Cajun Country Seethes Under Gustav's Fury

New Orleans Suffers Only A Glancing Blow; Hurricane Downgraded To Tropical Storm

(CBS/AP)  It could be days until the full extent of the damage is known, especially in the fishing villages and oil-and-gas towns of bayou country, where rapid erosion in recent decades has destroyed swamps and robbed the area of a natural buffer against storms.

Keith Cologne of Chauvin, not far from Cocodrie, looked dejected after talking by telephone to a friend who didn't evacuate. "They said it's bad, real bad. There are roofs lying all over. It's all gone," said Cologne, staying at a hotel in Orange Beach, Ala.

In St. Mary Parish, to the west, Deputy Sheriff Troy Brown cleared roads with a chain saw as he went out to assess damage. He found uprooted trees, houses without some shingles, but few signs of monster hit. "Even the mobile homes are sitting there in one piece," Brown said.

One community in southeastern Louisiana feared its levee wouldn't hold. As many as 300 homes in Plaquemines Parish were threatened, and the parish president called a TV station to plead with any residents who stayed behind to flee.

While Katrina smashed the Gulf Coast with an epic storm surge that topped 27 feet, the surge this time in New Orleans reached 12 feet, near the top of the Industrial Canal, on the eastern side of the city.

Officials expressed confidence all day long that the flood defenses in the eastern part of the city would hold. They were more concerned about the West Bank of the Mississsippi River, where the $15 billion in levee improvements begun after Katrina have yet to be completed. But those floodwalls appeared to be holding, too.

Gustav was quickly marching inland, reducing the prospect of heavy rain in southern Louisiana. "From what I've seen, New Orleans metro should be back in business" on Tuesday, said Bill Read, director of the National Hurricane Center.

(Right: A member of the National Guard blocks the Westbound entrance to the Industrial Street Canal as Hurricane Gustav comes in Monday, Sept. 1, 2008, in New Orleans.)

But Read said the storm will slow down as it heads into Texas and possibly into Arkansas, and could bring 20 inches of rain to those areas.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency stood ready to distribute enough cartons of food, water, blankets and other supplies to sustain 1 million people for three days - another contrast to Katrina, when thousands waited for rescue in the sweltering Superdome.

"With Katrina they didn't come and rescue us until the next day," said LaTriste Washington, 32, who stayed in her home during the 2005 hurricane and was rescued by boat. She was in a shelter in Birmingham, Ala., on Monday. "This time they were ready and had buses lined up for us to leave New Orleans."


New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin hinted the city could be reopened as early as Tuesday, once the city assesses damage and is sure its neighborhoods are safe. Drinking water continued to flow in the city and the pumps that keep it dry never shut down, two critical service failings that contributed to Katrina's toll. But two-thirds of the city's electric customers were without power, as the storm damaged transmission lines that snapped like rubber bands in the wind and knocked 35 substations out of service.

The decision to reopen the city was eagerly awaited by those who fled the coast and watched the storm unfold on TV from shelters across the region.

As Gustav passed, authorities turned their attention to Hurricane Hanna, which could come ashore in Georgia and South Carolina late in the week.

In New Orleans, many trees, light poles, traffic lights and signs had been blown down, and debris was strewn across the streets. But there was no flooding or major damage, and the storm brought only 3 inches of rain or less to the city. Police reported making just a single arrest.

Gerald Boulmay, 61, a hotel employee in New Orleans, emerged into a dry French Quarter not long after the rain stopped in midafternoon. The skies were brightening and the wind was breezy. But mindful of how the full extent of Katrina's damage did not become clear until the storm had passed, he was still worried about a levee breach.

"I don't think we're out of the woods," Boulmay said. "We still have to worry about the water."

[keithle1]

Why do poor people have so many kids?

[keithle1]

You visit New Orleans for a few days. You don''t live there. I mean, come on. Is it that great? If you live there, feel free to list its good points. The things that make you wanna put up with this circus every year.

[keithle1]

I loves living on the Louisiana coast. Me & my 8 kids. I''m 24. Unmarried. Never a dull moment here. We is always picking up & going somewhere when a big storm hits. You want some of my homemade gumbo?

[mellie1957]

betty2700630 get a life.

[abmitus]

There are some very ignorant people posting comments on this article. I the shoe fits, wear it. You know who you are. IDIOTS!!

[rickstas]

AnitaY417, get some sleep.

[barbaraf4]

I wouldn''t relax too much. There are several other storms lined up in the ocean. If I remember correctly, hurricane Ivan came in and everyone relaxed just about the time Katrina rolled in.

[annia1233]

Thanking God that brought a category 2 hurricane this time not to open the badly and barely healing wound. Do not make little out of it. It could have been terrible again. The place could have been this time declared a swamp national park. Thank God for his kindness, BUT, watch out; the big one may come sooner than later and we may still have the New orleans swamp national park.

[mawskrat]

blame Bush .....the storm was a bust

[negrovoter]

Does this mean no gumbo tonight?

[sistatee-2009]

Hurricane ain''t as bad as a drive-by.

[kenhamlett]

Personally I have found this storm to be an example of the improvements across the board in disaster response. I am especially impressed with the National Weather Service for its early and fairly accurate trajectory estimates. This is a major improvement over the 3 years since Katrina. They were way off on the final force at landfall but I suspect the news services embellished that for dramatic effect.
There was also a shockingly orderly evacuation this time. I guess the residents of the area have learned to listen when the mayor gives a warning.
Finally on tonight''s news which replaced the Republican Convention coverage, we learned that KC looks great in a baseball cap while delivering high quality on the spot coverage.
All in all an impressive but wet weekend for everyone.

[hbevis]

THE STORM IS NOT OVER YET.... WITH WATER GOING OVER THE TOP IN SOME PLACES ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. WE JUST HAVE TO HOPE THAT IT DOES NOT GET ANY WORSE.