Human error: that’s what the head of the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board says was a “contributing factor” in parts of the city flooding during Saturday afternoon’s rainstorm.
According to SWB executive director Randy Hayman, Carrollton, Uptown, and Hollygrove received 3.5 inches of rain in the span of an hour, while Mid-City received up to three inches in an hour. In addition, Hayman noted that “instantaneous rainfall totals measured between 6.5 and 7.5 inches per hour. Those rainfall totals, Hayman said, overwhelmed surface drainage in much of the city, causing flooding along Claiborne Avenue and at several of the city’s underpasses.
However, Hayman says flooding in other areas was preventable…