More floods hit New Orleans

Heavy rain today flooded parts of New Orleans only just recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

As Southern California continued to struggle with massive brush fires on the other side of the US, more rain was forecast for Louisiana today on top of the 8 inches that fell yesterday.

Schools across the city closed, in anticipation of more flooding that has disrupted businesses and stalled traffic.

Waist-high water in parts of eastern New Orleans soaked businesses, some only recently reopened after being damaged by 2005's Hurricane Katrina.

All the city's drainage pumps were working properly, but were unable to keep up with the intense rainfall, emergency officials said. They urged motorists to stay off the streets.

In some areas, more than two inches of rain fell in an hour, while the city's pumps can handle only a maximum of one inch in the first hour of rainfall and half-an-inch every following hour.

The problem was made worse in New Orleans by catch basins designed to remove the water becoming clogged with debris from gutted or renovated homes.

Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, ahead of a strong cold front, brought the sudden and strong rainfall that blanketed the area.

Despite the flooding, the rain also offered relief to parts of Louisiana that have been abnormally dry. Until yesterday's downfall, rainfall for New Orleans was about 11 inches below normal for the year.

The scattered showers and thunderstorms also came as a blessing to other drought-stricken areas of the Southeast.