Tropical storm Barry gets stronger in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS – The owners put their sandbags in their bags and tourists who were trying to get out of the city blocked the airport on Friday as tropical storm Barry began to rage, threatening a riot. thick epic that could test how much New Orleans has strengthened its flood protections in the 14 years since Hurricane Katrina.

As the storm is expected to rage early Saturday near Morgan City as the first hurricane of the season, authorities rushed to close the floodgates and lift the barriers around the 1.3 million metropolitan area of ​​New Brunswick residents -Orléans, for fear of catastrophic floods.

Louisiana and parts of Mississippi would be the most affected by the storm, wind and rain affecting more than 3 million people.

About 3,000 National Guard soldiers, along with other rescue teams, were posted around Louisiana with boats, deep-sea vehicles and helicopters. Drinking water was aligned and utility crews with bucket trucks were put in place.

"That's what's happening – your window of preparation is shrinking," warned Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center. He added, "It's powerful, it strengthens, and the water is going to be a big problem."

While 10,000 or more people living in low-lying areas and exposed along the Gulf of Mexico coast were urged to leave, no evacuation was ordered to New Orleans, where authorities instead urged inhabitants to "take shelter" from 20h.

"My concerns are only hoping it will not be another Katrina," said Donald Wells, a restaurant cook in New Orleans.

According to forecasters, Barry could dump 25 to 50 centimeters of rain Sunday on a Louisiana band including New Orleans and Baton Rouge, as well as southwestern Mississippi, with pockets up to 25 inches (63 cm) centimeters).

The storm's attacking edges blew the state with rains of rain for most of the day and some coastal roads were already under water.

Barry was to arrive as a low intensity hurricane, barely exceeding the wind speed threshold of 74 mph (119 km / h). But the authorities have warned people not to be fooled.

"No one should take this storm lightly just because it's supposed to be a Category 1 when it arrives ashore," said Governor John Bel Edwards. "The real danger in this storm has never been the wind – there has always been talk of rain."

Authorities took unprecedented precautions: the governor said it was the first time that all the gates were shut in the hurricane risk reduction system of the New Orleans area. Still, he said do not expect the river to overflow the dikes.

The workers also supported and lifted the dike system in places with beams, plates and other barriers.

Barry's showers could be a serious test of improvements to New Orleans flood defenses since Katrina devastated the city in 2005. The Mississippi has already reached an abnormal height due to heavy spring rains and melting. snow upstream, as well as soil around New Orleans is soggy due to an 8-inch (20-centimeter) stream earlier this week.

The Mississippi is expected to reach 5.8 meters altitude on Saturday in New Orleans, where the levees protecting the city measure between 6 and 7.5 meters in height. This could leave only a small margin of safety in some places, especially if the storm had to change direction or intensity.

"The river has to be taken seriously – it's a very powerful river," said Nadia Jenkins of New Orleans. She had not decided if she was leaving, but she did not take any chances: "We are ready, we have stuff in stock, the car is gone."

Employees of a Costco in New Orleans said that bottled water was selling quickly. A long-time resident, Terrence Williams, was stocking up and said he had some simple rules for big storms.

"Store water, store food, get ready for the storm – get it out," he said.

A Walmart neighborhood market located in Lake Charles, in the southwest of the state, was filled with shopping and much of the bread was gone Friday afternoon.

Scientists say that global warming is responsible for more intense and frequent storms and floods, but without extensive study, they can not directly link a single weather event to climate change.

Late Friday afternoon, Barry was about 115 km southeast of Morgan City, with winds of 100 km / h. Forecasts showed that the storm was moving toward Chicago, inflating the Mississippi basin with water that would eventually flow south again.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed an emergency declaration while President Donald Trump declared the federal emergency for Louisiana, allowing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate efforts. rescue.

In Baton Rouge, where severe floods caused billions of dollars worth of damage three years ago, Kaci Douglas and his 15-year-old son, Juan Causey, were among dozens of sandbags filled in a fire station. She had planned to put a bag of sand on the door of her townhouse.

"I told my son, prevention is better than cure," she says.

In New Orleans, a group of neighbors cleaned the storm sewers of their street. Working as a team to lift heavy metal blankets, they discovered that most of the drains were full of soil, leaves and trash.

All over the city, people parked their cars on the city's medians, which are described as "neutral ground" – in the hope that their vehicles would be safe on slightly elevated tracks.

The tourists converged to the airport hoping to catch an early flight and get out of the city before the storm. At least one convention – that of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority – was cut short by one day. A Rolling Stones concert has been postponed from Sunday to Monday.

Katrina caused catastrophic floods in New Orleans 14 years ago and has been accused of more than 1,800 deaths in Louisiana and other states, according to some estimates.

As a result of this, the Corps of Army Engineers has put in place a multibillion hurricane protection system that is not complete. The work included repairing and upgrading some 560 kilometers of dikes and more than 70 pumping stations.

– by Kevin McGill and Janet McConnaughey