New Orleans Avoids Total Destruction (Wizbang)

It appears that the catastrophic flooding of New Orleans that everyone feared has been avoided. The US Army Corps of Engineers shows near real-time measurements of the levy system on the Mississippi at RiverGauges.com. Here's the latest graph (with record high level in red):

Click for full size graphic

It was suggested that the 8 foot mark on Lake Pontchartrain would be catastrophic. Among the levies on the Mississippi the peak levels appear to have been reached, as shown below.

Click for full size graphic

There's still widespread flooding, and portions of the city are said to have 6 feet or more of floodwaters, but the possibility of the entire city vanishing under 30 feet of water seems to have been avoided by a last minute eastward shift of the eye of the hurricane by 55 miles. Of course now it's just a horrific disaster, as opposed to an unprecedented one...

Katrina pounds Louisiana, Gulf Coast - [CNN]
La., Miss., Ala. feel Hurricane Katrina's pain - [MSNBC]

Update: Perhaps the early optimism was, well, too optimistic...

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Comments (10)

The time of the last readin... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by Anonymous | August 29, 2005 2:30 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Anonymous:

The time of the last reading on the graph (and the web site) appears to be 05:00, so I wouldn't be so sure that the city is out of the woods yet based on this information.

Posted on August 29, 2005 14:30

Thank God!... (Below threshold)

2. Posted by Greg | August 29, 2005 2:56 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Greg:

Thank God!

Posted on August 29, 2005 14:56

Uh oh, aren't we giving ide... (Below threshold)

3. Posted by Palmateer | August 29, 2005 2:59 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Palmateer:

Uh oh, aren't we giving ideas to the Terrorists?

Posted on August 29, 2005 14:59

Well, but for a bit of luck... (Below threshold)

4. Posted by Buddy | August 29, 2005 3:03 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Buddy:

Well, but for a bit of luck with the slowdown and a more northerly turn, NO would be in very, very bad shape. That's not to say NO wasn't hit pretty bad, nor to say that it's 'out of the weather' so to speak yet, either. There's alot of water that got dumped on the lake and northward, and it's going to move somewhere -- This speaking from experience from the Hurricanes in FL last year. Those flows can be pretty unpredictable (though a topo map helps identify weak spots I suppose) and can develop hours and days later in places you might not have expected it to happen, especially in an already saturated area.

In N FL we had water pop up all over the place in areas we never really expected with Frances and Jeanne. There's more to it than just the inital onslaught.. there's going to be flooding issues for weeks to come.

Plus just because NO didn't get smashed doesn't mean Gulfport MS and other areas east of NO didn't get it. There's alot of little towns east of NO that you probably won't hear about for a while that are pretty wrecked, you can bet on it. The aerial flyovers of Hancock, St Bernard and Harrison counties (and northward) are going to be fun over the next week, I'm sure.

Posted on August 29, 2005 15:03

For some reason my trackbac... (Below threshold)

5. Posted by Dave Schuler | August 29, 2005 3:13 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Dave Schuler:

For some reason my trackbacks don't seem to be taking, so ping!

Posted on August 29, 2005 15:13

This is all George Bush's f... (Below threshold)

6. Posted by Cardinals Nation | August 29, 2005 4:22 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Cardinals Nation:

This is all George Bush's fault!

Posted on August 29, 2005 16:22

ideas to terrorists? I'm su... (Below threshold)

7. Posted by Henry | August 29, 2005 7:23 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Henry:

ideas to terrorists? I'm sure they already know about the leveees. And besides, I heard on one of the news channels (every single one of them is covering the hurricane) that one of the levees has broken, explaining the section of new orleans that actually is underwater.

Posted on August 29, 2005 19:23

Palmateer---indeed, we are!... (Below threshold)

8. Posted by mcg | August 29, 2005 10:07 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

mcg:

Palmateer---indeed, we are! I mean, if they can just figure out how to get the Mississippi River to rise above 30 feet, New Orleans is doomed :)

Posted on August 29, 2005 22:07

Is it just me or does the g... (Below threshold)

9. Posted by Mark | August 29, 2005 10:36 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Mark:

Is it just me or does the graph look like it needs a push up bra.
Sorry but I have been thinking and praying for all those girls that wont be able to lift their shirts on Bourbon street...

Posted on August 29, 2005 22:36

If ever there was a post th... (Below threshold)

10. Posted by EricMA | August 31, 2005 9:23 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

EricMA:

If ever there was a post that should be tossed on the Bonfire of the Vanities, this one is it.

Posted on August 31, 2005 09:23

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