Theos-Talk Archives (September 2005 Message tt00181)

I found this. Take it for what it is worth:

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Contrary to Bush Administration claims, the first breaches and 
ensuing flash flooding appeared early Monday morning.


BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
814 AM CDT MON AUG 29 2005

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW ORLEANS HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
ORLEANS PARISH IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA
THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...NEW ORLEANS
ST. BERNARD PARISH IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA
THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF CHALMETTE

* UNTIL 215 PM CDT

* A LEVEE BREACH OCCURRED ALONG THE INDUSTRIAL CANAL AT TENNESSE

STREET. 3 TO 8 FEET OF WATER IS EXPECTED DUE TO THE BREACH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO ARABI AND
9TH WARD OF NEW ORLEANS.


WWL tv later that morning reported that at least two breaks in the 
Industrial Canal levee had sent water pouring into the Ninth Ward (a 
large section of New Orleans) and New Orleans East (a huge area to 
the east of the Industrial Canal). They also reported that there 
was extensive flooding in Arabi and Chalmette (two suburbs of New 
Orleans to east of the city). It was unknown whether the cause of 
this flooding was due to an actual breach or simply storm surge 
overtopping the levees. This was all before Katrina's eye had made 
it to New Orleans' latitude. By noon there were reports of water to 
the rooves of houses in the Ninth Ward. Remember, this is all 
MONDAY morning, not Tuesday as Bush's stooges at Homeland Security 
and FEMA are claiming.

Of course, there were no CNN, MSNBC, or Fox News reporters in the 
Ninth Ward, New Orleans East, Arabi, or Chalmette. These are some 
of the poorest sections of New Orleans; indeed, some of the poorest 
parts of the country. The national reporters were all safe in the 
French Quarter, where there was no major flooding... or so they 
thought. Thus, we saw television report after television report 
about how New Orleans had "dodged the bullet," while thousands of 
citizens lie dead or stranded on rooves to the northeast of the 
French Quarter.

However, the reporters soon found out their mistake. By Monday 
afternoon, as the winds from Katrina shifted to the north and 
northeast, the storm surge from Lake Ponchartrain managed to destroy 
the lock protecting the 17th Street Canal. The already rain-swelled 
canal soon broke through the eastern levee, beginning the flooding 
of the Lakefront and a section of town called Old Metairie. For a 
while these flood waters were pinned between the west levee of the 
17th Street Canal, the west levee of the Orleans Ave Canal, and an 
area of higher elevation called the Metairie Ridge. By late Monday 
night, the Metairie Ridge was overtopped and the flooding of the 
rest of the city, including the French Quarter, began. The first 
mention I remember of this breach was from Mayor Nagan on WWL tv 
during his 10pm interview at the station.

THE HISTORY

Now I'd like to expose another of the Bush Administration spins. 
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has been making rounds 
today of the Sunday talk shows claiming that the levee breaches were 
unpredictable and unprecendented. The falsity of 
the "unpredictable" claim has been blogged to death, so I won't 
cover that here. My purpose here is to expose "unprecendented" lie.

Quoted from:

http://66.102.7.104/search?
q=cache:_9A1T5ryLaUJ:emilyd.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/4/1795/78689+Bu
cktown+levees+break+orleans&hl=en