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Louisiana begins Harvey evacuations 12 years after Katrina destroyed parts of the state
August 29, 2017
Officials in the state of Louisiana began evacuating certain parts of the state on Tuesday as a result of Hurricane Harvey, which devastated areas in neighboring Texas.
Areas of potential impact and the evacuations
ABC News reported that residents in the Lake Charles area of Louisiana are in the pathway of heavy bands of rain from Harvey, which was eventually downgraded to a tropical storm after making three landfalls in Texas.
According to Lake Charles Fire Department Division Chief Lennie LaFleur, several feet of water flooded the area and forced "hundreds" of evacuations from one neighborhood in particular.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards warned during a press conference held on Monday that "the worst is likely to come for us here."
"We do have a long way to go with this particular storm," he added.
ABC added that flash flood warnings are in effect for southern Louisiana — including New Orleans — as well as parts of southern Mississippi.
Dick Gremillion, Director of Homeland Security and Preparedness, issued the following statement on Tuesday and said, "We are not going to escape this, we are going to get more rain." Gremillion added that though Homeland Security and Preparedness was not currently enforcing mandatory evacuations at the time, the department "strongly" suggested evacuation.
Heavy rain is developing along the south LA coast & expected to expand inland through predawn hours. Flash Flood Watch continues #LAwx #MSwx pic.twitter.com/6SJcuhqyQO
— NWS New Orleans (@NWSNewOrleans) August 29, 2017
School evacuations have already begun in New Orleans, which was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The anniversary of Katrina
The flash flooding set to occur in parts of Louisiana — specifically the New Orleans metro area — evokes memories of Katrina for many, a hurricane that claimed the lives of 1,833 U.S. citizens from Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Georgia.
According to FEMA, Hurricane Katrina is, to date, "the single most catastrophic natural disaster in U.S. history." The storm's resulting damage was estimated to cause approximately 108 billion dollars' worth of damage.
Katrina made landfall in New Orleans as a Category 3 storm on August 29, 2005 — 12 years ago to the date of this post.
As a result of the storm, nearly 1 million people along the gulf coast were displaced.
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