While officials in Louisiana have howled that the White House and Congress have yet to come up with a plan to rebuild the levees the federal government built in the first place, administration officials complain they don't have enough information to do it correctly.

"It's a very complex issue, and it's important we get it right," said Donald Powell, the administration's liaison for the…