New Orleans officials have broken ground for a new $3.6 million fire station designed to serve an area not protected by levees.
The city says the new Alba Road Fire Station in the Venetian Isles area will replace a smaller facility that was 30 years old when it flooded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The station is being built with aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Construction began with Wednesday's groundbreaking ceremony and is to be completed this fall.
The city says the station is designed to respond in a high hazard flood zone outside of the levee protection system.