and so you re absolutely right. and this is very early to be seeing that on pontchartrain. pontchartrain and mississippi river is what the levies protect new orleans from. if you re seeing water topple over that, that s not good news. what we re hoping is the levee systems hold which is what didn t happen in katrina. they ve been fortified since then. all right, rick like mitt, thanks, rick like mitt, than. eric: heavy rain and flooding in new orleans, you ll remember the impact of hurricanes on that wonderful city, this exactly 16 years ago when hurricane katrina swept through. that flooding and the devastating winds killing about 1800 people. jeff paul now live, he s on the mississippi banks of the river, in river front park, downtown new orleans at the french quarter. jeff, the situation there?
rain-soaked louisiana and western mississippi. joining me senator from south carolina, lindsey graham, hard to imagine this storm is just now a category 3, when hugo was and devastated our state. 30 years ago. yes this is the anniversary of cat hurricane katrina hitting new orleans. we spent 18 billion on the levee systems, i hope it holds, i am sure it will. a tough night in america, hurricane hitting louisiana, 13 service members broad back from afghanistan, paying ultimate sacrifice, i was told, a couple hours ago we ll abandon the embassy all diplomatic resources will be taken out of afghanistan. in the next few days we ll close the gates, everyone
this time around? we those at stormont protections work this time around? those at stormont protections work this time around? we sure hope so. katrina certainly this time around? we sure hope so. katrina certainly exposed this time around? we sure hope so. katrina certainly exposed a - this time around? we sure hope so. katrina certainly exposed a lot - this time around? we sure hope so. katrina certainly exposed a lot of. katrina certainly exposed a lot of the weaknesses in our levy infrastructure is not a lot of that has been prepared and the levys have been made more robust, certainly in areas where we get those problems. this storm is hitting. it will test those rebuilt levies, but the highest surges will be in a slightly different location, it will hit to some other levee systems, so only time will tell. i hope those that levies will hold out. this surge, it is not quite as bad as what we saw with katrina, at least not expected to be. katrina produced a 28 point surge, to gi
seriously. it s not just the coast, it s not just new orleans, it s north as well. the rainfall is expected to be exceedingly high. to the people of the gulf coast, i want you to know we re praying for the best and planning, preparing for the worst. as soon as the storm passes, we will put the country s full might behind the rescue to recovery. i m no expert, but i ve been for a lot of hurricanes. i don t think we ve ever had as much preparation, long-term preparation with the levee systems, and preparation here thanks to the administrator s leadership and the hard work of the fema team, many of whom are gathered behind me. we have already pre-positioned resources that we know will be needed, and equipment and response teams in the region. this includes 2.5 million meals,
stronger. is louisiana ready for it? well, jake, first of all, thank you for having me on this morning. we re as ready as we can be. this is going to be a very serious test for our levee systems, especially in coastal louisiana and for our people. and it comes at a time that, quite frankly, it presents some very challenging difficulties for us with the hospitals being so full of covid patients. we ve got about 2,450 patients as well as other patients in the hospital as well. this is going to be a challenge for us. i can tell you the people of louisiana, particularly along the coast and southeast louisiana, did a very good job of heeding the evacuation orders, both voluntary and mandatory. we have an awful lot of assets pre-positioned, whether it s linemen, whether it s national guardsmen, vehicles,