Louisiana's levees, which gave way during Hurricane Katrina three years ago causing massive flooding throughout the state, likely will withstand the powerful winds and torrential rains of Hurricane Gustav, Governor Bobby Jindal said Sunday.
"If they are 100 percent accurate, they are saying the levees will barely hold or barely be overtopped," citing predictions from weather forecasters and engineering experts at a press conference in the state capital of Baton Rouge, as the killer hurricane barreled toward Louisiana.
But Jindal said it was far too soon to predict with certainty that the flood waters would not overwhelm the levees.
"The surge could be significant," he said.
If the storm "deviates its intensity or path slightly, we could still see significant surge flooding. It's too early, premature to think we're beyond that danger," he cautioned.
All eyes were on the levees on the west bank of the Mississippi River, which were not damaged in Hurricane Katrina and have not been reinforced since then.
Repair on levees that were damaged has not been completed, Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu told CNN.
"We're nervous. This storm is hitting us from the other side this time. The way the storm's moving, it gives us concern," Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu told CNN.
"They weren't damaged during Katrina on the west bank side. The focus hasn't been there. The levees being repaired haven't been completed. They weren't projected to be completed until 2011. We have a huge risk here," he said.
Military and civilian disaster relief operations were on full alert with the memory of the catastrophic hit on New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina almost exactly three years ago, and the local and federal governments' massively bungled response.
With Gustav on course to hit the Louisiana coast southwest of New Orleans around midday Monday, evacuations were ordered and New Orleans bus and train depots were jammed with people, mindful of the extensive flooding Katrina delivered.
