Mayor C. Ray Nagin of New Orleans's office has issued this statement concerning Hurricane Ike and the Army Corps has issued a statement concerning two high-profiled floodgates.
As Hurricane Ike draws near the coast of Texas, the citizens of New Orleans should be aware that weather conditions will begin to deteriorate as the night progresses.
Residents in New Orleans can expect to experience Tropical Storm force winds as early as midnight and these winds will continue well into the early evening on Friday. There is also a possibility of gusts greater than 55 mph occurring in some areas.
These strong winds not only bring the risk of damage to temporary structures, like travel trailers, but they also cause storm surge that can effect lower lying areas.
The City is advising those in FEMA trailers of high winds and recommends that they seek secure shelter.
The City is also advising residents in the Venetian Isle area of the high winds and flooding and advises that they should monitor local media outlets for the latest information regarding this storm.
Storm surge is by far the greatest threat to life and property along the immediate Gulf Coast as well as areas outside of the hurricane protection levee system.
The greatest storm surge is expected to occur during the high tide period which ranges from Friday morning till midday.
Please take the necessary precaution and stay away from flood waters.
The depth of water is not always obvious. Look out for flooding at highway dips, bridges, and low areas. Two feet of water will carry away most automobiles.
If you are driving and come upon rapidly rising waters, turn around and find another route. If your route is blocked by flood waters or barricades, find another route. Barricades are put up by local officials to protect people from unsafe roads.
Floodgates
As a result of water reaching the operational trigger of 4 ft. and rising at the London Ave.Canal, Col.Alvin B. Lee, New Orleans District commander, ordered the canal gates closed at 11:20 p.m.
The gates take about 50 minutes to close and, once closed, we can begin pumping water from the canal into the lake to maintain the safe water elevation of 5 ft.
A three person team located at the structure is responsible for operating the gates and pumps from the safe room.
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) equipment enables our emergency operations center to remotely monitor and operate the system as a redundancy in our operation plan, should the need arise.
The Corps’ pumps have a maximum combined capacity of 5,200 cubic feet per second at the LondonAve.Canal.
We work closely with the Sewerage & Water Board to maximize their drainage capacity while ensuring public safety by maintaining the safe water elevation
