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HAVANA — Fidel Castro was a constant presence during Hurricane Ivan's approach to the island nation this week, appearing for hours on state television to assuage Cubans' fears, underscoring his larger-than-life role in this socialist society. "Ivan couldn't go up against Fidel," read a headline in the Communist Party youth paper Juventud Rebelde (search) on Wednesday. A poem read over state radio Tuesday night said Castro's "thumb" pushed Ivan away from the island and into the Gulf of Mexico. On Monday, hours before Ivan struck, Castro traveled to the western province of Pinar del Rio (search) to discuss disaster preparations...

Heinz Kerry Visits Hurricane Aid Center By SAM DOLNICK, Associated Press Writer NEW YORK - Teresa Heinz Kerry, encouraging volunteers as they busily packed supplies Wednesday for hurricane relief efforts in the Caribbean, said she was concerned the effort was too focused on sending clothes instead of essentials like water and electric generators. "Clothing is wonderful, but let them go naked for a while, at least the kids," said Heinz Kerry, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites). "Water is necessary, and then generators, and then food, and then clothes." Heinz Kerry stopped by a...

Media bias and the state of Kerry's campaign... all in one picture... http://home.earthlink.net/~jkwong1/compare.html

Thu Sep 16,11:42 AM ET A bridge over Escambia Bay north of Pensacola, Florida is cut in two by Hurricane Ivan with a tractor-trailer rig swallowed by the gap, September 16, 2004. Hurricane Ivan slammed into the U.S. Gulf Coast early Thursday with devastating winds and pounding waves that ripped homes apart, flooded deep inland and spawned tornadoes that killed at least eight people. REUTERS/Rick Wilking Thu Sep 16,12:14 PM ET The bridge carrying Interstate 10 over Escambia Bay is wiped out on both ends as what is left of a truck remains on a section, after Hurricane Ivan...

Hurricane Ivan Advisory Number 55 Statement as of 10:00 PM CDT on September 15, 2004 ...Extremely dangerous Hurricane Ivan coming closer to the northern Gulf Coast...strong winds already moving onshore... A Hurricane Warning is in effect from Grand Isle Louisiana to Apalachicola Florida...including the greater New Orleans area and Lake Pontchartrain. A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected within the warning area...generally within the next 24 hours. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion throughout the entire warning area. A Hurricane Watch remains in effect from Morgan City Louisiana to west of Grand...

First death and numerous injuries reported in panhandle from tornado touchdown. Ivan has fairly rapidly intensified this afternoon, pressure down to 933mb. Winds 135mph. Landfall in 8 hours. Possible severe consequences if eastern eyewall moves up Mobile Bay.

National Data Buoy Center, NWS link       Station 42040 - MOBILE SOUTH 64 nm South of Dauphin Island, AL     50.5   Wind speed    62.2  Peak gust   42.0  Wave height   You can watch the weather in the 10 nearest buoys to Ivan:   http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/radial_search.php?lat1=27.3N&lon1=88.0W&dist=350&time=3      

Hurricane Ivan Advisory Number 51a Statement as of 1:00 AM CDT on September 15, 2004 ...Large and extremely dangerous Hurricane Ivan continues toward the northern Gulf Coast... a Hurricane Warning is in effect from Grand Isle Louisiana to Apalachicola Florida...including the greater New Orleans area and Lake Pontchartrain. A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected within the warning area...generally within the next 24 hours. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion throughout the entire warning area. A Hurricane Watch remains in effect from Morgan City Louisiana to west of Grand Isle. A Tropical...

Residents fleeing deluge that could sink low-lying cityNEW ORLEANS - More than 1.2 million people in metropolitan New Orleans were warned to get out Tuesday as 140-mph Hurricane Ivan churned toward the Gulf Coast, threatening to submerge the below-sea-level city during what could be the most disastrous storm to hit in nearly 40 years.Residents streamed inland in bumper-to-bumper traffic in an agonizingly slow exodus amid dire warnings that Ivan could overwhelm New Orleans with up to 20 feet of filthy, chemical-polluted water. About three-quarters of a million more people along the coast in Florida, Mississippi and Alabama also were told...

New Orleans Hurricane Impact Study Area home View the entire New Orleans Hurricane Impact Study Area with detailed road map overlay The New Orleans Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in its entirey is a densely-populated area comprised of eight parishes with over 1.3 million residents (US Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 2000). As a consequence of Hurricane Betsy in 1965 (the last major hurricane to strike close to New Orleans) and subsequent flooding in later years, the levees encircling the city and other parish areas have been raised to heights ranging between 14 to 23 feet.  While the...

Would New Orleans Really Flood in a Hurricane? How is that possible? home   It's hard to imagine as one strolls through the beautiful and historic areas of New Orleans, such as the French Quarter, St. Charles Street, and City Park just to name a few, that there exists the danger of New Orleans ever flooding from a major hurricane. Hurricane Lili as a Category Four Hurricane. View more images of Hurricane Lili from space (NASA) As seen from the image above, hurricanes spin counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere.  Wind speeds are highest towards the center of the hurricane,...

The worst-case scenario for New Orleans - a direct strike by a full-strength Hurricane Ivan - could submerge much of this historic city treetop-deep in a stew of sewage, industrial chemicals and fire ants, and the inundation could last for weeks, experts say. If the storm were strong enough, Ivan could drive water over the tops of the levees that protect the city from the Mississippi River and vast Lake Pontchartrain. And with the city sitting in a saucer-shaped depression that dips as much as 9 feet below sea level, there would be nowhere for all that water to drain.

The evacuation of New Orleans has begun. New Orleans Times-Picayune, Tuesday, September 14, 2004I-10 westbound in all lanes at 2 p.m. Westbound traffic in Interstate 10 backed up throughout east Jefferson Parish and into Orleans Parish at midday Tuesday as area residents fled from the threat of Hurricane Ivan. State Police are preparing to open up a “contraflow” stretch on I-10 between Kenner and Laplace by about 2 p.m., allowing many vehicles to travel west on both sides of the interstate, but the plan comes with a catch: Once traveling west on eastbound lanes, motorist can't make a change until...

 14 sep 2004 - St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans, LouisianaThe following is an example of possible water heights for a slow moving category 4 hurricane. This image is an approximation of how high the water could rise. - Simulations courtesy of Mark Sudduth.St. Louis Cathedral Quicktime movie of simulated water rise during a slow moving Category 4 Hurricane (1.7 mb)If you need Quicktime you can download it here. (ABOVE SIMULATION IS OF A SLOW MOVING CAT 4 HURRICANE) NO Storm SurgeNew Orleans, Louisiana Category 4 Hurricane Storm Surge SimulationNew Orleans, Louisiana

Note that the GFDL model and GFS model are the most recently updated and show the eye of Ivan hitting Mississippi and close enought to New Oleans to cause major damage. These are the Red and light green lines. Computer Model Hurricane ForecastsHurricane Ivan : Tracking Map | 5 Day Forecast Map | Historical Map | Public Advisory | Marine Advisory | Discussion | Satellite Map | Strike Probability | Strike Probability Map | Wind Map | Coordinates | Computer Models Information about the models can be found here: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutmodels.shtml

14.09.20041.00pm - By ANDREW GRICE Tony Blair will today urge the United States to commit itself to a tougher action to combat global warming and promise that a list of green policies will be included in Labour's general election manifesto. The Prime Minister is to raise the profile of green issues as part of a drive to woo back people disaffected by the Iraq war. Labour's private polling shows that "progressive voters", many of whom were alienated by Mr Blair's stance on Iraq, regard the environment as a top priority. Speaking to a conference staged by the Prince of Wales's...

Hurricane Ivan Advisory Number 47a Statement as of 02:00 AM EDT on September 14, 2004 ...Core of extremely dangerous Hurricane Ivan moving slowly away from the western tip of Cuba... a Hurricane Warning remains in effect for the Cuban provinces of Pinar del Rio...Havana...City of Havana...and the Isle of Youth. A Hurricane Warning remains in effect for the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula from Tulum to progreso. A tropical storm watch remains in effect for the Florida Keys from the Seven Mile Bridge westward...including the Dry Tortugas. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the northern Gulf of Mexico coast from east...

Ivan strikes Cuba directly The Ivan cyclone finally directly struck Cuba while passing the peninsula of Guanahacabibes, in the extreme west of the island, announced Monday evening the cuban weather services. "the face of the eye of Ivan touched ground in Cuba with the course of San Antonio", in the peninsula of Guanahacabibes, with 18H45 local (22H45 GMT), announced with television the head of the forecasts of the cuban Institute of meteorology, José Rubiera.

Check out the following link. Click on the box where Ivan is headed and you can click on some of the buoys. One of them closer to Ivan has apparently "failed". I wonder why... Click here for National Data Buoy Center.

If enough water from Lake Pontchartrain topped the levee system along its south shore, the result would be apocalyptic. Vast areas would be submerged for days or weeks until engineers dynamited the levees to let the water escape. Some places on the east bank of Orleans and Jefferson parishes are as low as 10 feet below sea level. Adding a 20-foot storm surge from a Category 4 or 5 storm would mean 30 feet of standing water. Whoever remained in the city would be at grave risk. According to the American Red Cross, a likely death toll would be between...