Gulf Coast Picks Up Pieces Following Gustav

The Gulf Coast is starting to pick up the pieces from Hurricane Gustav, even as torrential rains continue to soak interior sections of Louisiana into Texas and Arkansas.

In New Orleans, the water has already receded in the Industrial Canal as that was an area of serious concern. There's some debris, but the levees managed to hold. New Orleans was spared the worst of the storm, despite some tense moments. Flooding remains a concern in places like Slidell. Heavy rain and tornado warnings remain in effect from what is now a tropical depression.

Heavy rain and possible tornadoes remained threats to the Gulf Coast region Tuesday as Gustav, centered about 135 miles northwest of Lafayette, Louisiana, moved northwest at 10 mph, according to the hurricane center.

Accumulations of 6 to 12 inches of rain were possible through Thursday over Louisiana, northeastern Texas, western Mississippi, Arkansas, southern Missouri and southeast Oklahoma, the center said.

Seven deaths along the U.S. Gulf Coast were linked to Gustav, including four hospice patients who died during evacuations before the storm made landfall Monday.

Tens of thousands of people who heeded the warnings to evacuate their homes along the Gulf Coast are wondering when they'll get to return home to see what happened to their possessions.

Mayor Whiplash Nagin has told residents to not return to the city just yet. The earliest that residents could hope to return is Wednesday.

Public officials across the New Orleans area cautioned evacuees to stay put because the region is not yet ready to begin accepting people. Power remains out across wide swaths, and storm debris still clutters local roadways. Jefferson Parish public schools and Recovery School District campuses in New Orleans are closed until Monday, and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said the earliest that Catholic schools will reopen is Friday.

Jefferson President Aaron Broussard said he was prepared to make a decision Monday but deferred out of respect to Gov. Bobby Jindal, who had asked all parishes to hold off welcoming residents back and releasing their re-entry plans.

"In the spirit of cooperation, I want to be respectful of the governor and staff and respectful of the region as well," he said.

Nagin promised "re-entry is only days away, and not weeks." An estimated 200,000 people fled New Orleans before Gustav, but Nagin said anyone other than essential city workers and utility employees caught trying to re-enter today will be turned away. He did not provide specifics on how many police or National Guardsmen would be assigned the task.

Broussard said that he intends to release a detailed re-entry plan at a news conference today, after reviewing the latest data with Entergy officials and his timeline with Jindal.

About 122,000 Entergy customers were without power Monday night in Jefferson, Broussard said. He reiterated that homes had not flooded, wind damage was minor and public schools will not reopen until Monday, in an effort to ease citizens' anxieties.

UPDATE:
While the focus is once again on New Orleans, the damage extends well beyond that one city. The Mississippi coast took a hit, as did much of Louisiana. The photo above shows boats tossed about like toys in a bathtub courtesy of the Sun Herald. The damage isn't nearly as extensive as that from Katrina, but it is bad enough in areas still trying to recover from Katrina's wrath. Damage totals may end up in the millions for piers, harbors, and utilities damaged or destroyed.

Once again, storm surge proved the biggest foe. Sustained winds barely hit tropical storm status of 40 mph, with gusts of up to 60 mph. The National Hurricane Center reported that storm surge ranged from 11 feet in Waveland to 6.5 feet in Jackson County.

The small community of Pearlington, nearest the Louisiana line in Hancock County, reported a 19-foot surge that flooded around 100 homes, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

The flooding is not over. Emergency officials in Harrison County warned that rivers would crest above flood stage today.

Several casinos, which feed the Coast's economy and tourism industry, flooded for the second time in three years.