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From the Knight Ridder papers:

High water blocks routes into most of New Orleans

BY BILL HANNA

Knight Ridder Newspapers

NEW ORLEANS - (KRT) - When Felix Salande drove back toward New Orleans late Monday afternoon, he started to tell himself that the Crescent City had been spared a devastating blow.

But after he had navigated to within about 12 miles of downtown New Orleans, he started seeing row upon row of wind-damaged and flooded buildings.

He finally stopped, and took in the sights from the elevated Interstate 10 roadway. What he was seeing was a new extension of Lake Pontchartrain.

"I'm 39 years old and I've never seen it this bad before," Salande said. "When I came through Kenner it looked like Beirut out there."

Salande said he couldn't even imagine how long it would take for the floodwaters to recede.

"I'm guessing I'm not getting home for days," he said as watched other frustrated drivers realize that they, too, were at the end of the line. They might be close, but there would be no going home on this day. The interstate had simply dead-ended into a murky sea of floodwater. The downtown skyline poked up through the gray sky, just four or so miles away.

The hundreds of stranded drivers were quickly turning Interstate 10 into a makeshift campground Monday night. Small children were kicking soccer balls and others were gingerly walking to the new shoreline and guessing how long it would take for the water to drop.

"This isn't good," said New Orleans resident Bill Tamlin. "If it's this bad here, then the whole city must be under water."

Nearby, New Orleans police officer W. A. Johnson reaffirmed what many New Orleans residents were just starting to comprehend.

Asked how much of the city was under water, Johnson replied: "All of it."

And how long did he think it would take for the floodwaters to recede?

"Days."

In Metairie, just west of New Orleans, even would-be rescuers were stranded alongside the interstate.

About 30 state wildlife division boats were parked along the freeway, unable to reach the flooded neighborhoods that needed the most help. Meanwhile, hundreds of other emergency vehicles were racing toward New Orleans from Baton Rouge along I-10, although it was a mystery as to how they would reach the city center.

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said at a Monday night news conference that more rescue boats had been requested from Texas and Arkansas to help conduct searches.

State officials said as many as 80 water rescues had been conducted in the St. Bernard area near New Orleans, with many boats picking up three or four people at a time. No one knew how many people were still in the city.

While portions of the elevated interstate were passable into the western side of New Orleans, virtually every other route into the city was closed by high water. Waves were lapping up to the very edge of the New Orleans International Airport in Kenner.

Airport hotels had sustained considerable wind damage and many homes in the Kenner area had portions of their roofs missing. Along the freeway in Kenner, powerful winds had peeled open a large storage facility as if it were a tin can.

Blanco cautioned that the roadways may be terrible to navigate for some time.

"It may be very difficult to enter the city from most directions," Blanco said. She said some sections of I-10 bridge spans near New Orleans may have suffered structural damage. She couldn't say how long it would be before the road reopens to traffic.

Back at the makeshift campground along I-10, many anxious drivers were contemplating turning around and making the hourlong trek back to Baton Rouge, where the power was out but the damage was minimal.

New Orleans resident Tomesha Carter and her husband, Bruce, were debating whether to take their two children back to the capital city.

"It could be another week before we get home even though we can almost see it from here," Tomesha Carter said. "Our home is in the lower Garden District and we left our car and everything. With what we're seeing here, who knows how much water is in our home?"

http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/news/nation/12509413.htm