New Orleans flood defences stand firm in face of tropical storm

TROPICAL storm Lee crawled onto southern Louisiana’s coast as New Orleans prepared for one of the biggest tests of its flood defences since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005.

Winds were expected to weaken gradually in the next couple of days and up to 20 inches of rain was expected to fall on southeast Louisiana, the National Hurricane Centre said.

In New Orleans, the storm recalled Hurricane Katrina, which flooded 80% of the city, killed 1,500 people and caused more than $80 billion (€56bn) in damage to the popular tourist destination.

Half the city lies below sea level and is protected by a system of levees and flood gates. The levees can process about 1 inch of rainfall per hour and the storm’s slow- moving nature remained a worry, officials said.

There were isolated reports of flooding in roads and homes. No injuries or fatalities were reported.

New Orleans officials were cautiously optimistic that the pump system would stay ahead of the rainfall, as residents awoke yesterday to the arrival of a heavy band of rain.

“There’s not a whole lot of flooding anywhere, so things are OK,” said Jerry Sneed, deputy mayor of public safety. “We’re ready for the next round.”

New Orleans was under a flash flood watch through to last night, the National Weather Service said. Potential damage from wind gusts will also be a concern.

Lee’s tidal surge could cause coastal flooding in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama before drenching a large swathe of the Southeast and Appalachian regions next week.

In Mississippi, local governments were taking precautions as forecasters predicted tides could be 2ft to 4ft above normal.

More than 60% of US offshore oil production, all based in the Gulf of Mexico, and nearly 55% of offshore gas production were shut down as of Friday.