Question

In his neighborhood miles from the closest Levee, the water has risen slowly enough that he knew it was unlikely that anyone had died in the flood but with a shudder he thought of those closer to the breaches.

Answer 1

please ask questions correctly......

Answer 2

The answer is taken from an excerpt from part 2 of Zeitoun.

In this case Zeitoun is anticipating what could have happened to the people of his neighborhood if the water level which was already high on his side of the village rose to an alarming extent. This is compared to the lower levels of the village which were hard hit by the hurricane Katrina.

He knows that no warning is going to work if the level of water rose to an alarming extent.