New Orleans: No Shelter if You Stay

But blackouts and shortages await returning evacuees

(NEWSER) - All Hurricane Gustav evacuees are being allowed back into New Orleans after Mayor Ray Nagin abandoned a more drawn-out reentry plan, the Washington Post reports. Those returning had trouble locating supplies, and officials warned power outages would add to difficulties. "We'd like to say welcome back, but it's not the way we'd like to do it," one local official said. More»

Other Louisiana parishes allowing residents back today

(NEWSER) - People are returning to their southern Louisiana homes in the wake of a weaker-than-expected Hurricane Gustav, but New Orleans residents will need to wait until one minute before midnight, reports the Times-Picayune, running on an emergency generator. Mayor Ray Nagin warned the city is still "vulnerable" due to lack of power and medical personnel, but is allowing residents back in. More»

(NEWSER) - Six inches of water from Hurricane Gustav is flooding the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans, but the Army Corps of Engineers says the situation is not a major danger, the Times-Picayune reports. The Lower Ninth Ward’s levees, which were reinforced after Hurricane Katrina, have not given way. "There are no breaches," said a spokesman for Mayor Ray Nagin. More»

FEMA, evacuated city prepare for punishing wind and rain

(AP) - Hurricane Gustav crashed into the all-but-deserted Louisiana coast this morning, and the eye landed southwest of New Orleans. Gustav brought punishing wind and sheets of rain but veered away from New Orleans, where only a few holdouts remained, the AP reports. Tens of thousands were without power in New Orleans and other low-lying parishes, but officials said backup generators were keeping city drainage pumps in service. More»

3 die in biggest evacuation in Louisiana history

(NEWSER) - The last bus out of New Orleans drove off at 3pm yesterday, leaving behind a virtual ghost town, reports the Houston Chronicle. An estimated 10,000 residents are left in the hurricane-threatened city, now subject to a strict dusk-to-dawn curfew. Some 1.9 million Louisianans have fled Hurricane Gustav—the biggest evacuation in state history. Three hospital patients died during the operation. More»