Pump loss puts New Orleans at flood risk

A fire that broke out Wednesday night in a turbine that provides power to most of New Orleans’ pumping stations crippled that piece of equipment, leading city officials to warn of possible flooding during the weekend.

“We are at risk if we have a massive rain event that comes up on us at the last minute and creates the kind of flooding that we had,” New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said at a morning news conference, referring to recent flooding in the city.

The crippled turbine powers most of the pumping stations that service the East Bank of New Orleans. Pumping stations in Algiers, the Lower 9th Ward and New Orleans East were not affected, Landrieu said, nor was drinking water or sewer service.

Before the mayor’s news conference, a statement from his office urged residents living in the area “to move their vehicles to higher ground, take necessary actions to protect personal property and stay off roadways during rainstorms unless an emergency makes it absolutely necessary to do so.”

An emergency alert was sent to most residents around 3 a.m. on Thursday.

After the announcement, several New Orleans-area schools announced they were closing because of the potential of flooding.

Three of the five power-generating turbines at the Sewerage and Water Board’s South Claiborne Avenue plant already were offline when the fire broke out in one of the last remaining turbines around 8 p.m. Wednesday, Landrieu said.

He said the plant was running on its last power source. “This is it,” Landrieu said. Crews worked throughout the night to repair the turbine. The cause of the fire was under investigation. The fire compli- cated matters for an antiquated system that has been the victim of age and poor maintenance.

The loss of the turbine was the latest blow to the Sewerage & Water Board, which has been criticized in recent days after it was revealed that pumping capacity was reduced during floods Saturday and July 22. Water board officials had said all pumps were operating at full capacity, claims that later turned out to be false.

According to the National Weather Service, rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast until Sunday.

BRETT DUKE, AP Circle Food Store in New Orleans is engulfed in floodwaters Saturday. Most of the area’s pumping stations are down, and more rain was in the forecast, so residents have been told to prepare for more flooding.