Officials say pumps working; warn of additional flood threat

With some New Orleans neighborhoods seeing 8 to 10 inches of rain falling in just a few hours Saturday (Aug. 5), the rainfall overwhelmed the ability of the Sewerage Water Board‘s 24 pump stations to keep up, though all were operating, city officials said Sunday. And they warned that additional thunderstorms could again overwhelm the city’s pumping capacity on Sunday and Monday.

The biggest threat for additional heavy rain is likely Monday afternoon, based on a morning briefing by National Weather Service forecasters, said Aaron Miller, the city’s director of homeland security and emergency preparedness, at a Sunday morning news conference at New Orleans City Hall.

“With current saturation levels of the ground and the water that we’ve seen over the last few days, any additional rain will result in quick runoff, so we want residents to be particularly aware during rains when they’re out on the roads,” Miller said.

The city has no immediate plans to request an emergency declaration from the state, but said that could change once more information on flood damage is collected, said Ryan Berni, deputy mayor for external affairs. He said city emergency officials conducted an initial windshield survey of the most damaged areas on Sunday morning, especially looking at businesses and homes that took on water, and that information reported by residents and businesses over the next few days will be added.

“There are going to be hundreds of vehicles that got water, so we know that, particularly in Lakeview, Gentilly, Mid City and Treme were hot spots for that,” he said.

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The City of New Orleans map above shows where damage has been reported from Saturday’s flooding.

City officials updated the amount of rain falling in various locations on Sunday afternoon:

• Mid City, 9.43 inches
• St. Bernard, 5.74 inches
• St. Roch, 5.62 inches
• Broadmoor, 5.49 inches
• City Park, 4.96 inches
• Lakeview, 4.71 inches
• Gentilly, 3.94 inches
• Lower 9th Ward, 3.64 inches
• Hollygrove, 2.07 inches
• Lower Coast Algiers, 1.54 inches
• New Orleans East, 0.74 inches

“Public safety is our top priority, so we are advising residents to continue to monitor weather conditions and stay alert today,” said Mayor Mitch Landrieu in a news release summarizing Saturday’s storms and the Sunday recovery plans.

“These no-notice rain and flooding events can be very dangerous, but luckily, there was no loss of life,” Landrieu said. “Today, we begin the hard work of assisting those who flooded and getting our streets passable for regular traffic. With additional rain expected today and the rest of this week, I would encourage all of our residents to clean in front of their catch basins.”

According to the news release, the 8 to 10 inches of rain that fell in some neighborhoods equated with a rainfall event that has a 1 percent chance of occurring in any year, a so-called 100-year event.

Other areas saw lesser amounts of rainfall, equaling a 10-percent chance or 10-year event.

“The rate of rainfall in many neighborhoods of the city was one of the highest recorded in recent history,” the news release said, resulting in widespread street flooding in Gentilly, Lakeview, Mid City, Treme and the Central Business District, though there were no reports of loss of life, and only minor injuries.

Sewerage Water Board officials have said city’s drainage pumping system is designed to handle an inch of rainfall during the first hour of an event and a half-inch each hour thereafter. Officials said all 24 pumping stations were on and working on Saturday. The temporary pumping stations at the ends of the 17th Street, London Avenue and Orleans Avenue canals only operate when the floodgates blocking water from Lake Pontchartrain are closed, and thus are not operated during a rainfall event. The three permanent pumping stations under construction at the ends of those canals are not yet complete, but will operate in the same way.

Officials said the city’s public safety agencies, including police, fire and emergency medical services, responded to more than 200 emergency calls related to flooding.

Sunday will see a potential repeat of heavy rainfall in brief periods across much of the New Orleans metropolitan area, warned forecasters with the Slidell office of the National Weather Service.

“Although very high rainfall amounts will not be widespread, any one isolated location could receive very high amounts from 3 to as much as 6 inches of rainfall,” forecasters said in a forecast discussion message. “This is normally not an issue if it is spread through a long period of time, but unfortunately, this amount of rainfall could again fall within a short duration for any particular area.”

The city has put a link on its web site with information on what to do after flooding, including how to file flood insurance claims. Residents are urged to document damage by taking photos:

https://nola.gov/ready/updates/heavy-rains-and-flooding-in-new-orleans-stay-safe/.  More information is available at ready.nola.gov .

New Orleans officials asked residents to report street flooding and life-threatening emergencies to 911, and to remain indoors during heavy rainfall “unless an emergency makes it absolutely necessary for them to get on the road.”

Officials also warned that motorists driving faster than 5 mph through streets with standing water would be ticketed. That warning follows several reports of flooding on Saturday being exacerbated by waves pushed into homes and businesses by vehicles driving through flooded streets.

Police said there were no road closures as of 9:30 a.m. Sunday, but said that could change, depending on additional rainfall.

“Residents are reminded to continue to use caution when driving through areas affected by yesterday’s flooding, as there are stranded vehicles, debris and potential for pooling water,” the city news release said.

Officials said residents with stranded vehicles in the middle of roadways or intersections are expected to move them immediately to the side of the road, preferably into a parking lane, and warned that the Department of Public Works and police “may have to ‘courtesy tow’ vehicles to the side of the roadway” in some cases, and in the case of vehicles abandoned on interstate or major roadway ramps, may have to be towed to the city’s impound lot. Residents won’t be charged to retrieve those vehicles, the news release said.

Folks also will be allowed to park on neutral grounds throughout the city on Sunday, as long as they don’t block intersections or park on streetcar tracks. But all vehicles must be removed from those areas by midnight Sunday, to allow for a return to normal transit operations on Monday morning.

The city asked residents to call 311 for general information and to report non-life threatening emergencies, including sidewalk and road problems and debris, between 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday. The city’s sanitation collection schedule has not changed.

For properties eligible for city collection:

• During the 2nd collection this week, the Sanitation Department will pick up bulky waste including debris, carpeting and other large items. Residents are encouraged to inform 311 of bulky waste pickup needs.
• Tree limbs, branches and carpeting must be cut in four feet (or less) lengths and bundled.  Tree limbs cannot be more than 12 inches in diameter.
• Leaves should be bagged and the bags secured. 
• Garbage and recycling carts should be secured on the associated property, between collections, to avoid spillage during heavy winds, rains and flooding.

City officials said they’d made significant progress by Sunday afternoon in clearing stalled cars and opening up streets to traffic.

Intersections cleared include:

• 1600 and 1700 Basin St. at N. Claiborne Ave. 
• N. Broad St. at Orleans Ave. 
• N. Broad St. at Esplanade Ave. 
• Tulane Ave. at S. Broad Ave. 
• Tulane Ave. at Jefferson Davis Pkwy. 
• Bienville St. at Jefferson Davis Pkwy. 
• N. Broad Ave. at St. Bernard Ave. 
• St. Bernard Ave. to N. Claiborne Ave. 
• N. Claiborne Ave. (Both sides to Canal St.)

Areas cleared or in progress include:

• A.P. Tureaud Ave. 
• Broad St. (A.P. Tureaud Ave. to Tulane Ave.) 
• N. Claiborne Ave. (Poydras St. to Elysian Fields Ave.) 
• Frenchmen St. 
• Rampart St. (Canal St. to Esplanade Ave.) 
• Elysian Fields Ave. (Decatur St. to N. Claiborne Ave) 
• Esplanade Ave. (Decatur St. to Rampart St.) 
• Canal St. (City Park Ave. to N. Claiborne Ave.) 
• St. Bernard St. (I-610 to Carrollton Ave.) 
• Tulane Ave. (Claiborne Ave. to Carrollton Ave.) 
• Earhart Expressway/Calliope St. (Convention Center Blvd. to Orleans Parish Line) 

 

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Darren Daulton, former Phillies All-Star catcher, dies at 55

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Former Philadelphia Phillies All-Star catcher Darren Daulton has died at age 55, the team said Sunday.

Daulton was diagnosed with cancer in 2013 and went into remission in 2015. He was a key part of and leader on the 1993 Phillies team that surprised by winning the National League pennant and lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in six games in the World Series.

“We played hard and did everything hard. It was fun, and that was what made us special,” Daulton once said of the improbable ’93 team.

Daulton was found to have two brain tumors in June 2013 and, after surgery to remove them, was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a highly malignant form of brain cancer, the following month. He underwent radiation, speech therapy and other treatment before announcing he was cancer-free in February 2015.

We will miss you, Dutch.

Our full statement: https://t.co/pGgbB5GF3N pic.twitter.com/jf3fEuc5sy

— Phillies (@Phillies) August 7, 2017

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of 1993 NL Champion and Phillies Wall of Fame catcher Darren Daulton. pic.twitter.com/iPHB9Rn7vg

— Phillies (@Phillies) August 7, 2017

“Darren was a true leader of men,” Phillies chairman emeritus Bill Giles said in a statement. “The Phillies would not have gone to the 1993 World Series without his leadership. In addition to being an outstanding clubhouse leader, he was also a fighter. He battled through five knee operations to become an All-Star. I really enjoyed watching him for 14 years in uniform. Darren was a super human being. His teammates loved him. I loved him like he was one of my own. In fact, he called me ‘Uncle Bill.’”

Glioblastoma has also claimed the lives of other notable baseball players, including Gary Carter, Tug McGraw and Johnny Oates.

Daulton was a bonding force in the Phillies’ clubhouse during his 13½ seasons in Philadelphia. He was known for his work ethic, old-school toughness and smile.

He also was a defensive standout and one of the Phillies’ biggest left-handed bats during his heyday. He won the Silver Slugger Award in 1992, the same season he led the National League in RBIs, with 109. He followed that performance with 105 RBIs (sixth in the NL) in 1993, becoming one of only nine catchers in MLB history to drive in 100 or more runs in back-to-back seasons.

He was named to the All-Star team in 1992, ’93 and ’95.

“All of us at the Phillies are saddened to hear of Darren’s passing,” Phillies chairman David Montgomery said. “From the day that we drafted him until today, he constantly earned our respect and admiration as both a player and person. Darren was the face of our franchise in the early 1990s. Jim Fregosi asked so much of him as catcher, clean-up hitter and team leader. He responded to all three challenges. One of my toughest decisions as team president was to approve his trade to the Marlins in July of 1997. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Amanda, his parents, his brother and his four children. Dutch was truly ‘one of a kind,’ and we will dearly miss him.”

American soccer star and suburban Philadelphia native Carli Lloyd offered her condolences via Twitter.

So sad. My all time favorite. Why I chose #10 jersey. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones. https://t.co/3BnS91rTuE

— Carli Lloyd (@CarliLloyd) August 7, 2017

Injuries and knee problems took a toll on Daulton. He underwent nine knee surgeries over the course of his career, and in his final few seasons, he transitioned to play outfield and first base and pinch hit.

With his career in decline, the Phillies traded Daulton to the Florida Marlins in July 1997. He hit .262 with three home runs and 21 RBIs in 52 games as the Marlins marched into the postseason. He batted cleanup in Game 7 as Florida won the World Series, and then he retired.

He finished his career with a .245 batting average, .357 on-base percentage and .427 slugging percentage.

Daulton was born Jan. 3, 1962, in Arkansas City, Kansas. He was drafted by the Phillies in the 25th round of the 1980 draft and made his debut on Sept. 25, 1983, against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Daulton is survived by his parents, Carol and Dave, of Arkansas City, Kansas; one brother, Dave Jr., of Arkansas City, Kansas; his wife, Amanda, of Clearwater, Florida; and his four children, Zachary (27), Summer (17), Savannah (16) and Darren Jr. (15), all of whom reside in the Clearwater area.

Funeral services for Daulton will be private, the Phillies said.

Information from Associated Press was used in this report.

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