Two gymnasts who say they were sexually abused at an elite academy in Iowa have filed lawsuits against the sport’s oversight bodies, alleging Sean Gardner preyed on girls despite repeated complaints about the coach's behavior.

But even before it reaches tropical storm status, it'll lash the Gulf Coast region with heavy rains, leading to flash flooding that could cause the Mississippi River to rise to dangerous levels. Southern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, along with the western Florida Panhandle, will especially get drenched Thursday, Brink said. Governors to residents: Prepare and stock upAs the tropical system strengthens, regional leaders urged people in the area not to get caught off guard. New Orleans got a taste of the tropical system after it spawned its first tornado warning and flash flood emergency in the area Wednesday. The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority has a little more than 250 flood gates, according to spokesman Antwan Harris.

Sean Gardner/Getty Images(CNN) - New Orleans was built above sea level, but over time, it's been sinking. And from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to threats of flooding this week, a few facts on -- and in -- the ground explain why the Big Easy is uniquely vulnerable to massive flooding. Settlers who got the best land were able to build only about 10 feet above sea level. By the 1930s, one-third of the city was below sea level, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Scientists found that the ground in the area was sinking at a rate of 1 centimeter a year.