Once again, the levees have breached in NOLA. Major (re) flooding of much of the City that had already begun to dry out had begun as of late am Fri, CDT.
Rita waters spill over levee, floods New Orleans
23 Sep 2005 17:26:28 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds additional water pouring out western side of levee)
By Andy Sullivan
NEW ORLEANS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Fast-rising water brought by the outer edge of Hurricane Rita spilled over a freshly patched levee in New Orleans on Friday and flooded a deserted neighborhood of the already devastated city.
Water from the industrial canal, where the levee breached during Hurricane Katrina more than three weeks ago, was submerging houses in the particularly hard-hit Ninth Ward section on the city's east side.
Water also poured out from under the canal's western barrier, which faces the historic French Quarter roughly three miles away.
An official with the New Orleans Fire Department said flooding reached a mile (1.6 km) inland west of the canal. It also reached as far north as Interstate 10, which divides the city.
The area had been nearly dried out in recent days.
Residents have not been permitted to return since Katrina hit the ward, where nearly all the small, one-story houses appeared damaged beyond repair.
Searches by rescue teams, who have been going door to door seeking storm victims, were suspended.
Water had begun to seep under the weakened levee late on Thursday, but officials said they did not expect flooding on such a scale so soon.
"It's frustrating, but there ain't nothing you can do about Mother Nature," said Henry Rodriguez, president of nearby St. Bernard Parish, also heavily hit by Katrina on Aug. 29.
He said he had driven through the area and saw floodwaters reaching 10 blocks from the levee.
"We were hoping this wouldn't happen, but with Rita knocking at our door, we're stuck with this," said Mark Heimann, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
He said he was not aware of any levee breaches elsewhere in the city, emptied of most of its 450,000 residents by Katrina.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N23637025.htm 
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