I thought The Big Easy....

...dodged a big bullet. Guess not.

NEW ORLEANS - Already showered with death and devastation by Katrina’s howling winds and drenching rains, the city braced for more misery Tuesday as water poured through broken levees.

Details on where the levees had given way were hard to come by, but the most serious breach appeared to be "a large section of the vital 17th Street Canal levee, where it connects to the brand new 'hurricane proof' Old Hammond Highway bridge," according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

"The breach sent a churning sea of water from Lake Pontchartrain coursing across Lakeview and into Mid-City, Carrollton, Gentilly, City Park and neighborhoods farther south and east," the newspaper said.

As Glenn Reynolds pointed out, this sucks. And I thought when Katrina zigged instead of zagged the city of New Orleans had been spared. I hope that the engineers working on the problem find a solution fast.

Update: (1:50pm) Via Ed Driscoll I was pointed to a list of places to donate and help those affected by Hurricane Katrina. These folks are going to need our help....