People in the greater New Orleans area are understandably relieved that Tropical Storm Ida, which as a hurricane killed 124 people in El Salvador, has weakened in strength and seems to be ready to skirt the coast. That said, people here take even weakened storms very seriously, so emergency preps are still in full gear. Governor Bobby Jindal, who went through Gustav and Ike last year, didn’t waste any time by declaring a state of emergency in Louisiana yesterday, long before the storm’s expected arrival. New Orleans emergency workers are also getting prepared, doing conference calls with the governor’s people and National Weather Center forecasters. About 18% of the oil platforms in the Gulf are evacuating and 12% of the oil rigs are removing their workers. Almost a third of the the oil production in the Gulf is now "shut in." That means the safety valves under the water are closed to prevent leaks. The Gulf supplies about a fourth of the U.S. domestic oil and gas supply.

The areas that are most at risk are coastal communities, places that get flooded by a heavy rain storms, much less those of the tropical variety. Grand Isle, for example, was devastated during Hurricane Gustav, and Plaquemines Parish, about an hour or so southeast of New Orleans has yet to get the levee protection it needs post-Katrina. Plaquemines and St. Bernard parish are asking residents in some areas to do voluntary evacuations. They’re handing out sand bags in Chalmette, which is in St. Bernard parish. Schools are closed in both parishes.

The storm’s supposed to dump two to three inches of rain, with four inches in some places. Tides of two to four feet above normal are expected. Storm surge is expected to be at five to seven feet in some areas. That’s why there’s such concern about flooding. So even with a stroke of luck and no direct hit and a weakening storm, even that’s a threat to a place that has been through the worst.