NEW ORLEANS — In an after-action report submitted to Mayor LaToya Cantrell, the city council and the Orleans Parish delegation on Friday, the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans said that contributing factors led to widespread street flooding during severe storms on Wednesday.
The S&WB contributed power problems as a primary issue as several key items resulted in lower than anticipated 25-hz power availability during the rain event.
Trips in EMDs (electro-mechanical devices) and frequency changer breakers forced restarts and caused critical downtime during peak rainfall.
The amount of rainfall was also a major factor despite all 27 underpass station pumps and turbines 5 and 6 being available at the onset of the storms that morning.
The report read:
"This storm resulted in the metro area experiencing a series of high intensity, short duration rain and thunderstorm events that impacted the entire Metro area. Local news outlets reported between 6 and 8 inches [of] total rainfall accumulation throughout the area. The majority of the rainfall was accumulated during the hours of 7 a.m. and 2 p.m., with over 3.5 inches recorded at several stations between the hours of 10 a.m. and 12 p.m."
Read the full report below:
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