New Orleans Corps employees join team draining Sandy floodwater from New York [View all]

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Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune

The Corps of Engineers' route to draining of New York City's floodwaters after Hurricane Sandy runs through New Orleans. Personnel and equipment used to help "unwater'' the metro area after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Isaac are headed to the Big Apple.

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Mark Gonsky, chief of the New Orleans district's structures branch, and Kevin Wagner, a senior project manager who helped lead the removal of water from New Orleans after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, flew to New York Wednesday to join the multi-district task force, said Mike Stack, chief of emergency management in the New Orleans district. Two public information specialists from New Orleans accompanied them.

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Stack said the unwatering team had a head start in New Orleans, through the development of an outline before Hurricane Katrina that identified where existing pumps were located, what machinery and electrical equipment in the pumping stations might need to be replaced, and the best locations for placing the temporary pumps that were used to drain the city.

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The team will share the lessons learned from their New Orleans experiences with New York City and state officials and representatives of other federal agencies, as they address the best ways of removing millions of gallons of seawater pushed into Manhattan and other New York City boroughs by Sandy's storm surge, Stack said.



Read more: http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2012/10/new_orleans_corps_employees_jo.html

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People in NOLA are thinking of everyone in Sandy's path. Good luck and keep safe.