New Orleans under state of emergency
Power shortage threatens to cripple city’s pumps
NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency in New Orleans on Thursday after a power shortage threatened to cripple the city’s drainage pumps, the second time in less than a week that critical flood defenses have been strained during hurricane season.
With residents now fearing even routine summer thunderstorms, officials closed city schools for the rest of the week and urged motorists to be mindful of where they park their vehicles when it rains. New Orleans is as much as seven feet below sea level, and a 133-mile network of drainage canals and pumps funnel storm water out of the city.
“If we get the heavier-than-expected rainfall, time will be of the essence,” Edwards said. “This is a serious situation, but it’s not something to be panicked about.”
Before dawn Thursday, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu shocked city residents when he announced that a substation fire had knocked out a primary source of power for the city’s network of drainage pumps. The outage is diminishing electricity for the pumps that serve the East Bank of the city, which includes much of central New Orleans, including downtown and the French Quarter.
With three other turbine stations also out of service for repairs or scheduled maintenance, New Orleans was left with just one primary source of electricity to power its pumps.