New Orleans facing more troubles after Katrina

[steve2470]

http://www.kget.com/news/national/story.aspx?content_id=40523FA7-A15D-4572-95DC-0F1C19DD77DC

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Crews hope to plug a broken levee in New Orleans with three-thousand-pound sand bags dropped from helicopters.

The city is below sea level, and the network of pumps, canals and levees isn't keeping up with the rising water. Many pumps weren't working this morning.

Rising water has sent patients from one hospital to the Louisiana Superdome. A knee-deep moat surrounds the stadium and downtown streets are swamped. The water is fouled with gasoline, debris and floating islands of red ants.

The top homeland security official in New Orleans says bodies have been spotted drifting in the floodwaters.

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco says the devastation being seen this morning "is greater than our worst fears." She describes it as "totally overwhelming." Blanco says there are no casualty figures yet, but that "many lives have been lost."


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[MountainLaurel]

1. This'll be going on for a while

Because the storm is now causing flooding further upstream in the tributaries to the Mississippi, such as the Ohio River. All that water is eventually going to end up back in NOLA.

[daa]

2. How prescient

LA National Guard Wants Equipment to Come Back From Iraq

Yunji de Nies

August 1, 2005, 9:07 PM CDT

JACKSON BARRACKS -- When members of the Louisiana National Guard left for Iraq in October, they took a lot equipment with them. Dozens of high water vehicles, humvees, refuelers and generators are now abroad, and in the event of a major natural disaster that, could be a problem.

"The National Guard needs that equipment back home to support the homeland security mission," said Lt. Colonel Pete Schneider with the LA National Guard.