Page 3 - aruba-today-20190711

A3
UP FRONT Thursday 11 July 2019

Flooding swamps

New Orleans; possible

hurricane coming next

Continued from Front least three days of supplies
on hand and to keep their
“The entire coast of Louisi- neighborhood storm drains
ana is at play in this storm,” clear so water can move
Edwards said. quickly. As the water from
Forecasters said Louisiana Wednesday morning’s
could see up to 12 inches storms receded, people
(30 centimeters) of rain by worried about what might
Monday, with isolated ar- come next.
eas receiving as much as Tanya Gulliver-Garcia was
18 inches (46 centimeters). trying to make her way
The additional rain could home during the deluge.
push the already swollen Flooded streets turned a Motorists react in New Orleans react as the intersection at Franklin Ave. and 610 floods after a
severe thunderstorm Wednesday, July 10, 2019.
Mississippi River precari- 15-minute drive into an or- Associated Press
ously close to the tops of deal lasting more than two
levees that protect New hours. She was supposed
Orleans, officials said. to head out of town for a
A spokesman for the Army weekend trip but now won-
Corps of Engineers in New ders whether the flights will
Orleans said the agency take off.
was not expecting wide- “This is going to be a slow
spread overtopping of the storm .... That’s what I’m
levees, but there are con- concerned about,” she
cerns for areas south of the said.
city. The river was expect- Wednesday’s flooding was
ed to rise to 20 feet (6 me- reminiscent of floodwaters
ters) by late Friday at a key that surprised the city dur-
gauge in New Orleans. The ing an August 2017 rain.
area is protected by levees That flood exposed major
20 to 25 feet (6 to 7.6 me- problems at the agency
ters) high, he said. overseeing street drain-
The Corps was working age. It led to personnel
with local officials to iden- shake-ups at the New Or-
tify any low-lying areas and leans Sewerage and Water
reinforce them, he said. He Board and required major
cautioned that the situa- repair efforts.
tion may change as more On Wednesday, the board
information arrives. said 118 of 120 drainage
“We’re confident the le- pumps were operational
vees themselves are in and the agency was fully
good shape. The big focus staffed. But the agency’s
is height,” spokesman Ricky director says that much
Boyett said. rain in such a short time
New Orleans officials have would have overwhelmed
asked residents to keep at any drainage system.q

linda.reijnders@cspnv.com