NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - High tides due to gusty winds threatened renewed flooding in storm-ravaged New Orleans, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Monday, but steps were being taken to prevent it.

The Corps said it was closing two canals where levee breaches poured water into the city after Hurricane Katrina and adding sandbags to temporary levee repairs already in place.

Strong east winds had pushed tides higher than normal, the Corps said in a statement, and water already was spilling over a 20-foot-wide levee breach in Terrebonne Parish near the town of Montegut 60 miles south of New Orleans.

Helicopters were placing sandbags in that break and also in others in adjoining Plaquemines Parish, it said...