Katrina Hits New Orleans
The latest on Hurricane Katrina, which has weakened somewhat but is still very powerful: Hurricane Katrina Rips La., Miss. Coasts.
NEW ORLEANS - Hurricane Katrina plowed into this below-sea-level city Monday with howling, 145-mph winds and blinding rain that ripped away pieces of the roof of the Superdome, knocked out power and flooded some homes to the ceilings.
Katrina weakened overnight to a Category 4 storm and turned slightly eastward before hitting land about 6:10 a.m. CDT east of Grand Isle near the bayou town of Buras, providing some hope that this vulnerable city would be spared the storm’s full fury.
But National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield warned that New Orleans would be pounded throughout the day and that Katrina’s potential 15-foot storm surge, down from a feared 28 feet, was still substantial enough to cause extensive flooding.
UPDATE at 8/29/05 7:42:10 am:
Lots of links to information about Katrina at PunditGuy: Goodbye Big Easy.