NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— After heavy rain that led to street flooding yesterday, people are asking once again—what went wrong?
Nick Sintz jumped into action saving a man from the floodwaters on Canal Blvd. and Homedale on Tuesday.
“He was lucky because he had an air bubble in his shirt and that’s how I found him,” Sintz said.
A rescue like this just goes to show how dangerous street flooding gets in New Orleans.
“What we are seeing is rainfall coming, heavier amounts, shorter periods of time. What we get now is too much too soon, and we will see localized flooding. No doubt about that,” Mayor LaToya Cantrell said.
Sewerage & Water Board says in regards to pumping capacity the pumps can handle one inch of rain per hour and a half an inch of rain each hour after that.
“One of our stations at pumping station 12 went offline for about an hour around 5pm,” Mayor Cantrell said.
In addition, Sewerage & Water Board says the pumps at drainage pump stations 6,7, and 12 are working properly. Only one pump at station 6 is out of service.
Mayor Cantrell says the city is doing its part to prevent major flooding.
“Since August of 2021, Department of Public Works has flushed over 10,984 man hole catch basins, throughout the city,” Mayor Cantrell said.
Residents can do their part too.
“Clean our catch basins in front of our homes, around our neighborhoods. If the storm comes fast, we don’t have time,” she said.