If Hurricane Gustav had maintained or increased its strength before hitting Louisiana, it could have been a repeat of three years ago. But it wasn't, because Gustav decreased to a Category 2 system before landfall.
No doubt, this is wonderful news (of a bullet-dodging type) for Bush Administration officials who have failed to fully rebuild New Orleans' levees during the three years since Hurricane Katrina davastated the city -- party due to levee failures.
The New York Times reports:
"The storm smashed through the bayou country of rural Louisiana, raising fears of widespread coastal erosion and damage to fishing villages that state officials were unable to confirm Monday evening. But before making landfall, it was downgraded from a Category 3 hurricane to Category 2 when its winds slowed to 110 miles per hour, from 115 m.p.h., and state officials said they believed their worst fears had not been realized. It remained a hurricane Monday evening.
"The levees in New Orleans were tested by a heavy storm surge but held, even though the repair and reconstruction work from Hurricane Katrina, which hit three years ago, is far from finished. In Hurricane Gustav’s wake, angry waves pounded against a floodwall on the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, considered a particularly weak link.
Though the water lapped over the wall for hours, there was only ankle-to-knee-deep water on the streets it was protecting, on the edge of the Ninth Ward, a neighborhood that was hit hard after Hurricane Katrina. (NYT)
Obviously, this doesn't mean that there was no damage. Earlier yesterday, CNN reported that hurricane force winds had "slammed" into oil terminals near Port Fourchon:
"The U.S. Department of Energy says 56 percent of the imported and Gulf of Mexico oil entering the United States passes this point."
Other Buck Naked Politics Posts:
* Katrina Tax Breaks go to Luxury Condos in Alabama?
* New Orleans: Still Suffereing After 2 Years & Billions of Dollars
* FEMA: Incompetence or Corruption?
* Court Backs Insurance Companies Against Katrina Victims
* Chronicle of Katrina's Tragic Aftermath
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