Because the storm is still unpredictable, there’s not enough information to make that decision, he said.
It is too early to consider an evacuation of New Orleans ahead of Tropical Storm Harvey, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said Thursday (Aug. 24) .
Landrieu’s remarks came during a press briefing as forecasters were announcing that Harvey would likely hit the south Texas coast as a category 3 hurricane. The National Hurricane Center said in a 10 a.m. update the storm was about 366 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, and moving north-northwest at 10 miles per hour with maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour.
Louisiana is not expected to take a direct hit from Harvey, but heavy rain could be in store for the greater New Orleans area next week. Early forecasts from the National Weather Service show between 4 and 6 inches of rain. Landrieu said his team is bracing for 5 to 10 inches over several days, starting Sunday.
If a localized area of the city sees much rain in a short time — as it did in the July 22 and Aug. 5 floods — it would not make a difference if the city’s drainage system was at maximum capacity, Landrieu said.
“There are no circumstances where the people of New Orleans should expect to be dry all the time, ” the mayor said.
Landrieu repeated that the city has not prioritized any neighborhoods for evacuation. A Lakeview civic group received and disseminated contrary information from a participant in one of the city’s disaster scenario exercises last week. The mayor’s office said Wednesday the information was incorrect and Landrieu repeated that assertion Thursday.
An update on the precise capacity of the city’s pumping stations is expected in the next couple of days, the mayor said. Contractors have been working to bring 15 of the city’s 120 pumps back online after they were either inoperable or short of full capacity for the most recent floods.
