St. Bernard Parish officials on Monday halted the return of parish residents and called for a mandatory evacuation starting tomorrow, as Tropical Storm Rita churned into the Gulf of Mexico and threatened to affect the parish.
Officials made the decision after a conference call in which Corps of Engineers officials said Katrina’s damage to the parish’s levees means the area is vulnerable to even a small surge.
Earlier today, officials announced they would let in those residents scheduled to come in tomorrow, but would close the parish for the rest of the week. They said, however, that the parish is too much at risk to let people in.
The storm is projected to hit Texas. But Katrina, which flooded almost the entire parish with as much as 20 feet of water, destroyed much of the levees that protect the parish.
“We’re starting all over again. The only difference is I don’t have as many people to evacuate,” said Larry Ingergiola, the parish’s emergency preparedness director.
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