Gulf Coast braces for more havoc
New Orleans’ mayor fears city may be hit again Reverses plan to repopulate city; Katrina toll at 973
NEW ORLEANS—
Mayor Ray Nagin yesterday suspended a plan to bring residents back to New Orleans and told all those now in the stricken city to leave because of fears a new storm headed into the Gulf of Mexico could swamp damaged levees and wreak more havoc.
Tropical Storm Rita was moving west from the Atlantic Ocean and on track to graze the Florida Keys this afternoon, where evacuation plans were in effect.
Hurricane warnings were in effect for northern Cuba and south Florida, and forecasters said Rita — like Katrina three weeks ago — could grow into a major hurricane over the heated waters of the Gulf.
Current predictions point to a Texas landfall for Rita at week’s end, but Nagin said there was a chance the hurricane could hit New Orleans, still reeling from Katrina three weeks ago.
“ We are suspending all re- entry into the city of New Orleans,” Nagin said in a news conference.
“ Our levee systems are still in a very weak condition, our pumping stations are still not at full capacity and any type of storm that heads this way and hits us will put the east bank of Orleans Parish in very significant harm’s way, so I’m encouraging everyone to leave,” Nagin said.
“ If we have anything over nine inches of rain and a three- foot surge in any storm we will once again have significant flooding on the east bank.
“ Prepare yourself to evacuate Wednesday or even earlier.”
Nagin’s new orders were a sharp reversal of his earlier plan to “ repopulate” New Orleans by allowing residents of areas less affected by Katrina to return to the city, starting yesterday. Thousands of people streamed back into the relatively untouched west bank neighbourhood of Algiers, across the Mississippi River from the French Quarter, despite protests from U. S. President George W. Bush and his New Orleans relief director, Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen, that it was too soon for their return. They warned that returning now could be dangerous, due to a lack of electricity, drinkable water and emergency services in most of the city.
“ The mayor is working hard . . . He’s got this dream about having a city up and running, and we share that dream,” Bush said at the White House.
“ But we also want to be realistic about some of the hurdles and obstacles that we all confront in repopulating New Orleans.” The president has come under withering criticism for a slow federal response to initial Katrina relief efforts.
Nagin’s decision to get people out and not allow any more in came after a meeting with Allen.
“ Our re- entry plan has gone very smoothly,” Nagin said of yesterday’s opening of Algiers.
But, he told reporters, “ I am concerned about this hurricane ( Rita) getting in the Gulf. I am very concerned about us clearing out the east bank of New Orleans totally to deal with this next threat.”
Katrina slammed into Louisiana and Mississippi on Aug. 29 with 225- km/h winds and a 10metre storm surge. New Orleans collapsed into a chaos of death, violence and looting as Lake Pontchartrain swamped the city through breaks in the damaged levees that protect the low- lying city and rescue efforts floundered. Many residents have filtered back in recent days, and over the weekend business owners were allowed to return to some areas, including the French Quarter.
Floodwaters that once covered 80 per cent of the city were receding quickly, but much of New Orleans remained a grim and grimy illustration of the damage from Katrina.
St. Bernard Parish remained off- limits, due in large part to oil spilled from a refinery that left layers of black goo metres thick.
Authorities say as many as three- quarters of its homes may need to be razed. The Louisiana death toll rose to 736 yesterday, bringing the total dead recovered after Katrina to 973, including 218 in Mississippi and 19 combined in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.