The US Army Corp of Engineers lost a court case brought by six plaintiffs over damages from 2005 hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The judge ruled that the Army Corps for 40 years had not maintained a shipping channel between the city and the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in widespread flooding in two areas, Lower 9th Ward and St Bernard Parish. Five of the six were awarded damages from $100,000 to $350,000, but the ruling will now mean compensation for hundreds of others in the two districts.
Links to other sites: CNN, Times-Picayune, New Orleans
Hurricane Jimena, now a category five storm, was headed for Mexico’s Baja California coast and authorities made plans to evacuate up to 20,000 families in high-risk areas. The US national weather service said heavy rains and waves battering the coast, as well as storm surges were likely. It added that the hurricane could lose some of its power before it touches land Tuesday 1 September or Wednesday 2 September. BBC, CNN
(Reuters video) Hurricane Ike is gathering strength and could be a category 4 storm by the time it hits land in the next few hours, probably near Galveston. A category 4 hurricane in 1900 in Galveston killed 6,000 people, the worst natural disaster in US history. Interview with the head of the National Hurricane Center. Reuters
Hurricane Ike has knocked down buildings in Cuba, enfeebled by the more powerful hurricane Gustav. Reuters video
