New Orleans -
A storm swamped streets in New Orleans and prompted a tornado warning near the city Wednesday as concerns grew that even worse weather is on the way to Louisiana and other states along the Gulf of Mexico.
Heavy rains in parts of Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Arkansas have brought many rivers to record levels, causing at least 20 deaths and forcing hundreds to flee their homes as levees break. More levees are now at risk as the rains continue.
Alarm is rising fast in flooded Northeastern states, forcing state-ordered mandatory evacuations near the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, in Eastern New York, near the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers, and in Maryland.
Rising floodwaters surround Memphis, one of the great citadels of the Old South, in the crosshairs of disasters, including an earthquake as the South reels from major tornadoes this year. But it’s the 1927 flood memories that make folks anxious now.
New Orleans citizens received some relief from the ongoing "blame game" that has gone on since Hurricane Katrina. These residents said they did not know New Orleans flooding would occur from levee breaches, and a federal court has upheld their claims.
Just as the hurricane season is underway, recent news brings concerns about levee protection. This is particularly true given the fact it has been found more than half the U.S. population lives in counties protected by levees.
August 29, 2005 New Orleans was flooded after a break in the levees allowed the devastation of the city following Hurricane Katrina. Louisiana annually commemorates heroes and special people who devote their lives to others.
Dr. Ivor Van Heerden, hurricane expert and coastal scientist, will be leaving Louisiana State University in May 2010. The University announced they won't continue his contract past that date. Van Heerden headed the forensic team after Katrina.
“It's been 4 years,” he said. “People aren't interested in something that happened years ago.” The bookstore owner told me he lacked Katrina books because it was old news. But Katrina's news isn't old at all in a world where lives come first.
So many stories have been written about Hurricane Katrina. Those who were victims of the flood were hurt afterward as well. Some of that victimization came innocently, from writers without all the facts. Like me.
