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New Orleans' 9th Ward floodsNagin: 'This nightmare just continues for us'
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YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSNEW ORLEANS (CNN) -- As water continued to pour over patched levees in New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin late Friday told CNN, "This nightmare just continues for us." He said the city's Lower 9th Ward is inundated by 3 to 4 feet of water. Conditions around the city are expected to worsen throughout the night as Hurricane Rita approaches the Gulf coast, with an expected landfall near the Louisiana-Texas state border around daybreak Saturday. (Full story) "Our concern is a storm surge," Nagin said. "We really can't take anything more than about a 6 or 7 foot storm surge." However, by 9 p.m. Friday, Lake Pontchartrain was experiencing a surge of nearly 6 feet, according to CNN Weather. Earlier in the day, an 8-foot storm surge sent water pouring over two patched levees. (Watch new floodwaters rush into New Orleans -- :58 The water then entered the Upper 9th Ward, Lower 9th Ward and Gentilly neighborhoods, as well as the Maersk Sealand container terminal. And Nagin urged the media to leave such flooded areas immediately because of safety concerns. "We did not expect this early that we'd get this level of the surge," Brig. Gen. Robert Crear said. The flooding forced a skeleton crew of National Guard soldiers stationed in the Lower 9th Ward to evacuate. The National Hurricane Center said New Orleans may experience 3 to 5 inches of rain and tides about 4 to 6 feet higher than usual from Hurricane Rita. The Army Corps of Engineers has said such amounts may overwhelm the fragile levee system. The 9th Ward is the low-lying and now empty neighborhood that was devastated last month when Hurricane Katrina damaged the levees, causing water from Lake Pontchartrain to flood the city. Many people there were forced to their rooftops because of the high water. One resident of the Ninth Ward, watching the flooding on TV at a shelter, told The Associated Press: "It's like looking at a murder. ... The first time is bad. After that, you numb up." Authorities are also closely watching the levee system around St. Bernard Parish, just east of New Orleans, said another official with the Army Corps. "We haven't had any problems yet," said Col. Duane Gapinski. But he noted that the area, where one levee was severely degraded by Katrina, is now relying on back levees for protection. Flooding had been expected, but not until Hurricane Rita had made landfall. By Friday evening, its outer bands were already lashing the region. Although Crear said that the floodwater will be pumped out when it reaches the pump stations, they have been operating at only about 35 percent capacity because of damage caused by Katrina. The corps is positioning equipment and supplies "so that when that situation gets better we can move in and start working on the breach in earnest," he said. The corps also will search the 9th Ward neighborhood with rescue boats, Lt. Gen. Russel Honore said. Hurricane Rita's strengthening winds have grounded helicopters. Officials said they believe all residents had already evacuated. "The only people that were there were emergency workers doing recovery missions," said CNN's Mary Snow, who accompanied a crew Thursday. "Some people had started to return home to get what they could, but they were being turned away." The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport remains open but a spokesperson urged travelers to check with airlines for flight cancellations. Continental and Southwest airlines canceled all flights scheduled for Friday and Saturday; Delta canceled all flights scheduled after 4 p.m. Friday. CNN's Carol Costello, Tracy Sabo, Mary Snow, Barbara Starr and Adaora Udoji contributed to this report. Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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