Show New Orleans Struck Down By Uneasy i Neighbor Kevin Sack Los Angeles Times In 1718 French colonist Jean Baptiste LeMoyne de Bienville ignored his engineers engineers' engineers engineers' engineers engineers' engi engi- warnings about the hazards of flooding and mapped a settlement in a pinch of swampland between the mouth of the Mississippi River the Gulf of Mexico and a massive lake to the north Ever since the water has both sustained New Orleans and perpetually threatened it Somehow until this week the mystique mystique mystique mys mys- tique of the water had always washed away the foreboding of disaster asif asif as asif if carrying the city's worries worries worries wor wor- ries downstream That was true even early Tuesday morning when Hurricane Katrina's minute last-minute veer to the east convinced many New Orleans residents residents residents resi resi- dents they had once again eluded the Fates But when the rainfall brought by Katrina breached levees and overwhelmed overwhelmed overwhelmed over over- whelmed the city's pump pump- ing stations the catastrophic catastrophic catastrophic cata cata- strophic consequences of Bienville's miscalculation could no longer be ignored New Orleans a city that has struggled to keep its head above water physically physically physically cally and economically isnow is isnow isnow now a city submerged City officials estimated that 80 percent of the town was under standing water on Tuesday with some areas beneath as much as 20 feet Water coursed through the French Quarter one of the highest points in a city that is largely below sea level In broad swaths the flooding submerged low- low lying neighborhoods up to the rooftops and left one I of Americas America's most enchanting cities a sodden ruin For locals it is a cruel paradox The water that has given New Orleans its life its very commerce its cuisine even the meandering meandering meandering mean mean- dering flow of its daily pace has now rendered their beloved city almost unrecognizable |