Posted on 08/26/2006 2:41:03 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
(AP) NEW ORLEANS -- The head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conceded Saturday that despite aggressive efforts to repair the levee system in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, it was unclear whether the it could hold up to a sizable hurricane this year.
Lt. General Carl Strock, the commander of the Corps, said the agency was carefully tracking Tropical Storm Ernesto, which was spinning in the Caribbean and projected to reach hurricane strength by Tuesday.
He was confident the Corps had done all it could to repair and reinforce 220 miles of levee walls, but he conceded he couldn't be sure whether the system would withstand Ernesto if reached Category 3 status and struck near New Orleans, as Katrina did Aug. 29, 2005.
Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who appeared at a news conference with Strock, said her office was carefully watching the storm and would order evacuations it they became necessary.
She said that although she is not happy with the current strength of the levee system, she believes as much work as possible was done in the year since Katrina.
It was too soon Saturday to predict whether Ernesto would hit the United States, said Michael Brennan, a meteorologist with the hurricane center in Miami.
(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )
Yeah, he was supposed to have that pesky 'below sea level' issue fixed by now.
What's that word--shaedenfraued or something.
Ernesto is gay.
Does Nagin know where the buses are? No matter, not likely anyone is going to stay behind to drive them this time around.
To be sure, this time the folks know who to blame - and that's themselves for trusting gubmint (especially local) to bail them out.
Bow yer heads childrun, the end of Nawlins' draws nigh.
Schadenfreude, satisfaction from the misfortunes of others.
Hope FEMA gets their gift cards ready. Last years Coach purses may need replacing.
FMCDH(BITS)
More weather guys with too much time on their hands. I say it's a no go. And I'm no meteoroligist-apparantly they aren't either.
Ernesto is God's way of telling Count Choco adios.
"Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who appeared at a news conference with Strock, said her office was carefully watching the storm and would order evacuations it they became necessary."
Well, well, well... there's a first!
Oh fer cryin' out loud. As hurricane "nears?" It's nowhere near New Orleans, and it's not even certain it will ever "near" New Orleans. Talk about yellow journalism!
except this time - they plan to evacuate the busese before the storm, with no people in them, so there won't be any photos of empty buses sitting in water at the depot.
Blanco has it covered all right, don't you worry.
" . . . 220 miles of levee walls."
This is the essence of the problem. If New Orleans is going to be salvaged and rebuilt, at least half of it needs to be leveled and allowed to turn back into wetlands. The debris from the demolition could be used to build a higher levee system around a smaller new New Orleans--based on the historic sections, gambling and the port.
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