NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Latest on New Orleans flooding (all times local):
4:30 p.m.
New Orleans City Council members say damage from weekend flooding probably won’t qualify as a federal or state disaster.
Council President Jason Williams and Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell spoke separately with The Associated Press after visiting flooded areas Monday.
Both say they don’t have a dollar value on damage, but it probably won’t reach the threshold for federal and state disaster aid.
Williams says he plans Tuesday’s special council meeting as “an autopsy of every single thing that happened between Saturday and Sunday.” He says that includes the number of pumps at each of the 24 pumping stations, their condition and when they were turned on.
Williams says he also wants to learn whether drainage projects in other parts of the city are causing backups in areas that typically have not flooded.
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1 p.m.
New Orleans is drying out after torrential rains flooded parts of the city for the second time in two weeks. The City Council has called a special meeting for Tuesday. Members say they want proof the drainage system is working.
Sewerage and Water Board spokeswoman Lisa Jackson says there was just too much rain, too fast. The city can pump out an inch (25 millimeters) of rain in the first hour and one-half-inch (13 millimeters) each hour after that. She says one station got 9.4 inches (239 millimeters) in three hours Saturday.
The state transportation department says four interstate exits remained closed early Monday, but all reopened before noon.
Parts of the city also flooded July 22.
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