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Dark skies over New Orleans as Hurricane Rita approaches
By Andy Sullivan
NEW ORLEANS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Skies darkened over New Orleans and garbage cartwheeled through empty streets on Thursday as the battered city braced for gale-force winds and possible flooding for the second time in a month.
As Hurricane Rita took aim at the Texas-Louisiana state line, officials in New Orleans and its suburbs worked urgently to avoid a repeat of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, which flooded the city and stranded thousands of residents in chaotic conditions.
Buses stood at the ready to whisk away any residents who remained, while the Army Corps of Engineers completed repairs on levees that gave way during Katrina's torrential rains.
"We are not letting our guards down, because as you know these hurricanes can change," Mayor Ray Nagin said at a press conference. A mandatory evacuation order remained in effect for most of the city and Nagin said few residents remained.
In the Algiers Point neighborhood, where the evacuation order is optional, several residents said they planned to ride the storm out at home.
"If we get anything it will probably be a lot of rain," said Ruth McAnespy, 66, as she cleared debris from her lawn. "And the grass needs some rain."
McAnespy said she had stayed with her daughter in Houston during Katrina, and now expected her daughter to come stay with her during Rita.
Hurricane Rita is not expected to make a direct hit on New Orleans when it lands on Friday night, but officials with the National Weather Service warned the city could face tropical-storm winds that could tear off the blue tarps that residents have stretched over their damaged roofs.
The storm was also expected to bring a storm surge of up to five feet along with steady rain through Saturday.
Col. Duane Gapinski of the Army Corps of Engineers said the storm surge was not expected to pose a threat, though a heavy rainfall could cause flooding in low-lying areas of the city.
"Right now if things pan out the way they're projected to we should be okay," Gapinski said.
At the city's Convention Center, where displaced residents three weeks ago faced lawlessness and a lack of food and water, buses stood ready and members of the Oklahoma National Guard laid out cots and medical supplies.
Only seven residents had shown up for evacuation as of early afternoon, said Oklahoma National Guard Capt. Paul Harris.
Frank Jones, 45, said he was inclined to stay but would catch a bus at the Convention Center if his wife and grown children wanted to leave.
"I don't think the storm's going to come," he said.
(c) Reuters 2005.