Jindal says Morganza Floodway to open Sat. or Sun.; tells parishes to begin evacuation notifications

NOLA ^ | May 13, 2011 | Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune

[Qbert]

In a news conference in Baton Rouge Friday, Gov. Bobby Jindal said the Army Corps of Engineers has made it clear to him that it will order the Morganza Floodway to be opened on Saturday or on Sunday at the latest.

“Now is the time to take action. Don’t delay, Don’t hope something will change,” Jindal said.

Jindal said he has asked state officials to tell parish governments to begin notifying their residents in areas in the Atchafalaya River basin expected to be flooded to begin evacuations. Some parishes have told him that they will complete notifications of residents of evacuation plans in a few hours, while others will need up to 48 hours.

[Snip]

Red Cross officials have 22 shelters with 4,758 cots available for evacuees, and local emergency officials have told the state that the expected need is for 3,850 evacuees, Jindal said. But he said tens of thousands of additional spaces would be available quickly, if more are needed. 

Jindal said corps officials have told him they will open up the floodway slowly, over as many as four days, to provide adequate time for people to evacuate. Corps officials said a slow release also is necessary to allow wildlife to escape floodwaters, including dozens of endangered Louisiana black bears.

Jindal said it would take about three days for water to reach the southern part of the floodway, including Morgan City. The National Weather Service's Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center has predicted that the Atchafalaya River will crest at between 12 and 13 feet at Morgan City on May 23 if the floodway is opened. The previous record crest there, in 1973, was 10.6 feet.

[Bitsy]

Pray for us in Louisiana. Pray for ALL in the Southern states affected, who will have to evacuate and will lose everything. And include the toronado victums in AL. My church just sent a truck to AL for Tornado victims and now we will need trucks for our state.

[SueRae]

Prayers for all in Louisiana. The folks there have been through enough. I can’t say enough about the good people affected by this. I hope all will heed the call for help as the times come.

[Da Coyote]

Don’t worry.

Obamabutt littleschweinstucker is sending more money to the UAW as I type.

The unions will save you...right after they 1) refinish the golf courses, 2) pay off the appropriate democratic felo...er...congresscrooks, and 3) purchase some more fried chicken for the first mama.

[dfwgator]

The MSM will go into a full-court press to blame this on Jindal and praise Obama’s response.

[texgal]

God Bless these folks who may lose everything to the floods. My prayers are with them.

[Qbert]

Thoughts and prayers, Bitsy.

[trumandogz]

Jindal will do whatever it takes to Save New Orleans.

[Dilbert San Diego]

But if anything bad happens, Jindal will be blamed.

But I thought the MSM taught us during Katrina that the president is always to blame for perceived inadequate response to disasters.

However, that MSM rule only applies to Republicans. If a good Democrat is president, then by definition, he cannot be blamed. So then the blame goes to the ranking Republican, in this case, Governor Jindal.

[Sacajaweau]

what a difference a good leader makes.........

[GailA]

BEST HEED HIS ADVICE, THIS ONE IS SLOW RISING, EVEN SLOWER FALLING. We just got our first FEMA 1 bus in Memphis today. Bridges and roads that are closed may not be opened for months until T-DOT inspects them and clears them.

Our local gov’t has been real pro-active getting people and things out of harms way.

[GailA]

Jindal isn’t nagan...he will get on TV and point fingers at 0 for failing to have help stationed nearby, like W did. Nagan was responsible for the loss of lots of those lives and living conditions. He stopped FEMA from coming in for a long time to cause W trouble and make it look like he didn’t care.

0 is coming to Memphis for Booker T Washington’s grad speech, and he will meet with first responders, ‘selected’ flood victims and local gov’t officials too. PHOTO OPP.

Our local gov’t has been REAL pro active.

[Rome2000]

Get a boat, once that thing is opened they won’t be able to close it.

[mad_as_he$$]

Time to move Swamp People!! Troy ya hear...

[GailA]

That is why they blew those levies in ILL.

[deport]

There some 150 gates on the spillway. The gates will be opened as needed to keep the flow rate of the MS river at or below the established max of 1.5 million cu ft per sec.

A school bus along with other vehicles cross the Morganza Spillway Thursday, May 12, 2011, in Morganza.
(Photo by Brad Kemp/ bkemp@theadvertiser.com)

[ncalburt]

Actually its to save Baton Rouge and its suburbs just south.
The levee is open between BR and NO which has placed the water level here below the levees but 1 ft if this levee was not opened.

[flyover]

Except for blaming Jendahl, I agree with your statement. It appears they are willing to destroy the entire Mississippi Basin in order to save New Orleans. The levees in Southeast Missouri were blown to save Cairo Ill and ultimately New Orleans. I doubt that the city of Cairo was worth as much as the cost of the crops and homes in Southeast Missouri but the cost to the Corp of Engineers would have been much greater in that the claim that "the Corp is racist" would be heard for the next 10 years.

[Wonder Warthog]

"Get a boat, once that thing is opened they won’t be able to close it."

Baloney. WHERE did you come up with THAT notion.

Note: I grew up in that area, watched the Morganza (and Old River) being built, was there for the 1973 flood, and drove over it for many years after that ('til 1995, when I moved to Washington for business reasons).

[trumandogz]

Without opening the spillway, the river would rise to more than 19 feet in New Orleans and that would be enough to breach the levee.

The bottom line is that they must save New Orleans.