HARRISBURG, PA.—The U.S. Corps of Engineers and the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET) recently recognized Maged A. Aboelata, Ph.D., for his contributions to reconstruction efforts in the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina. Aboelata, a senior hydrologist with Gannett Fleming, is responsible for preparing and supervising hydrologic and hydraulic analyses, including flood delineation, dam break, and assessment of hydraulic structures. He is based in the firm’s Harrisburg, Pa., office.

Aboelata’s work involved using the LIFESim model to simulate a levee failure event caused by Hurricane Katrina. LIFESim is a state-of-the-art computer program used to estimate potential impacts to the public as a result of a dam or levee failure. The Hurricane Katrina model was calibrated using fatality records in five parishes of greater New Orleans. LIFESim was then used to estimate potential life loss for future events using updated population at risk estimates. The results were used by the IPET in a risk assessment study to inform decision makers of the residual risk that exists after hurricanes and to investigate possible risk reduction measures.