NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Heavy rain sweeping through the region and another Sewerage & Water Board turbine failure led to widespread street flooding Saturday night (Feb. 3) in New Orleans.
The National Weather Service New Orleans issued a flash flood warning until 9:30 p.m. Saturday for northwestern Jefferson Parish, southwestern Orleans Parish and western St. Bernard Parish, where the heaviest bands of training rain were moving through.
The rain prompted city officials to permit neutral ground parking through 6 a.m. Sunday. Excluded from the permission is neutral ground along the St. Charles Avenue parade route and near the Uptown parade starting point near Tchoupitoulas Street and Napoleon Avenue.
Sunday’s parade forecast is much better
Adding to the street flooding potential was the Sewerage & Water Board’s revelation that its Turbine 4 was taken offline during the peak of the rainstorm “for a potential mechanical issue.”
Turbine 4 has been taken offline for a potential mechanical issue. Turbine 5, frequency chargers and EMDs are being utilized.
Pumps are running, but some streets may see localized flooding due to rain intensities. @nolaready lifted parking restrictions until Sun. Feb 4 @ 6AM pic.twitter.com/fSIXfdoPqp
— SWB New Orleans (@SWBNewOrleans) February 4, 2024The utility issued a statement just before 9:30 p.m. that shed little light on what the problem was with Turbine 4.
“Tonight, the amount and intensity of rain that fell over the course of 2-3 hours was upwards of 4-5 inches, with highest rainfall intensities of 6 inches an hour in the Treme area. This surpasses our capacity to handle 1 inch of rain per hour for the first hour and half an inch of rain every hour after.
“Turbine 5 was online before and through the duration of tonight’s rain, as well as our available backup generators (EMDs) and frequency changers. Turbine 4, originally built in 1915, was running this afternoon when operators brought it offline due to a mechanical issue. As always, we will perform an after-action study to see what performed well and what can be improved and we will keep you updated on the status of Turbine 4 returning.”
Among the locations where street flooding was reported Saturday were:
- Magazine Street at Poydras Street
- 3300 block of Jefferson Avenue
- 2700 block of General Meyer Avenue
- 4100 block of Fontainebleau Drive
- Gentilly Boulevard at both Elysian Fields and Franklin avenues
- 4700 block of Chantilly Drive
- France Road at Old Gentilly Road
- Camp Street at 8th Street
- 1900 block of St. Thomas Street
- Patterson Drive at Horace Street
- 9600 block of Old Gentilly Road
- Elysian Fields Avenue at North Galvez and Law streets
- 4800 block of Virgilian Street
- 6900 block of Dorian Street
- Airline Highway and Palmetto Street
- 1400 block of Washington Avenue
- Chef Menteur Highway at Downman Road
- Benefit Street at Elysian Fields Avenue
- Intersection of Chickasaw and Alvar streets
- Poland Avenue’s intersections with North Galvez and North Robertson streets
- 5200 block of Marigny Street
- Navarre Avenue and Marconi Drive
- Intersection of Wilton and Warrington drives
- North Claiborne Avenue at Laharpe Street
- North Broad Street at A.P. Tureaud Avenue
- Basin Street at St. Louis Street
As of 6:15 p.m., the NWS New Orleans said between 2-3 inches of rain already had fallen, with an additional 2 inches possible in the warned area.
The Broadmoor and Uptown areas between Nashville and Jefferson Avenues and South Claiborne Avenue and Fontainebleau Drive, already hit hard by street flooding last Dec. 2, were inundated again Saturday night.
Flooding also was severe in the Lower Garden District, where patrons of the Down The Hatch bar said they were unable to step outside the tavern without wading through several inches of water.
Fox 8 meteorologist Zack Fradella captured video during the peak of the wind and rain showing what he described as tropical storm conditions near the levee in Algiers.
Some locations expected to experience flash flooding include New Orleans, Marrero, Metairie, Avondale, Harvey, Timberlane, Chalmette, Jefferson, Gretna, Harahan, Westwego, Bridge City, Elmwood, River Ridge, Terrytown, Estelle, Woodmere, Waggaman, Arabi and the Lakefront Airport, the NWS said.
For the latest updates on New Orleans street flooding conditions, visit NOLA Ready Streetwise here.
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