Rita Forcing Nagin to Reverse His Call for Early Return

New Orleans mayor orders evacuation
By Ellen Wulfhorst and Andy Sullivan

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on Monday suspended a plan to bring residents back to New Orleans and told all those now in the stricken city to leave because of fears a new storm headed into the Gulf of Mexico could swamp damaged levees and wreak new havoc.

Tropical Storm Rita was moving west from the Atlantic Ocean and expected to enter the Gulf this week, where forecasters said it could grow into a major hurricane.

Current predictions point to a Texas landfall for Rita at week's end, but Nagin said there was a chance it could hit a New Orleans, still reeling from Hurricane Katrina three weeks ago.

"We are suspending all re-entry into the city of New Orleans," Nagin said in a news conference.

"Our levee systems are still in a very weak condition, our pumping stations are still not at full capacity and any type of storm that heads this way and hits us will put the east bank of Orleans Parish in very significant harm's way, so I'm encouraging everyone to leave," Nagin said.

"If we have anything over nine inches of rain and a three-foot surge in any storm we will once again have significant flooding on the east bank," he said.

"Prepare yourself to evacuate Wednesday or even earlier."

Residents who have come back since Katrina hit sounded reluctant to leave again.

"We have plenty of supplies and have no plans to leave," said R.R. Lyon, a 49-year-old art gallery owner in the historic French Quarter. "I think being here and staying is going to be easier than getting back in."

But Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said people should take warnings seriously.

"Every citizen who is able needs to be making preparations," she said at a news conference in Baton Rouge. "We would like anybody below I-10 to think about getting yourself to a safer place."

So Mother Nature has forced that idiot mayor to change his mind about calling for people to come back. The admiral was trying to disuade people from coming back at the same time Nagin was calling for them to return. I understand Nagin's desire to return to normalcy as soon as possible but the safety of the people, who would be returning to a still toxic evironment, must be considered.

Full Story: Nagin Says Evacuate

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