when was new orleans told to evacuate for katrina
Timeline of Hurricane Katrina At 5:00 PM EDT, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin announced a state of emergency and a called for a voluntary evacuation. He added that he would stick with the state's evacuation plan and not order a mandatory evacuation until 30 hours before the expected landfall. This would allow those residents in low-lying surrounding parishes to leave first and avoid gridlocked escape routes. However, he did recommend that residents of low-lying areas of the city, such as Algiers and the 9th Ward, get a head start. Nagin said the city would open the Superdome as a shelter of last resort for evacuees with special needs. He advised anyone planning to stay there to bring their own food, drinks and other comforts such as folding chairs. "No weapons, no large items, and bring small quantities of food for three or four days, to be safe," he said.[5] The Louisiana National Guard had delivered three truckloads of water and seven truckloads of MRE's to the Superdome, enough to supply 15,000 people for three days.
Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans In the City of New Orleans, the storm surge caused approximately 23 breaches in drainage canal and navigational canal levees and floodwalls. As mandated in the Flood Control Act of 1965, responsibility for the design and construction of the city's levees belongs to the United States Army Corps of Engineers and responsibility for their maintenance belongs to the Orleans Levee Board.[3][4] The failures of levees and floodwalls during Katrina are considered by experts to be the worst engineering disaster in the history of the United States.[5] By August 31, 2005, 80% of New Orleans was flooded, with some parts under 15 feet (4.6Â m) of water. The famous French Quarter and Garden District escaped flooding because those areas are above sea level. The major breaches included the 17th Street Canal levee, the Industrial Canal levee, and the London Avenue Canal floodwall. These breaches caused the majority of the flooding, according to a June 2007 report by the American Society of Civil Engineers.[6] The flood disaster halted oil production and refining which increased oil prices worldwide.