Hurricane season is just around the corner. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell says the city is ready, but now it's time for residents to ready themselves.
"With two weeks to go before June 1, I'm urging our citizens to take action and take their response very, very seriously," Cantrell said.
This season could be a busy one. Initial forecasts predict above average storm activity in the Atlantic, with 14 named storms this year. That includes both tropical storms and hurricanes. Twelve is the average.
Citing the damage to Houston by heavy rain from Hurricane Harvey, Cantrell says she's concerned about all storms — regardless of how they're classified.
"We're getting away from the Category — 1, 2, 3," she said. "We know that a rain event could sit over a city like it did in Harvey. And we have experienced that here in the City of New Orleans."
Massive rain storms flooded low-lying parts of New Orleans last July and August, and revealed that the city's drainage system wasn't working at full capacity. Since then, the city's Sewerage and Water Board has fixed many of the broken drainage pumps and power generators. Cantrell says the system is in much better shape now.
For more information about how to prepare for hurricane season, go to www.getagameplan.org and ready.nola.gov.
Support for the Coastal Desk Comes from the Walton Family Foundation, the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Foundation for Louisiana, and local listeners.
