New Orleans

[B Ozanne]

Foxnews is reporting that water is "gushing" into the 9th ward. Not sure if it is through the levee or water from the rest of the city draining there.

 

[B Ozanne]

Ok, Foxnews is saying that it is RAIN water that is flooding the 9th Ward.

 

[Brandon Clement]

There are some leaks in a couple of the levees, but none are a major concern. They have some pictures at Nola.com, but agian it is nothing major.

 

[B Ozanne]

There are some leaks in a couple of the levees, but none are a major concern. They have some pictures at Nola.com, but agian it is nothing major.

Ah, famous last words. Leaks in levees are never a good thing, the force of water can do amazing things. Hope you're right though.

 

[B Ozanne]

Now Foxnews is saying there is "spill over" on the Industrial Canal and seepage in the 17th Avenue Canal. Hopefully these problems can be fixed before it gets worse.

 

[B Ozanne]

From WWL:

Dozens of blocks in a New Orleans neighborhood are now under water.

The water is pouring over a patched levee, in the form of a waterfall at least 30 feet wide. A National Guardsman says, "Our worst fears came true." He says if it keeps up, the levee will breach, and he says it "will fill the area that was flooded earlier."

The renewed flooding comes amid wind and rain from Hurricane Rita, now nearing the Gulf Coast. On a street running parallel to the Industrial Canal, the water is waist-deep, and rising fast.

Situation is getting serious. Helicopter drops are not an option with the high winds. Lots of talk now, still no actual repairs being done. IMO they will lose this very soon.

 

[B Ozanne]

I'm watching it on live tv. The overtopping on the Industrial Canal is several hundred feet long. FEMA confirms the levees have been overtopped, not "breeched". Which is total BS...overtopping will quickly breech the levee. The force of the water is now eating away everything its racing over. I hope they got those moveable pumps out of the way.

 

[Mike Peregrine]

Looks like the water is spilling over a previously-repaired breach, according to BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4276028.stm). This was foreseen, but not so early on in the game.

IMO, New Orleans is pretty much a lost cause at this point as far as Rita is concerned. I almost wish the storm would wobble right and slam N.O. or southwest LA head on, as the area is already so badly damaged anyway. If it does strengthen today and move over Houston, we will have yet another catastrophic situation to add to the mix.

 

[B Ozanne]

Its over for NOLA. I saw these overtoppings 3 hours ago and they were trickles. They are waterfalls now several hundred feet long.

 

[Brandon Clement]

Famous last words are right. The corps of engineers was really playing this down this morning since the main source of the water was going over the levee and not actually breeching the levee in the 9th ward. Luckily the water can't do any damage since the area is already completely destroyed and nobody is there. I hope it doesn't get any worse for NO and lord knows they don't need anymore problems or delays.

 

[B Ozanne]

Yes, these areas have already been devastated so it could be alot worse.

Foxnews is also reporting some seepage into areas that have not been flooded. We'll see how that plays out.

Also, MSNBC is calling this "seepage over the levee." They couldn't be anymore wrong.

 

[Anonymous]

And Mayor Nagin wanted to move people back into the city... *eyes rolling*

 

[Kurt Wayne]

From the lower 9th Ward, photo from nola.com