Hurricane Katrina!!

[pearcrazy]

Is now a catagory 5 hurricane. One station is predicting devastation to be as bad or worse than Hurricane Andrew in ''92. Those of you that are the praying type, please say one for my in-laws. They live 15 miles southwest of New Orleans in St. Charles parish and like New Orleans, they sit about 15 feet below sea level in some places. They just built their dream retirement house about 4 years ago and my MIL has filled it with antiques that she''s collected over the years. They called this morning and are headed northeast. Depending on how bad the devastation is they may just keep driving to stay with us in NC. We''re all afraid that they won ''t have anything to go home to. DH''s sister and family, grandmother and several aunts and uncles live in the same town--all have evacuated thank goodness, but some family friends are foolishly going to ride it out. I''m scared for them and I''m scared for me with the prospect of in-laws as indefinate houseguests.

 

[Diamonds4Me]

I just heard the news myself and I absolutely can not believe that its up to a cat. 5. That''s absolutely insane. I have a friend who''s entire family lives close to NO. They are all in our thoughts. I could never ride it out like some have chosen to do.

We will definitely keep your family in our thoughts and pray for everyone''s safety.

 

[IrishEyes]

My thoughts are with your family and anyone else who is potentially affected by this horrible storm.

I just saw on TV that they are evacuating the ENTIRE city of New Orleans

I can''t imagine.....

I truly hope that a miracle can occur and spare people''s lives, properties, and the city.....

 

[FireGoddess]

Hoping it either peters out or doesn''t do much damage...positive thoughts and energy incoming...

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I feel for all you folks down Southish...is this not the 5th hurricane in a year''s time in that neck fo the woods? Sheesh, more than one''s share for sure.

cheers--Sharon

 

[Blue824]

I couldnt believe all the hurricane coverage I woke up to this morning...so this is only the 4th or 5th cat. 5 hurricane to hit the US? So nuts, especially since this storm was just like a tropical storm when it was approaching the US.
Pearcrazy, glad your inlaws got out of there! It will be devestating if their house is damaged, but at least they won''t be. I do hope everyone is safe from the affected areas, but they were talking about how there are a lot of people that won''t leave because they''ve lived through other hurricanes and never had problems. And everything they were saying on the news today also gave me the impression that gas prices are going to go up even higher due to the storm and loss of production in that region. So fill your cars up today!

 

[fire&ice]

This is just plain scary. I''ve already been praying. My thoughts and prayers to all.

 

[AChiOAlumna]

pearcrazy...good thoughts go out to your family...

Hopefully as FG said, Katrina will peter out before she ever creates havoc....

 

[MissAva]

Anyone else having a fabulous time watching the weather channel? They say once it hits land it will be making a bee line for my neck of the woods.

This will be the fourth one to hit Tuscaloosa this year...come on. I am begining to wonder why I have a cafe set to study with outside.

 

[MissAva]

Pearcrazy your family will be in my prayers... I hope that they are allright.

 

[Kaleigh]

pearcrazy, my thoughts and prayers go out to your family. Matatora you as well. This is scary.

 

[strmrdr]

prayers outgoing for everyone who has been affected by this storm and for those that will.

May the hand of God shield, bless and keep them.
Amen

 

[AGBF]

Date: 8/28/2005 2:30:20 PM
Author: Matatora
Anyone else having a fabulous time watching the weather channel? They say once it hits land it will be making a bee line for my neck of the woods.

This will be the fourth one to hit Tuscaloosa this year...come on. I am begining to wonder why I have a cafe set to study with outside.

I find storms near me exciting. If I lived in the area where Katrina was about to hit I am sure I would be watching television for as long as there was power. (Well, after doing hurricane preparations!) If I do not experience a storm myself, I usually do not watch it on television. But then we do not watch television except under the rarest of circumstances. When tornadoes were coming to our area last year, we did. We thought it might be prudent to know when to head for the "safe room"!

Good luck riding out this Storm, Matatora.

Deb

 

[aphisiglovessae]

We''re kinda breathing a sigh of relief that we''re not getting hit by ANOTHER hurricane here in Pensacola, but we feel for those who will get hit. I hope New Orleans residents get through this safe and sound. Like the news has been saying, this isn''t about saving property and personal items anymore, it''s now about saving lives.

 

[AGBF]

This article says that the evacuation ordered by the Mayor of New Orleans is "unprecedented".

An excerpt follows.

"Threatened with a potential catastrophe, the mayor of New Orleans ordered people in the city to evacuate today as Hurricane Katrina gained strength. President Bush has already declared an emergency for Louisiana and Mississippi, which along with other parts of the northern Gulf coast states lie in the direction of the hurricane.

The city's distinct terrain makes it particularly vulnerable to the storm surges, heavy rains and high winds of a hurricane. With more than a million people in its suburbs and center, the city is surrounded on three sides by water, and lies below sea level in a bowl-shaped basin. Pumps would fail if the storm surge of up to 25 feet overwhelmed the city's levees.


'That's why we are taking this unprecedented move,' Mayor Ray Nagin said at a news conference that was broadcast live. 'The storm surge most likely will topple our levee system.'"

The article continues to discuss the impact on the oil supply (and thus its price) that the hurricane will have.

New Orleans Readying for Katrina

Deborah

 

[Maxine]

Having been through 3 hurricanes a year ago, this cetainly brings back memories....and we did not have any cat. 5, nor was our "geographic" situation quite as vulnerable as it is there......I really feel for those people...it''s a horrible feeling to know IT is coming at you, and there is nothing you can do!!!
We all need to keep praying for the miracle that it will weaken!!!! (if it takes a turn someone else will get it....a no win situation!!)

As difficult as it is, the most important thing is for those people to LEAVE........

Thoughts and prayers to all those affected..................

 

[AGBF]

I only visited New Orleans once, and it was many, many years ago, but I was very impressed by the levée. It wasn''t what I had envisioned. From ground level the one I saw was a tall green hill, beautiful. It was grass-covered and lovely.

I tried to find a picture of the levée using Google images. I looked on the ''net. I used Google Earth. Nowhere could I find a picture that showed the levée as I remembered it. I am trying to get a better sense of what it would be like if water was high and the levée was threatened. (Probably television would give me a view of New Orleans now, but that isn''t even an option. My daughter and two friends are going to watch the VMA Awards at 8:00. Since television is unusual here, that signifies as an Occasion!)

Deborah

 

[mightyred]

My heart goes out to all those threatened by Katrina along the gulf coast.

Thank goodness they have opened the superdome as a last resort to the many people who don''t have the means to evacuate in NOLA. They have to pump out water even in dry weather in NO so it''s not hard to imagine the damage they could be facing there as the city is almost like a bowl surrounded by water.

I hope everyone who is able to get out safely does so, especially since recent events remind us that we don''t always get the benefit of advanced warnings so when we do we should heed it. As aphisiglovessae said, things can be replaced, people can''t.

Big thank you as always to all those in the emergency services as well as army national guard etc for staying to assist.

 

[movie zombie]

there was a program on PBS some time ago regarding the levee system, hurricanes, and the anticipated dangers associated with a direct hit. scary.

peace, movie zombie

 

[pearcrazy]

I love New Orleans. Since my DH grew up around there we visit at least twice a year. The town where my in-laws live is right along the Mississippi river and like New Orleans sits about 15 feet below sea level in some places. When ships go down the river and you are standing on the road you can look up and actually see them above your head. I think of that area like a cereal bowl floating in the bathtub with the water just at the rim. If you are standing at the bottom of the bowl you are nice and dry and looking up at all the boats floating around the rim. As you start to push down on the bowl, the water seeps over the edge faster and faster and eventually completely fills the bowl up.

I hope everyone is wrong about this one. If they aren't, there is a major catastrophe unfolding, the likes of which have never been seen before. Even the shutting down of one of this country's largest ports for a few days or weeks may have an impact on everyone in the nation.

 

[Kaleigh]

I love New Orleans and visit often, we have good friends there. I hope the experts are wrong, it is sooo scary, prayers outgoing for all that live there and the surrounding areas.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 8/28/2005 8:11:40 PM
Author: pearcrazy
The town where my in-laws live is right along the Mississippi river and like New Orleans sits about 15 feet below sea level in some places. When ships go down the river and you are standing on the road you can look up and actually see them above your head. I think of that area like a cereal bowl floating in the bathtub with the water just at the rim. If you are standing at the bottom of the bowl you are nice and dry and looking up at all the boats floating around the rim. As you start to push down on the bowl, the water seeps over the edge faster and faster and eventually completely fills the bowl up.


I hope everyone is wrong about this one. If they aren't, there is a major catastrophe unfolding, the likes of which have never been seen before.

I have seen a little television coverage of New Orleans getting ready for the storm. Many poor people who lacked transportation were stuck there involuntarily. They are being offered shelter in the Superdome. I pray that that holds. I have no idea how sound it is structurally. All I have heard is that it always needs to be pumped out. I am glad it has pumps, but hope that they can do the job with whatever amount of water we are going to be dealing with there.

Deborah

 

[Jennifer5973]

What''s with all these hurricanes? When is the last time anyone remembers a hurricane beginning with the letter K and it''s not even September yet?????

Scary on all levels...

Pearcrazy, I hope your family members pull though this in tact!

 

[aphisiglovessae]

Date: 8/28/2005 8:46:42 PM
Author: AGBF

Date: 8/28/2005 8:11:40 PM

Author: pearcrazy

I have seen a little television coverage of New Orleans getting ready for the storm. Many poor people who lacked transportation were stuck there involuntarily. They are being offered shelter in the Superdome. I pray that that holds. I have no idea how sound it is structurally. All I have heard is that it always needs to be pumped out. I am glad it has pumps, but hope that they can do the job with whatever amount of water we are going to be dealing with there.


Deborah

Unfortunately, they said this hurricane could destroy the electrical grid there. They''re not talking just some poles and lines down, they''re talking the WHOLE thing. And I think if there''s no power, those pumps aren''t going to work. They estimate the whole city will be underwater up to the second story of buildings for months. The people who can''t leave are partying in the streets and bars, probably for their last time. How crazy is that?

 

[AGBF]

Date: 8/28/2005 9:44:21 PM
Author: Jennifer5973
What''s with all these hurricanes?

I am not sure if that is a rhetorical question, but supposedly the reason for more and more severe hurricanes is related to water temperature in the Atlantic. I was once interested in geography, but have not kept up to date in the field. If anyone has some relevant articles on climate and the current hurricane season that do not require enormous scientific knowledge to decode, I would be interested in reading them. If no one else has any, I can probably find some on the ''net.

Deborah

 

[AGBF]

Date: 8/28/2005 9:51:31 PM
Author: aphisiglovessae
if there''s no power, those pumps aren''t going to work. They estimate the whole city will be underwater up to the second story of buildings for months.

I would hope that if there is one central shelter that the emergency management system could arrange back-up power for the pumps there! Supposedly New Orleans has prepared for a huge storm. Does anyone know anything about this?

Deborah

 

[aphisiglovessae]

As for the recent amount of hurricanes, they''ve said that it is part of some kind of cycle. Every so many years there''s a time where there are major hurricanes and we''re supposedly at that part of the cycle. I don''t know the scientific explanation, but that''s just what I''ve heard all over T.V.

New Orleans has supposedly been preparing for "the big one" for the past couple of years, but as for the flooding situation, there isn''t much they can do. The pumps can only logically run on two things really, electricity or fuel right? Well, I think the fuel supply has been exhausted in the surrounding areas due to citizens and they shut down all the refineries and oil rigs. That only leaves electricity to rely on and if the electricity grid is destroyed, then they''re sitting ducks. I think they were only really preparing evacuation procedures. The problem with their preparations was that it was a 72 hour plan. They didn''t know it was coming their way soon enough and they don''t have time to implement their plan. That''s what I gather from the news. Like I said, I live in Pensacola and people freaked out here so bad that we''re even dangerously low on gas. I''d hate to see how crazy it got over there.

 

[Jennifer5973]

Date: 8/28/2005 10:14:01 PM
Author: AGBF

Date: 8/28/2005 9:44:21 PM
Author: Jennifer5973
What''s with all these hurricanes?

I am not sure if that is a rhetorical question, but supposedly the reason for more and more severe hurricanes is related to water temperature in the Atlantic. I was once interested in geography, but have not kept up to date in the field. If anyone has some relevant articles on climate and the current hurricane season that do not require enormous scientific knowledge to decode, I would be interested in reading them. If no one else has any, I can probably find some on the ''net.

Deborah

No-I was serious!

It seems like there are more and more, sooner and sooner...when I was growing up, I remember they''d get to D, maybe G....now it''s K and not even peak season.

I am sure you''re right, Deb--there must be significant atmospheric/meteorogical changes causing this. Something tells me whatever it is, it''s not too good...

 

[movie zombie]

a 28 foot wall of water isn''t going to be pumped ......in the report i saw on PBS years ago there was acceptance by officials of a high non-survivor rate. the wetlands that used to provide a buffer are gone. i just saw a weather report predicting that as much as 75% of the city will be underwater. additionally, there will be toxic waste and other problems with the flood water that is going to make clean up difficult. it is hard to accept that as smart and bright as we humans are that we aren''t going to be able to save everyone.

peace, movie zombie

 

[AGBF]

Date: 8/28/2005 10:58:11 PM
Author: Jennifer5973
No-I was serious!

Well, in that case, I have one article for you .

Here are an excerpt and a link.

"Researchers from the Benfield Hazard Research Centre in London used a new model to predict a very active season.

Between July and October, they say, nine hurricanes will probably hit the Atlantic basin as a whole.

The main driving force is likely to be unusually warm sea temperatures in the tropical North Atlantic.

If the predictions come true, this will be the Atlantic's second bumpy year in a row, after 2004 saw hundreds killed and billions of dollars worth of damage caused by Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne.

'Following the ravages of 2004, the current and projected climate signals now suggest that we should prepare for another exceptionally active Atlantic season in 2005, a factor which underlines the ongoing need for vigilance on the part of government and citizens alike,' Mark Saunders of the Benfield Hazard Research Centre (BHRC) said.

To predict the ferocity of the forthcoming hurricane season, the team studied the July-September forecasts for wind speed and surface water temperatures through the Caribbean and tropical North Atlantic.

These two factors are important because warm surface waters can trigger hurricanes, while wind speeds dictate how savage they become and whether or not they head inland."

For more (and there is more) see the link posted below:

article on active hurricane season

Deborah