NEW ORLEANS – That familiar churning knot in the stomach and bad memories are still there.
By Walter Michot, AP
Tropical Storm Isaac's winds and rain whip around Sunday at Clarence Higgs Beach in Key West.
But, overall, people across this city said Sunday they feel better prepared, better protected and in overall better spirits about the tropical storm barreling their way than they did seven years ago this week, when Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, destroying about 80% of the city and killing about 1,800 across the Gulf Coast.
Many residents who lost homes and businesses during Katrina, began packing up Sunday and heading out of the path of Tropical Storm Isaac, which forecasters say should build to at least a Category 2 hurricane in the next two days and make landfall somewhere nearby.
St. Charles Parish ordered the evacuation of all 53,000 residents Sunday evening. A mandatory evacuation for today was ordered for the east bank of Plaquemines Parish.
"Today, seven years later, it's still fresh on people's minds," said Linda Jackson, president of the Lower 9th Ward Homeowners Association.Television pictures of Lower 9th Ward residents stranded on rooftops became the lasting image of Katrina.
What to do in the event of a major storm is talked about at monthly homeowners meetings, year-round, Jackson said. Despite having levees 16 feet higher than they were during Katrina, most of the neighborhood's 4,000 residents plan on leaving, she said.
"Today, when we get rain, we get thinking," Jackson said. "I think we're OK, but we're not that OK that we want to stay."
The miles of levees and pumps surrounding the city, which the Army Corps of Engineers spent billions of dollars rebuilding and fortifying after Katrina, make New Orleans a much safer place than it was in 2005, said Ryan Berni, a spokesman for Democratic Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Residents are also better prepared for big storms, having gone through Katrina in 2005 and Gustav, which just missed the city in 2008.
The city will wait until a Category 3 hurricane is forecasted before triggering mass evacuation plans and opening shelters, Berni said. So far, officials are advising residents who plan to stay to prepare for several days without power or water.
"We're much better prepared than we've ever been in our city's history," he said. "Our citizens are battle-tested and have shown resiliency. The important thing is for people not to become complacent."
Many weren't on Sunday.
Jordan Schwartz, 20, a student at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, said his parents called Sunday to say they were evacuating their New Orleans home and coming to ride out the storm with him. That sense of urgency was spawned by Katrina, he said.
"Before Katrina we didn't take (storms) as seriously as we should have," Schwartz said. "Now everyone is uptight about it. I know everyone is starting to make plans about how they can go stay somewhere else. It takes a while and the longer you wait to evacuate the harder it gets."
Jindal said Sunday he had authorized 4,000 Louisiana National Guard troops to stand by if needed to secure parts of southern Louisiana hit during the storm, and the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries was readying 200 boats for high-water rescues.
As of Sunday afternoon, Isaac was forecast to make landfall somewhere near Gulfport, Miss., but could still hit anywhere from Port Arthur, Texas, to Panama City, Fla., AccuWeather meteorologist Carl Erickson said. The storm should hit as a strong Category 2 hurricane, with winds reaching up to 110 mph or could potentially still be a Category 3 storm at landfall, he said. A Category 3 storm has winds between 111 and 130 miles per hour.
"Storm surge and flooding are the main threats from Isaac at this point," Erickson said.
Michelle Ingram, 42, owner of Zeus' Place, a New Orleans pet boarding and rescue business, said she made the decision late Saturday to move her 32 rescue dogs and cats to a friend's ranch in Mississippi. That meant buying 40 pounds of cat food, 80 pounds of dog food and 100 pounds of kitty litter and packing up all the pets for the 2½-hour drive north.
Katrina took Ingram's home, and Gustav forced her to move all of her pets to Mississippi.
This time around, the move is going more smoothly, even though Ingram has less time in which to do it, she said. Still, leaving is tough. "There's always this thought that when I leave, I'll never see my house again," Ingram said.
Contributing: Natalie DiBlasio and Doyle Rice in McLean, Va.
By Walter Michot, AP
Tropical Storm Isaac's winds and rain whip around Sunday at Clarence Higgs Beach in Key West.
But, overall, people across this city said Sunday they feel better prepared, better protected and in overall better spirits about the tropical storm barreling their way than they did seven years ago this week, when Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, destroying about 80% of the city and killing about 1,800 across the Gulf Coast.
Many residents who lost homes and businesses during Katrina, began packing up Sunday and heading out of the path of Tropical Storm Isaac, which forecasters say should build to at least a Category 2 hurricane in the next two days and make landfall somewhere nearby.
- [h=3]STORY: Isaac could strike New Orleans, one model predicts[/h]
St. Charles Parish ordered the evacuation of all 53,000 residents Sunday evening. A mandatory evacuation for today was ordered for the east bank of Plaquemines Parish.
"Today, seven years later, it's still fresh on people's minds," said Linda Jackson, president of the Lower 9th Ward Homeowners Association.Television pictures of Lower 9th Ward residents stranded on rooftops became the lasting image of Katrina.
What to do in the event of a major storm is talked about at monthly homeowners meetings, year-round, Jackson said. Despite having levees 16 feet higher than they were during Katrina, most of the neighborhood's 4,000 residents plan on leaving, she said.
"Today, when we get rain, we get thinking," Jackson said. "I think we're OK, but we're not that OK that we want to stay."
The miles of levees and pumps surrounding the city, which the Army Corps of Engineers spent billions of dollars rebuilding and fortifying after Katrina, make New Orleans a much safer place than it was in 2005, said Ryan Berni, a spokesman for Democratic Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Residents are also better prepared for big storms, having gone through Katrina in 2005 and Gustav, which just missed the city in 2008.
The city will wait until a Category 3 hurricane is forecasted before triggering mass evacuation plans and opening shelters, Berni said. So far, officials are advising residents who plan to stay to prepare for several days without power or water.
"We're much better prepared than we've ever been in our city's history," he said. "Our citizens are battle-tested and have shown resiliency. The important thing is for people not to become complacent."
Many weren't on Sunday.
Jordan Schwartz, 20, a student at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, said his parents called Sunday to say they were evacuating their New Orleans home and coming to ride out the storm with him. That sense of urgency was spawned by Katrina, he said.
"Before Katrina we didn't take (storms) as seriously as we should have," Schwartz said. "Now everyone is uptight about it. I know everyone is starting to make plans about how they can go stay somewhere else. It takes a while and the longer you wait to evacuate the harder it gets."
Jindal said Sunday he had authorized 4,000 Louisiana National Guard troops to stand by if needed to secure parts of southern Louisiana hit during the storm, and the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries was readying 200 boats for high-water rescues.
As of Sunday afternoon, Isaac was forecast to make landfall somewhere near Gulfport, Miss., but could still hit anywhere from Port Arthur, Texas, to Panama City, Fla., AccuWeather meteorologist Carl Erickson said. The storm should hit as a strong Category 2 hurricane, with winds reaching up to 110 mph or could potentially still be a Category 3 storm at landfall, he said. A Category 3 storm has winds between 111 and 130 miles per hour.
"Storm surge and flooding are the main threats from Isaac at this point," Erickson said.
Michelle Ingram, 42, owner of Zeus' Place, a New Orleans pet boarding and rescue business, said she made the decision late Saturday to move her 32 rescue dogs and cats to a friend's ranch in Mississippi. That meant buying 40 pounds of cat food, 80 pounds of dog food and 100 pounds of kitty litter and packing up all the pets for the 2½-hour drive north.
Katrina took Ingram's home, and Gustav forced her to move all of her pets to Mississippi.
This time around, the move is going more smoothly, even though Ingram has less time in which to do it, she said. Still, leaving is tough. "There's always this thought that when I leave, I'll never see my house again," Ingram said.
Contributing: Natalie DiBlasio and Doyle Rice in McLean, Va.