Home>News Center>World
         
 

1.2 million warned to leave New Orleans
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-09-15 21:53

More than 1.2 million people in metropolitan New Orleans were warned to get out as 140-mph Hurricane Ivan churned toward the Gulf Coast, threatening to submerge this below-sea-level city in what could be the most disastrous storm to hit in nearly 40 years.

Residents streamed inland in bumper-to-bumper traffic in an agonizingly slow exodus Tuesday amid dire warnings that Ivan could overwhelm New Orleans with up to 20 feet of filthy, chemical-polluted water. About three-quarters of a million more people along the coast in Florida, Mississippi and Alabama also were told to evacuate.


New Orleans residents drive away from the city in an effort to avoid Hurricane Ivan. The fierce storm had the northern US Gulf Coast in its sights after it punished Cuba and killed more than 70 people across the Caribbean. [AFP]

Forecasters said Ivan, blamed for at least 68 deaths in the Caribbean, could reach 160 mph and strengthen to Category 5, the highest level, by the time it blows ashore as early as Thursday somewhere along the Gulf Coast.

"Hopefully the house will still be here when we get back," said Tara Chandra, a doctor at Tulane University in New Orleans who packed up his car, moved plants indoors and tried to book a Houston hotel room. Chandra said he wanted to ride out the storm, but his wife wanted to evacuate: "All the news reports are kind of freaking her out."

With hurricane-force wind extending 105 miles from its center — and forecast to continue as much as 150 miles inland — Ivan could cause significant damage no matter where it strikes. Officials ordered or strongly urged an estimated 1.9 million people in four states to flee to higher ground.

"I beg people on the coast: Do not ride this storm out," Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said, urging people in other parts of the state to open their homes to relatives, friends and co-workers.

At 8 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Ivan was centered about 180 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and moving north-northwest at 12 mph. Forecasters said Ivan could bring a coastal storm surge of 10 to 16 feet, topped by large, battering waves.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami posted a hurricane warning for about a 300-mile swath from Apalachicola in Florida western Panhandle to New Orleans and Grand Isle in Louisiana. Forecasters said Ivan could bring a coastal storm surge of 10 to 16 feet, topped by large, battering waves.

"If we get the kind of tidal surge they are saying, the fishing boats are all going to be in the trees," said Jamee Lowry, owner of a bar and restaurant in Perdido Key, Florida, near the Alabama border.

New Orleans, the nation's largest city below sea level, is particularly vulnerable to flooding, and Mayor Ray Nagin was among the first to urge residents to get out while they can. The city's Louis Armstrong Airport was ordered closed Tuesday night.

Up to 10 feet below sea level in spots, New Orleans is a bowl-shaped depression that sits between the half-mile-wide Mississippi River and Rhode Island-size Lake Pontchartrain. It relies on a system of levees, canals and huge pumps to keep dry.

The city has not taken a major direct hit from a hurricane since Betsy in 1965, when an 8- to 10-foot storm surge submerged parts of the city in seven feet of water. Betsy, a Category 3 storm, was blamed for 74 deaths in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.


People walk past the Corner Oyster Bar and Grill in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 14, 2004. The business is boarding up in preparation of the arrival of Hurricane Ivan, however they are also planning on staying open as long as possible. [AP]

Experts said Ivan could be worse, sending water pouring over levees, flooding to the rooftops and turning streets into a toxic brew of raw sewage, gas and chemicals from nearby refineries.

Nagin said he would "aggressively recommend" people evacuate, but that it would be difficult to order them to, because at least 100,000 in the city rely on public transportation and have no way to leave.

"They say evacuate, but they don't say how I'm supposed to do that," said Latonya Hill, 57, who lives on a disability check and money she picks up cleaning houses or baby sitting. "If I can't walk it or get there on the bus, I don't go. I don't got a car. My daughter don't either."

The mayor also said many people were in town for conventions, and there was nowhere for many of them to go except their hotels.

The National Safety Council, which had about 16,000 delegates in town for its national convention, ended its meeting a day early Tuesday, and delegates faced the problem of getting transportation out of the city.

Despite the potential need for emergency housing, no shelters had been opened in the city as of Tuesday night. Nagin said the city was working on setting up a shelter of "last resort" and added that the Superdome might be used, but a spokesman for the stadium said earlier Tuesday that it was not equipped as a shelter.

By midday Tuesday, traffic on Interstate 10, the major hurricane route out of New Orleans, was at a near standstill, and state police turned the interstate west of the city into a one-way route out. U.S. Highway 61 to Baton Rouge also was jammed.

In the French Quarter, businesses put up plywood and closed their shutters. A few people were still hanging out at Cafe du Monde, a favorite spot for French roast coffee and beignets, and a man playing a trombone outside had a box full of tips.

"They said get out, but I can't change my flight, so I figure I might as well enjoy myself," said George Senton, of Newark, New Jersey, who listened to the music. "At least I'll have had some good coffee and some good music before it gets me."

Elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, thousands of residents, gamblers and tourists crowded northbound roads. Motels were booked as far north as Jackson, Mississippi, and Montgomery, Alabama.

Mississippi regulators ordered a dozen casinos along the state's 75-mile-long coast to close at noon Tuesday. Many gamblers pumped coins into the slot machines right up to closing.

"I don't worry about what's going to happen tomorrow. We can't control it anyway," said Ed Bak of Fairfield, Ohio, who dropped quarters into a machine at the President Casino.

Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, a major shipbuilder for the Navy, closed its Pascagoula shipyard, which employs 12,000.

In Alabama, Gov. Bob Riley ordered the evacuation of coastal resorts. "This is a serious storm that requires serious action to get people out of harm's way," he said.

In Gulf Shores, Alabama, the sugary white beaches and offbeat tourist spots were largely deserted. Workers at Souvenir City, where tourists enter by walking through the mouth of a huge shark, packed up glass figurines for storage in a warehouse.

Along Florida's Panhandle, the sounds of saws and drills filled the air as people put up boards to protect their homes and businesses.

"We are just hoping to still be here," said Matt Claxton, an assistant manager of a Perdido Key seafood restaurant as workers brought the patio furniture inside.



 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Hu: Western systems a "dead end" for China

 

   
 

US Congress resolution on HK opposed

 

   
 

Financial criminals get tough penalty

 

   
 

CPC enhances fight against corruption

 

   
 

Blood reserve growing in quality, quantity

 

   
 

Farmers win case against government agency

 

   
  Insurgents target Iraqi police; 59 dead
   
  US, Europe differ on Iran strategy
   
  1.2 million flee New Orleans ahead of Ivan
   
  Pakistan parliament approves nuclear controls bill
   
  Turkey backs off plan to outlaw adultery
   
  Pentagon delays MDS test, again: report
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 在线观看中文字幕一区| 老司机午夜视频在线观看| 日日摸日日碰夜夜爽亚洲| 免费国产va在线观看视频| 18禁美女黄网站色大片免费观看| 日本亚洲欧美在线视观看| 亚洲国产精品人久久电影| 老司机永久免费视频| 国产青年摘花xxx| 一区二区精品在线| 成年女人毛片免费视频| 久久久久成人精品一区二区 | 在线观看网址入口2020国产| 久久天天躁狠狠躁夜夜2020一| 男女下面一进一出无遮挡gif| 国产片欧美片亚洲片久久综合| 两个人看的视频www在线高清| 日韩av片无码一区二区三区不卡| 亚洲精品欧美精品中文字幕| 精品久久久久久中文字幕| 国产成人久久精品二区三区| 1300部真实小u女视频在线| 小镇姑娘hd电影在线观看| 久久97久久97精品免视看秋霞| 男人和女人做爽爽视频| 国产亚洲欧美视频| 4jzbtv四季彩app下载| 成人黄色在线网站| 久久伊人中文字幕| 欧美牲交a欧美牲交aⅴ图片| 国产av激情无码久久| 制服丝袜自拍偷拍| 国产香蕉在线视频一级毛片| 99在线精品视频| 手机在线看片国产| 亚洲av最新在线观看网址| 男人j桶女人p免费视频| 免费羞羞视频网站| 青青青伊人色综合久久| 国产美女被爆羞羞视频| 一本一道中文字幕无码东京热|