Katrina 2005

[zlosin]

God help the souls of New Orlenas

[dai bread]

Yes indeed. The reports we get here suggest a very big storm, though not as big as Andrew.

[zlosin]

No Dai, this one maybe 2x as big as Andrew! There are simulations of a similar Cat 5 that are saying 40 to 50K dead and the entire area contaminated for 6 to 10 months! This is could be a biblical storm.
You can get a TV feed from a New Orleans station with 24 hour coverage here.

http://www.wwltv.com/perl/common/video/wmPlayer.pl?title=beloint_khou&props=livenoad

The storm is expected to hit land in about 7 hours from now. Its 1:30 here right now.

There are 30,000 people taking shelter in the Superdome. They do not know IF the Superdome will withstand the 160MPH winds this storm is packing. Especially for a 10 hour period.

[zlosin]

Dai, the other problem is the New Orleans is 9 to 11 feet below sea level. The Mississippi River and lake Pouchatrain surround the city. It’s much like Holland. There are pumps that can remove the water but nothing like what is coming. The pumps can handle a rainfall of about 1 inch pre hour.
Now the real problem is that they are expecting a storm surge of 18 to 25 feet. ( that’s about se level) so…. There could be 36 feet of water over New Orleans.

Here is the actual warning issued by the US weather service. (the scarryest thing I have ever read)

MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT
LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL
FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY
DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.

THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL.
PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD
FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE
BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME
WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.

HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A
FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.

AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH
AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY
VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE
ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE
WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.

POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN
AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING
INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY
THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW
CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE
KILLED.

[zlosin]

Here are some links to webcams in New Orleans

http://www.portno.com/webcamnew_out.htm
http://www.nola.com/beadcam/

http://www.nola.com/bourbocam/classic/
http://www.nola.com/beadcam/
http://www.nola.com/rivercam/
http://www.nola.com/bridgecam/

http://www.nola.com/fqcam/

http://www.wdsu.com/weather/livecams/index.html

http://www.tropicalisle.com/webcam.html

http://www.wdsu.com/wxcam/1475332/detail.html

[OperaTenor]

Thank you for the links and the info, PSIP.

Indeed, God help them.

[tan]

Our thoughts are with you , out there,!!! the sihanoukville gang, the mtpmash crew, the coffeshop crew and tanja

[DavidS]

Me too.
When a natural calamity of such proportions occurs, it makes you feel so small, helpless and frustrated that there is so little you can do for the victims apart from expressing sympathy and concern.

[Trumpetmaster]

Watched the weather report this morning.
Does not look good for New Orleans or Southern Alabama...
Winds down to 150MPH with expected landfall in a few hours....
They said the Louisiana Superdome could be surrounded by water... There are about 25K people there...
Let's all pray that all people took heed and evacuated or are safely in shelters.
This does not look good...

I'll be down in the Pensacola area on 9/19 - 9/24.
Supposed to have been down there last October but Ivan struck Pensacola and my parents house roof caved in. They lived across the street with their neighbor for about 3 months... Then Dennis came through Pensacola and they lost more shingles from the roof.... They are about 2 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico.

My parents have given up on the area and are moving to Augusta, GA in mid October (we have family there).

Just hope the the people in harms way are in safe areas. You can always rebuild.

[hal 9000]

PSIP- From where did you get that report?

[Trumpetmaster]

Just saw a report that Santa Rosa County in Florida is under a tornado watch.
Hal9000 are you seeing any effects from this?

[hal 9000]

TM- We've been getting rain from the outermost feeder bands since Katrina hit Miami, but no high winds. We've remained on the extreme edge the entire time, thankfully. I'm sure the panhandle is feeling the effects of this though.

[Trumpetmaster]

Looks like Biloxi and Gulf Shores is going to get hit pretty hard. Been to Biloxi on those riverboat casinos... Can't imagine what's going on there...

Heard the pumps in New Orleans are down & Superdome has lost power.

Just praying for everyone's safety.

[piqaboo]

A while ago, I read Isaac's Storm, about the hurricane in 1900 that hit Galveston, another low-lying city on the gulf. That's giving me nightmares about New Orleans.

Katrina slowed a bit (135 mph) & veered a little east before passing NOLA, which helps, but probably not enough, because the majority of deaths are expected to come from the storm surge.

Newspaper, SUNDAY am, reported on one woman tried to get out via Amtrack, 'but couldnt'. Didnt say if train full, or ? I sure hope they ran extra trains in the last couple days. Airport closed very early too, so that many tourists etc stuck in town, even tho storm not expected to make landfall til MONDAY am.
Highrise hotels have been asked to provide "vertical evacuation" for those who couldnt get out of town.

[OperaTenor]

The latest I'm hearing on the radio is the eye seems to be mostly past NOLA. NOLA is being swamped in areas, and there is a report of a hole in the roof of the Superdome. There are unconfirmed reports of the levee being breached in a couple of places. It looks as thought the eye did pass to the east.
There is still a concern of an impending storm surge.

[Shapley]

According to the reports I've read, about 80% of the residents have left the city. The wind has opened up holes in the roof of the Superdome, but the news reports that there in no danger to the building itself.

Our prayers are with them all.

[zlosin]

Hal, that report was issued last night (Sun) at about 11PM. I looked for it again about 2AM and it was taken down. So I don't know if it was a hoax or a mistake. It was on the NOAA site

http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/iwszone?Sites=:laz069M

Latest reports I have heard on TV are that there are people on roof tops in New Orleans escapeing flood waters.

Does anyone else think (like I do) that these reporters who are doing reports from the field are idiots? Standing in 70+MPH winds with projectiles flying past them. They just want face time on TV and something to put on their resume tape.

I heard there are sail boats on I10

[piqaboo]

Miami Herald, ~ 5 am EST
Katrina New Orleans early Mon am

[OperaTenor]

Hi PSIP,

I agree, they're idiots.

[zlosin]

Found these great quotes on another board.
"So can we just all agree, from this point forward: if Jim Cantore or anyone from the Weather Channel is in your town, dressed like the guy on the Gordons fish stick box, leaving would probably be best."

CNN called the flooding in New Orleans "Toxic Gumbo"