Levee Breached

[wxmann_91]

LAC071-087-291915-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
814 AM CDT MON AUG 29 2005

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW ORLEANS HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
ORLEANS PARISH IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA
THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...NEW ORLEANS
ST. BERNARD PARISH IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA
THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF CHALMETTE

* UNTIL 215 PM CDT

* A LEVEE BREACH OCCURRED ALONG THE INDUSTRIAL CANAL AT TENNESSE
STREET. 3 TO 8 FEET OF WATER IS EXPECTED DUE TO THE BREACH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO ARABI AND
9TH WARD OF NEW ORLEANS.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY.
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY.
RESIDENTS LIVING ALONG STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE
PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS
SWIFTLY FLOWING WATERS OR WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH BY FOOT OR BY
AUTOMOBILE.

LAT...LON 2992 9012 2994 9003 2987 8987 3001 8985
3004 8982 3008 8993 3002 9012

$$

Anybody have confimations of this?

[melhow]

Water tops 9th Ward levee system

On an early morning radio interview, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said that water was coming over the levee system in the Lower 9th Ward, especially in the Florida Avenue area. Nagin said that the Florida Avenue pumping station was not working, and there were unconfirmed reports of people standing on their roofs.

"There is a significant amount of water in the 9th Ward," Nagin said.

Nagin said that city officials had reports of at least five fires in the city and one collapsed building. The locations of the fires and the building were not specified.

Meanwhile, a 9th Ward resident reported that houses were taking in water on Reynes Street at the Claiborne Avenue bridge.

Not all of the 9th Ward, however, appeared to have water problems.

A group of about a half dozen families, some with severe hardships, were riding out the storm near the corner of Feliciana and Marais streets. Among those who stayed was a mother with a son paralyzed in a recent shooting and a 56-year-old man with a broken leg.

"The wind's pushing pretty hard here," the man, Paul Garrett, said in a 7:15 a.m. phone interview. "But it doesn't seem to be destroying any rooftops. We're doing OK."

Garrett said he stayed to help other families, as did his neighbor, Arnold Scott, 49.

Scott said the group convinced a pregnant woman to leave and go a hospital Sunday night and had to flag down a police officer to pick her up. The woman's companion had already left the city after an argument over whether they should evacuate, Scott said.

Both men said they stayed to protect the people and properties on their block.

"There's a little guy that's paralyzed down the street, and he and his mother didn't get a chance to get out," Garrett said. "We didn't want to leave, and then come back and find them dead or something. I made some rafts so I can get down there as fast as I can if I need to. I'm just hoping the water doesn't come in one big surge."

From nola.com weblog...

[wx247]

Well the NWS is all the confirmation I need.

[oneness]

And still around 2 hours of the very worst winds to go around NO before it begins to move off them.

[Wacahootaman]

Arabi is on the Mississippi River according to my map. The lake pontchartrain breaches will be the most dangerous, if they happenl

Pray that they dont!

[inotherwords]

How big is the ninth ward, and what part of the city is it in?

[sunny]

Yes, the levee has broken in the French Quarter. My brother in law is a tug boat captain, he moved his boat to Gramercy. He is getting reports that we can't. Where they live, which is on the west side of Jefferson Parish bordering (I can't spell right now) St. Charles Parish, have sustained winds of 80 and have 2 ft of water. I live onthe east side of Jeff, right by Orleans. Between Harvey and New Orleans. I don't expect it to be good once I am able to get home.

Memphis, God bless them, are mobilizing their National Guard to come to New Orleans.

[superfly]

How big is the ninth ward, and what part of the city is it in?

Southeastern NO metro area, east of the quarter.

[Praxus]

CNN keeps reporting that the levees are holding in new orleans. They're
also reporting one to two feet of water downtown. So far, thats a far cry
from the 'doomsday' scenario.

[wwicko]

From nola.com:

Monday, August 29, 2005

Floodwaters are starting to become a problem in Orleans Parish, with 6 to 8 feet of water collecting in the Lower 9th Ward, state officials said at a briefing Monday just before 9 a.m.

After a morning conference call with state and parish officials, Maj. Gen. Bennett C. Landreneau said emergency personnel stationed at Jackson Barracks have confirmed that the waters are rising, although he could not say whether the cause was a levee breach or overtopping. Extensive flooding has been reported along St. Claude and Claiborne avenues....

[Mattie]

Praxus - aren't we grateful that it's not the doomsday scenario??? All in how the wind blows and the storm comes ashore. It was definitely "doomsday" for people directly affected.

[bree4bryce]

nhcwx reporter said emergency people have announced levees on lake side have been breached...

[wolfmmiii]

Ponchartrain overtopping now per Fox

[bree4bryce]

nhcwx reporter said emergency people have announced levees on lake side have been breached/spilling over...

[Nimbus]

Are those levees earthen?

Overtopping for several hours can erode a more serious breach allowing the lake to fill the dish.

[Josephine96]

Oh I hope these people are all in higher ground with all that water

[Praxus]

"Praxus - aren't we grateful that it's not the doomsday scenario???"

100% grateful...sure I like big hurricanes; but never want to see
anybody suffer. Its great the storm turned a bit east at the last minute.

[FlSteel]

Not much mention yet on the news of any levee breaks besides the one in the 9th ward. hope people were smart enough to seek higher ground. Some reports are pretty ugly with people being caught in their attics.