Jackson claims barge caused levee breach

NEW ORLEANS -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson charged Wednesday that there is ample evidence that a runaway barge punched a hole in a barrier that led to the flooding of poor black neighborhoods in the eastern section of the city.

Jackson's claims contradict what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has said about what most likely caused the breach on the Industrial Canal.

Corps engineers maintain that a storm surge caused by Hurricane Katrina swept over the top of the levee and the barge probably was swept through after the barrier failed.

But Jackson said that conversations with barge workers and residents of the Lower Ninth Ward reveal a different story. He said residents reported hearing a loud noise before water rushed into their neighborhoods.

The suspect barge was found washed onto the other side of the floodwall.

"The barge didn't jump the retaining wall," Jackson said. "It deserves attention and the most thorough investigation."

If a barge caused the breach, Jackson said, its owners should be held responsible for not removing it before Katrina hit.

Alan Dooley, a corps spokesman, said agency engineers and experts with the National Science Foundation believe that the floodwall gave way after it was topped by surging waters.

"Based on visual observation," Dooley said, "it appears that the floodwall was overtopped by water at that point. But we're still keeping an open mind and gathering all the data and information we can."

He said eyewitness accounts corroborate that theory. Dooley said "the barge probably went through after the floodwall gave way."

But he said the agency's findings should not be classified "as a disagreement with the Rev. Jackson."

"We don't have all the data so we don't disagree with anyone," Dooley said.

Jackson has been critical of officials at all levels in their response to the disaster. He has been a frequent visitor to New Orleans and on Tuesday arrived with five buses of jobseekers and residents hoping to land work in the rebuilding effort.