Katrina
Existing ethics in engineering are effective in guiding professional engineers when catastrophes occur. Professional engineers play significant roles when disasters, for example, Katrina happen. Several registered professional engineers agree that they normally have to play difficult roles in these disasters.
The case in the engineering textbook highlights the negative impacts of hurricanes in coastal regions of the US. The case confirms that these regions continue to experience the effects of the dangerous hurricanes throughout their lives. Some outstanding damages of the hurricanes include loss of several lives and damage of properties. The Katrina was a different hurricane because residents feel its impact up-to-date. There were previous plans by the US to plan for such hurricanes, but the Katrina was stronger than the initial plans could handle (Fledderman 81).
Hurricanes can intensify up to their fifth categories that produce the worst of impacts. The intensification of the Katrina to the fifth category had extreme damages to Louisiana costs. General infrastructures in New Orleans were significant contributors to the city’s vulnerability to the Katrina. For example, the city has weak foundations because of its creation at a time of minimal innovations. The fact that this city lies on a significant coverage of sea level introduces the necessity for professionalism in the engineers who wish to help the city (Fledderman 84).
Annual flooding of the Mississippi contributes to the intensity of negative impact of the Katrina in New Orleans. This is because these constant floods interfere with the stability of walls that hold numerous buildings in New Orleans. The Katrina hurricane generates strong surges that destroy the protective canals. There were certain abuses of engineering ethics that led to these destructions from the Katrina. For example, engineers made decisions that were in appropriate and in turn made the city vulnerable to the Katrina. The creations of the city on a seabed and construction of infective protective structures are some of the unethical engineering practices (Fledderman 81).
Other unethical engineering decisions on the impact of Katrina in New Orleans include the following. First, there must be exceptions in the design of critical structures to avoid such damages by the Katrina. There is sufficient evidence that the designs in New Orleans did not follow these exceptions. This is unacceptable in engineering because of the negative impacts that it later presents. Engineering ethics also demand that there must be sufficient analysis of structures before any constructions take place. For example, there must correct calculations of possible accidents (Fledderman 83).
There should also be frequents test on grounds before construction of any structure. It would be unethical for engineers to overlook unstable foundations that later cause significant loses to their respective communities. All decisions that engineers make in areas that re prone to Katrina should be logical. The ethics of engineering do not allow them to create structures according to traditional requirements. Instead, the ethics require that these professional engineers employ decisions that are only applicable to the respective constructions in the vulnerable places (Fledderman 82).
Engineers have diverse responsibilities when accidents occur from natural calamities. They take the blame because they design all these structures. Their training guides them on al relevant strategies applicable in the prevention of such damages from the Katrina. Another professional engineer suggests that the topic of engineering ethics is significant to engineers at both the time of their training and the time that they practice their professionalism. Most professional engineers acknowledge this existence of these ethics. They believe that the ethics guide them in their respective construction duties. For example, in the creation of several constructions in New Orleans, the application of the engineering ethics would prevent some impacts of the Katrina. These ethical requirements are the construction of superior gabions for protection and increasing the preparedness for the Katrina. It was wrong to crate the city at such sea level that makes its grounds to be extremely unstable (Fledderman 84).
Professional engineers suggest that people who make investments in real estate should consult them before they construct any building. This is acceptable because professional engineers help people to create strong structures that resist even the extreme of Katrina. The engineer who suggests that other engineers must follow these ethics offers insightful views. This is because the ethics in engineering encourage people to construct decent structures. The decency of these structures is intense because it also protects people who do not understand complexities in the construction of buildings. Training engineers in the acceptable ethics of their profession allows them to share the significant information with new engineers. This means that the profession of engineering will have minimal cases of incompetency. The two engineers fail to suggest on the intensity of punishment applicable to engineers who are disobedient of the ethics. The introduction of punishments will facilitate deliberate efforts by engineers to master their ethics and in turn apply them whenever they construct (Fledderman 82).
Engineers should ensure that they practice exemplary professionalism by being ethical I their duties. This will make people respect the engineering profession. Engineers who fail to follow their professional ethics should receive warnings that threaten to stop them from practicing.
Work Cited
Fledderman, Charles. Engineering Ethics.Pearson.2009. Print
