CNN breaking: Water Flows over NO Levee (Corps told Nagin would hold)

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN photographer now saying 9th Ward area could be flooded again by noon today. Emergency workers and National Guard pulling out. Water "gushing" in.


Link now:

Water flows over New Orleans levee
Army engineer: 'It's a wait and see and hope for the best'

Friday, September 23, 2005; Posted: 10:36 a.m. EDT (14:36 GMT)


NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Water washed over a levee in New Orleans' hard-hit 9th Ward on Friday as Hurricane Rita swept towards the region, the Army Corps of Engineers said.

Heavy rain and intensifying winds from the storm had reached the city Friday, threatening the city's already battered city levees.

Mayor Ray Nagin said Thursday that levees breached when Hurricane Katrina hit the city on August 29 have been shored up ahead of the new storm.

Workers have been bolstering the levees with sandbags and bringing in extra portable pumps. (See what's being done to shore up the levees -- 1:45)

Nagin expressed confidence that the levees would hold.

"The Army Corps of Engineers has done some work to assure us that they can handle that type of storm surge in the current condition at our levees," Nagin told reporters....


http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/23/nola.levees/index.html


ON EDIT: Saying on air now that water has already risen to level Corps of Engineers estimated would be highest level. Saying Corps of Engineers is working on situation.

[Julius Civitatus]

1. Nobody could have foreseen the levees breaking

Ooooops!

[Radio_Lady]

4. The next lie: "Nobody could have foreseen gigantic gridlock when

a whole city the size of Houston tries to move 'en masse' to Austin or Dallas or San Antonio. Also, nobody could have foreseen that these people would run out of gas and water and food." Sickening stuff.

[LynzM]

5. Yup, that too.

Those roads are definitely built to handle 1.2 million people all leaving mass exodus... riiiiight.

[Cassandra]

9. We have too much government!

Each of those drivers should be building their own roads as they go, or there should be only toll roads with plenty of toll booths. Free enterprise and all.
:sarcasm:

[Throckmorton]

13. Sadly, the truth is more unpleasant than that.

New Highways are often fought tooth and nail.

The earth is just too full of people.

[hogwyld]

19. Bingo!

We as humans keep packing people into cities without regard to consequences. There's a lot of NIMBY in regards to infrastructure improvments. The global population is unsustainably large, and if we don't cut it by at least 1/2, the consequences will be immense.

[Centered]

53. They why ya'll Bitchin so much about me killin them there irakkys

:sarcasm:



The Earth is not too populated don't be ridiculous... there are too many people in certain population centers. There are more people in LA than the entire sate of Kansas.... How about people spread out a bit. If that doesn't work we can try your genocide idea.

peace

[Arkana]

27. Exactly! Expecting the government to provide good roads

is an example of a welfare state, I tells ya! :sarcasm:

[jeff30997]

10. And in a near future:

Nobody could have foreseen that Bush was such an incompetent lunatic.

[underpants]

12. Now not being a traffic planner or anything I took one look

at the traffic on I45 and thought....looks like they are only using half of the highway when everyone is going in the same direction....but then I am no expert and I am not a forceful leader or anything.

[Kool Kitty]

18. But you have common sense, which seems

to be in short supply nowadays. You would have made all lanes of the road open to traffic out of town. (Awkward sentence there, but you get my drift.) Which would make you more of a leader than the so-called leaders.

[underpants]

24. Once again-I just talked to my exFEMA type coworker

He said the same thing. Apparently the Texas spokesperson said they were concerned about traffic going in different directions with no divider between them....

Have they never been on a 4 lane rural highway with no median? Are they such things in Texas?

Don't they have state troopers to direct the flow of traffic like say in a traffic accident?

WOW :wow:

You leave one actual lane open for emergency vehicles and for the cops to cruise up and down the interstate to keep things flowing (this leaves the shoulders open should you need them later).

Of course there is going to be a bottleneck somewhere but the goal is to GET PEOPLE OUT OF THE IMMEDIATE AREA and have the bottle neck say 50 miles up the road or so.

Again, I am no traffic planner or anything.

[tanyev]

40. One of the local Dallas reporters was on the phone on the

news broadcast last night. He was supposed to be in Beaumont/Port Arthur already, but they were making slow progress south because all the northbound traffic commandeered the roadway. He said there was no highway patrol or anything, the people just started driving on both lanes and the shoulders.

I commend their initiative, but that's a little scary.

[Benhurst]

15. Who could have ever guessed packing oldsters with oxygen

tanks onto a bus would cause problems?

[MADem]

39. Yeah, who was smoking in that bus?

I swear, it would not surprise me if that's what happened--some asshole just had to light up.....

[MildyRules]

17. Did it break?

Or is water flowing over it?

[Solo_in_MD]

23. Over the top, vice a breach

From what I am seeing.

[lse7581011]

2. This is Bad

so early on!

[RoyGBiv]

3. Heard on the radio as well ... n/t

[JNelson6563]

6. Apparently the job wasn't complete

they should've been piling up massive sandbags all week but noooooooo.

[Rose Siding]

11. Someone reported yesterday that they'd stepped up work

on the levee, and all I could think was, WHY weren't they at FULL BORE already?

[demnan]

7. If there is a God

please help New Orleans!!!!!!! :cry:

A friend of mine has 8 family members living in her townhouse, with the Texas evacuation of Katrina victims, she will have 15 more tonight.

[calimary]

14. Dear God , it's like the trials of Job.

This is SO AWFUL!!!! And the bus that exploded with all those evacuees in it? AWFUL!!!

I keep going back to that Bill Maher remark of a couple of weeks ago, directed at the First Dog-Dropper (or should that be the First Dry Drunk?):

"So, yes, God does speak to you. What he is saying is: 'Take a hint.' "

Maher had another one in that same rant that I can't get out of my mind: "I'm just wondering how much worse it could be if you were on the other side."

[expatriot]

8. Add a couple more months to how long it will take to check all the houses

in the Lower Ninth Ward. The tragedy keeps growing.

[Podface]

16. morons

Unreal - recockulous.

So they were repairing the levees but not fast enough???? Even if they didn't know Rita was a threat, one would think they would have been working full-steam to ensure that IF another storm showed up (in the middle of the worst hurricane seasons on record), they could stop all that toxic water from coming back into the city.

"No one could have predicted that another storm would breach the levees again."

[calimary]

28. TRULY unreal. Welcome to DU. Sorry it's under such dismal

circumstances...

I'm just wondering how much of this people are willing to swallow before they finally reach the had-enough stage. We don't already have sufficient proof that our "leadership" is leading us straight off a cliff? Hello? Anybody home out there, America? Or are you just clinging to your relief that gays can't get married?

God! My kingdom for some SANITY!!!

Now that you're here, I hope you'll help with the push for IMPEACHMENT!!!!!!!!!!!

[AzDar]

20. repeat: time for the 'grown-ups' to take charge, again.....

[LynneSin]

21. DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN

I'd post the F-word but felt at the time this is more appropriate. How can I enjoy this weekend when I know that a city is dying and our government isn't doing anything to fix it. We were warned these levees were getting old and storms were getting stronger and after the first breach we should have been in there doing all we could to ensure they would hold up.

And the along comes Rita

:cry:

[underpants]

26. Hey make sure you take some sharpies with you

get people to write something of hope for the hurricane victims on their signs. A magnolia is the symbol for the gulf coasts how about a magnolia with a big star behind it with a big heart AROUND them?

Something like that.

I know that we will only see the guy on the stilts and the white kids with dreadlocks on the news but maybe just maybe they will show others too.

Good luck. You are right, you were right NEVER let them forget it so it doesn't happen again.

[Judi Lynn]

22. Water Pours Into New Orleans' Ninth

Water Pours Into New Orleans' Ninth Ward
Waterfall at Least 30 Feet Wide Spills Over Patched New Orleans Levee, Re-Flooding Ninth Ward



Storm clouds loom over Canal street
while wind blows askew palm trees as
the city prepares for the approaching
storm caused by Hurricane Rita early
Friday, Sept. 23, 2005, in New
Orleans. The storm took a sharper-
than-expected turn to the right on
Thursday, setting it on a course that
could spare Houston and nearby
Galveston a direct hit. But that raised
the risk that the hurricane could
strike much closer to New Orleans.
(AP Photo/Tracy Gitnick)

By MICHELLE ROBERTS and BRETT MARTEL Associated Press Writers
The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS Sep 23, 2005 — Water poured over a patched levee Friday, cascading into one of the city's lowest-lying neighborhoods and heightening fears that Hurricane Rita would re-flood this devastated city.

"Our worst fears came true. The levee will breach if we keep on the path we are on right now, which will fill the area that was flooded earlier," Barry Guidry with the Georgia National Guard.

Dozens of blocks in the Ninth Ward were under water as a waterfall at least 30 feet wide poured over a dike that had been used to patch breaks in the Industrial Canal. On the street that runs parallel to the canal, the water ran waist-deep and was rising fast.

The impoverished neighborhood was one of the areas of the city hit hardest by Katrina's floodwaters and finally had been pumped dry before Hurricane Rita struck.
(snip/...)

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1152380&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

[DS1]

25. It's holding, it's just not high enough

[Mizmoon]

29. Watching on CNN now

They're showing a street covered with water. A cop comes up to the news crew and says to leave now because in 15 minutes theyll be no way out of the neighborhood but by boat.

[meisje]

30. Looks like they plugged it sand

ever build a sandcastle on the beach?

[flowomo]

31. New flooding begins in New Orleans

New flooding begins in New Orleans
By MICHELLE ROBERTS and BRETT MARTEL
Associated Press Writers

NEW ORLEANS -- Hurricane Rita's steady rains sent water pouring through breaches in a patched levee Friday, cascading into one of the city's lowest-lying neighborhoods in a devastating repeat of New Orleans' flooding nightmare.

"Our worst fears came true," said Maj. Barry Guidry of the Georgia National Guard.

"We have three significant breeches in the levy and the water is rising rapidly," he said. "At daybreak I found substantial breaks and they've grown larger."

Dozens of blocks in the Ninth Ward were under water as a waterfall at least 30 feet wide poured over and through a dike that had been used to patch breaks in the Industrial Canal levee. On the street that runs parallel to the canal, the water ran waist-deep and was rising fast. Guidry said water was rising about three inches a minute.

The impoverished neighborhood was one of the areas of the city hit hardest by Katrina's floodwaters and finally had been pumped dry before Hurricane Rita struck.

www.cumberlink.com/articles/2005/09/23/breaking_news/lewis01.txt

[uppityperson]

32. NOLA news website for up to date NO/etc information, link here

http://www.nola.com/
story on this levee
http://www.nola.com/newsflash/louisiana/index.ssf?/base/national-52/1127481543197551.xml&storylist=hurricane

[Peter Frank]

33. Rita Floods New Orleans Again

http://www.forbes.com/business/2005/09/23/hurricane-rita-flooding-cx_daa_0923rita.html?partner=rss

[genieroze]

34. OMG, not again. They are never going to find anyone else alive at this

rate.

[brooklynite]

35. 8-9 Feet flooding predicted

12:15 P.M. - Meteorologist Brad Panovich: Homes in the Lower Ninth Ward and St. Bernard Parish can expect 8-9 feet of water from the levee breach.

http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stories/wwlblog092305.85d62b32.html

[sweetjake]

38. At least that's something they've predicted.

Everywhere I listen, they haven't predicted something. The traffic is frustrating me to no end. I agree with whoever else on here said that they should have opened the other lanes up earlier. It been an entire day and some of them are still not opened. They just didn't predict all this traffic. Well, they knew they were calling for a mandatory evacuation of a known number of people. And they knew they were calling for a voluntary evacuation of a known number of people. And after the scariness of Katrina, they should have predicted that those "voluntary" people would have had the bejeezus scared out of them enough to leave. So they should have opened ALL of those lanes yesterday morning.

Predictions. Why is it that everybody except the people in charge are so good at knowing what to do?

[LisaM]

36. They had a cheerful, upbeat Army Corps of Engineers guy on NPR this a.m.

Who called the breach "seepage" and said things like "Great question!" when asked if it was overtopping or breakage. I don't know what planet he was on but he clearly thought there was no problem.

[DemReadingDU]

37. Nominated, #5

[mom cat]

41. Haven't those people suffered enough!

:cry:

[demo dutch]

42. The Corps is so inept!!

[Dover]

43. NOLA - Water pouring into Ninth Ward; waist high and rising

Water pouring into Ninth Ward; waist high and rising

10:11 AM CDT on Friday, September 23, 2005


Associated Press

Rita's steady rains sent water pouring through breaches in a patched levee Friday, cascading into one of the city's lowest-lying neighborhoods in a devastating repeat of New Orleans' flooding nightmare.

"Our worst fears came true," said Maj. Barry Guidry of the Georgia National Guard.


"We have three significant breeches in the levee and the water is rising rapidly," he said. "At daybreak I found substantial breaks and they've grown larger."

Dozens of blocks in the Ninth Ward were under water as a waterfall at least 30 feet wide poured over and through a dike that had been used to patch breaks in the Industrial Canal levee. On the street that runs parallel to the canal, the water ran waist-deep and was rising fast. Guidry said water was rising about three inches a minute.

The impoverished neighborhood was one of the areas of the city hit hardest by Katrina's floodwaters and finally had been pumped dry before Hurricane Rita struck. ..cont'd

http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/WWL092305water.86a0c25c.html






http://www.wwltv.com/

[spindrifter]

44. Kind of Difficult to Follow

It's kind of difficult to follow where the breaks are and exactly what is going on, n'est pas? The really concerning thing is that this is many hours before the worst of the winds and rain get there.

[President Kerry]

45. not again!

How's that for everything's done through the will of god crap, eh fundies?. No people ever deserve a calamity after calamity happen to them for weeks. (of course i'm not even talking about the people of Iraq).. First they suffer the wrath of nature, then the neglect of the government, and now this.. this isn't right!

[jody]

46. We need Johnny Cash to sing "Six Feet High and Rising". n/t

[regnaD kciN]

47. ...or John Fogerty...

And I wonder,
Still I wonder,
Who'll stop the rain?

:-(

[jody]

48. IDTT

:toast:

[Oldtimeralso]

51. Folk Song

"We're waist deep in the big muddy and the big fool says push on"

[mcscajun]

52. Listen to the Cajuns...

Big River

Water's on the river rising
More water come than float away
People from Catahoula down to Burway Bay
They've got no place left to stay
When the water's coming out the basin
There ain't nothing waterproof
Standing on the levee with the river raging
I've got nothing left to lose

Big river
Big river on the rise
Big river gonna overflow
Big river is going to wash us to the sea

Back in 1927
Six feet of water in Evangeline
Now the government trying to tell us
Said that the levee's going to hold next time

Big river
Big river on the rise
Big river is gonna overflow
Big river is gonna wash us to the sea

I've seen the water come under the levee
Boiling up from a crawfish hole
And before the sun was setting
Four feet of water in my front door
Big river
Big river on the rise
Big river gonna overflow
Big river, Oh mighty Mississippi on the rise
Oh mighty Mississippi is gonna overflow
Big river
Gonna wash us to the sea.

-- Zachary Richard

[Name removed]

49. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[superconnected]

50. why would they blow up the levy

I'm new to this blown up levy stuff.

Is it to hand out gov contracts for the reconstruction?