| Water receding noticeably in New Orleans(AP)
 Updated: 2005-09-07 07:09
 
 NEW ORLEANS - In a herculean task that could take months, engineers struggled 
to pump out the flooded city Tuesday, and the filthy waters were dropping 
noticeably. "I'm starting to see rays of light," the mayor said. AP 
reported
 
 
 The 
pumping began after the Army Corps of Engineers used rocks and sandbags over the 
Labor Day weekend to finally plug the 200-foot gap that let water spill into New 
Orleans and swamp 80 percent of the bowl-shaped, below-sea-level city in the 
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
 |  |  
 | A 
 military helicopter drops sandbags to repair a broken levee, Tuesday, 
 Sept. 6, 2005, in New Orleans. [AP] |  On Tuesday, the Corps said the area under water had fallen to about 60 
percent. 
 "I'm starting to see water levels much lower than I've seen," Mayor Ray Nagin 
said after surveying his city from the air. "Even in areas where the water was 
as high as the rooftops, I started to see parts of the buildings." 
 Still, he warned of the horrors that are likely to be revealed when the 
waters recede. "It's going to be awful and it's going to wake the nation up 
again," the mayor predicted, a day after saying the death toll in the city could 
reach 10,000. 
 Walter Baumy, a Corps manager in charge of the engineering job, said it will 
take 24 to 80 days to drain the city. 
 Exactly how long the job will take depends on a number of factors. Among 
other things, the condition of the pumps — especially whether they were 
submerged and damaged — is not yet fully known, the Corps said. Also, the water 
is full of debris, and while there are screens on the pumps, it may be necessary 
to stop and clean them from time to time. 
 
 
 
  
 |  |   |   |  |  |   | Rescue continues in New Orleans |  |  |   |  |  |   | Egyptian presidential election campaigns conclude |  |  |   |  |  |   | Bush orders more troops to secure New Orleans |  |  |  |  
  
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