Hurricane Katrina

[neriana]

The worst hurricane ever to hit New Orleans is going to touch down Monday morning. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12500225.htm

 

There is a very real possibility of losing the entire city. New Orleans is built inside a "bowl"; if Katrina hovers over it long enough, it could flood it so completely that rebuilding would be nearly impossible.

[jester]

God must really be an American (as claimed oh so often) as his airstrikes are way off. Crawford is not even near New Orleans. :/

 

 

On a more serious note I hope that the worst can be averted and keep my fingers crossed that they all made it out alive and well.

 

Perhaps Jolyth can give us a firsthand report after it is all over.

[BevH]

I saw on the news this morning where Katrina was starting to make landfall. Jolyth may be without means of communication for a while. My daughter lives just south of Miami and missed the worst of Katrina, but she was still without power as of Saturday, the last time she called on her cell phone. As for New Orleans news, they were saying the the Dome was starting to leak pretty badly, not good since they are using that for refugees. Storm surge is predicted between 15-20 feet, also not good since the levees are only about 16 feet. Prayers and good thoughts go out to all those in the area.

[Andyr]

Ouch, I'm crossing my fingers it won't cause too much damage...

[BigRob]

Good luck everyone over there. I hope it's all over soon.

[Guest Guest]

It's a shame really. New Orleans is one of the few historical towns in the US with enough oomph and bustle. My thoughts and prayers are with my fellow americans.

[neriana]

New Orleans was hammered, but not as badly as they could have been. The French Quarter survived with minimal damage. The roof on the Superdome, where people were sheltering, was nearly ripped off, and the city is very flooded in general.

 

Right now, it looks like Biloxi and Gulfport (Mississipi) have been well-nigh flattened. This hurricane is so huge that it's actually going to affect the Great Lakes region, where I grew up. Canadians may be getting storms from it.

 

So far the death toll is 64: 9 here in Florida, 55 elsewhere. But I expect that will go up.

 

Seven more named storms have developed in the Atlantic this year than is usual. That's eleven rather than four, and hurricane season's not over yet. I hope we escape with just one in this area of Florida, rather than the four we got last year, but I expect things to just keep getting worse.

[neriana]

I take it back about New Orleans. Two flood levees broke. This is the disaster that was feared.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...5083000689.html

[Kulyok]

http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.htm..._issue=11369770

 

Damn. And according to "Echo", Foreign Affairs Ministry declares they know nothing. As usual. According to "Newsru", they have no drinking water and building slowly goes underwater, too.

[jester]

Some interesting reads and truly schocking film

 

http://technorati.com/tag/katrina

 

http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Countdown...age-Katrina.mov

[Jolyth]

Well, this has definitely frelled up my week.

 

We evacuated New Orleans on Sunday and took 12-13 hours to get out to Natchez Mississippi, a 3 hour drive away. We weathered the storm there, hoping that we would be home by Wednesday, (today). Well, I think we may be home by Wednesday 2010. My mother's home is filled with water, about 7 miles away from where the levee broke in 1 place. The new home I was to purchase is also filled with water, probably most likely buried. My cousin, uncle and aunt all lost their homes completely. The Twin Span bridge, a connection between New Orleans and Slidell is utterly destroyed. Several cars were caught on this bridge while it broke apart and sent pieces floating off into the Lake.

 

I count myself lucky. I ran like a coward trying to save my own ass. Tameon the Dragoon lost his home and he has my deepest condolences. I have no idea about my own home at this point, nor do I know when I will even be allowed back into my state. People that remained behind are currently armed and killing each other in the street and right now, I don't want to go back.

 

Many thanks to the people of Texas for taking in the Louisiana refugees. They have shown us nothing but kindness, compassion and understanding for what we are currently going through. In this disaster, I have seen the true human side of man and words are not enough when it comes to saying thank you.

[Guest Guest_Littiz_*]

Didn't follow the thing much and didn't realize its dimensions until today...

I'm really sorry for all those who suffered losses or heavy damages such as the ones being described...

 

I'm really sorry for Tameon the Dragon (can't even imagine how one must feel!) and for you Jolyth. Hope you both have a friendly place to stay as long as needed, and that the situation would turn "normal" as soon as possible.

 

Hell, I lived a flood in my early youth, but it wasn't something like that, of course.

My family lost everything that was inside car-boxes, but that was it.

It did took a while to my small city to clear the mess everywhere... Yet, with time order comes again, and at last it looks quite surprising and rewarding.

[KIrving]

This is a shocking disaster! All I can say is my thoughts go out to all those that have suffered from it.

[Jolyth]

Didn't follow the thing much and didn't realize its dimensions until today...

I'm really sorry for all those who suffered losses or heavy damages such as the ones being described...

 

I'm really sorry for Tameon the Dragon (can't even imagine how one must feel!) and for you Jolyth. Hope you both have a friendly place to stay as long as needed, and that the situation would turn "normal" as soon as possible.

 

Hell, I lived a flood in my early youth, but it wasn't something like that, of course.

My family lost everything that was inside car-boxes, but that was it.

It did took a while to my small city to clear the mess everywhere... Yet, with time order comes again, and at last it looks quite surprising and rewarding.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thank you Littiz. Right now, about 5,000 people are living on the interstate roads above the floodwaters. There is no food, no water, no shelter and a lot of desperation. I feel lucky to be in a nice home with running water right now and thank God for this small respite. If I do not have a home, I will rebuild. If I have one, then I will help others rebuild.

 

This is going to take a long time and a lot of work.

 

This is a shocking disaster! All I can say is my thoughts go out to all those that have suffered from it.

Many thanks KIrving. Your compassion is very much appreciated.

 

EDIT: I have been frazzled over the past few days and realize that I did not thank everyone else who expressed their concern. jester, BigRon, neriana, Kulyok, Bev. Thank you. And thanks to all who have texted, called and emailed me. You have all, each of you, helped to ease some of the pain and sense of loss I have felt for my home and my community. Please keep New Orleans, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida in your thoughts and prayers.

[BigRob]

I count myself lucky. I ran like a coward trying to save my own ass.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

In the face of the full power of nature, running is hardly cowardice. I hope that you and everyone else can salvage more fomr this than you think you might.