Airmen in New Orleans prepare for Rita

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Bryan Bouchard
  • 4th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
NEW ORLEANS (AFPN) --  As Hurricane Rita gains strength in the Gulf of Mexico, the men and women of the 4th Air Expeditionary Group here are battening down the hatches in preparation for yet another storm surge.

As of Sept. 21, weather experts were predicting that 2 to 4 inches of rain may fall here when Rita passes by later this week. Although the main body of Rita is not expected to make landfall here, this slight risk is still too risky for 4th AEG officials.

“Preparations are underway to secure our assets here at New Orleans Louis Armstrong Airport,” said Lt. Col. Dean Hullings, the 4th AEG deputy commander who is deployed from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.

In response to this threat, Airmen are hard at work stacking sandbags and reorganizing the tent city here to help minimize the effects of any flooding in “Camp Gumbo.” When one-half inch of rain fell at tent city on Sept. 16, much of the camp flooded.

While most of the preparation is preemptive by nature, the workload is worth it to the Airmen here.

“Depending on the size of the storm and its projected impact on this area, the 4th AEG will take appropriate action to protect our people and as much of our equipment as possible,” Colonel Hullings said.

“Our worst-case scenario has a small team riding out the storm locally while the remainder evacuate to Barskdale AFB, La. No action will be taken until it is clear that we are in harms way,” he said.