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Prayers for all
Amen
My niece and her family live in N.O. My brother, other niece, and her family all live in Mobile. I hope everyone will get out before it's too late. Prayers for all involved.
-Eric
So if there's a mandatory evac, why aren't the authorities forcing the establishments to shut down. I've looked at a couple of current webcams and there are people still wandering around Bourbon Street and other areas.
Here's a live webcam link:
http://www.nola.com/bourbocam/classic/index.ssf
oh my goodness
Katrina Live Thread, for those interested:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1472123/posts
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Prayers for all
Amen
A minute ago, WDSU in New Orleans said the evacuation is still voluntary at this point - not mandatory. That may change in a few hours.
Not surprising. Katrina is now a category 4 hurricane with 145 mph winds.
I wish the city of New Orleans would update the info on thier site.
http://www.cityofno.com/
It's a Category 4 Hurricane now:
000
WTNT32 KNHC 280610
TCPAT2
BULLETIN
HURRICANE KATRINA SPECIAL ADVISORY NUMBER 20
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
1 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005
...Katrina strengthens to Category Four with 145 MPH winds...
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the North Central Gulf Coast
from Morgan City Louisiana Eastward to the Alabama/Florida
border...including the City of New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain.
A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected
within the warning area within the next 24 hours. Preparations to
protect life and property should be rushed to completion.
A Tropical Storm Warning and a Hurricane Watch are in effect from
East of the Alabama/Florida Border to Destin Florida...and from
West of Morgan City to Intracoastal City Louisiana. A Tropical
Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected
within the warning area within the next 24 Hours. A Hurricane Watch
means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch
area...generally within 36 Hours.
For storm information specific to your area...including possible
inland watches and warnings...please monitor products issued
by your local Weather Office.
At 1 AM CDT...0600z...the center of Hurricane Katrina was located
near Latitude 25.1 North... Longitude 86.8 West or about 310
miles... 500 KM... South-Southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi
River.
Katrina is moving toward the West-Northwest near 8 Mph. A gradual
turn toward the Northwest is expected later today.
Reports from An Air Force Reconnaissance Aircraft indicate that
maximum sustained winds have increased and are now near 145
MPH...with higher gusts. Katrina is a Category Four Hurricane on
the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Some additional strengthening is possible
today.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 70 Miles...110 KM...
from the center...and tropical storm force winds extend outward up
to 160 Miles...260 KM.
The Minimum Central Pressure recently reported by the reconnaissance
aircraft was 935 MB...27.61 Inches.
Coastal Storm Surge Flooding of 15 to 20 Feet above normal tide
levels...locally as high as 25 feet along with large and dangerous
battering waves...can be expected near and to the East of where the
center makes landfall.
Heavy Rains from Katrina should begin to affect the Central Gulf
Coast Sunday evening. Rainfall totals of 5 to 10 Inches...with
isolated maximum amounts of 15 inches...are possible along the path
of Katrina. The Hurricane is still expected to produce additional
rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches over extreme Western Cuba...and 1
to 3 inches of rainfall is expected over the Yucatan Peninsula.
Repeating the 1 AM CDT position...25.1 N... 86.8 W. movement
toward...West-Northwest Near 8 MPH. Maximum sustained
winds...145 MPH. Minimum central pressure... 935 MB.
The next Advisory will be issued by the National Hurricane Center at
4 AM CDT.
FORECASTER KNABB
$$
Officials urge La. residents to evacuate
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050828/ap_on_re_us/hurricane_katrina_1
By MARY FOSTER, Associated Press Writer
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Residents in south Louisiana jammed freeways in a rush to get out of the way of hurricane Katrina, but officials worried that not enough people were taking the monster Category 4 storm seriously enough.
"People need to take this very seriously and get to a safe area while they can," said State Police Sgt. Frank Coates.
By Saturday evening, Mayor C. Ray Nagin was visiting New Orleans television stations and urging people to leave - just hours before Katrina strengthened early Sunday to Category 4 with winds of 145 mph.
Katrina was expected to hit the Gulf Coast early Monday and a hurricane warning was in effect from Morgan City to the Alabama-Florida border.
"I've been here 33 years, and we've always been concerned about New Orleans," said National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield. "I had to let the mayor know that this storm has the potential not only to cause large property damage, but large loss of life if people don't make the right decision."
Mayfield said Katrina could be a disaster for New Orleans because the bowl-like city sits below sea-level and is dependent on levees and pumps to keep the water out.
"You could very well be looking at a storm surge of 15 to 20 feet, possible 25 feet," he said. "If that water breaches the levees it will take forever to drain it back out.
President Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana, and his spokesman urged residents along the coast to heed authorities' advice to evacuate. Nagin was exploring the idea of ordering a mandatory evacuation.
"At this juncture, all we can do is pray it doesn't come this way and tear us up," said Jeannette Ruboyianes, owner of the Day Dream Inn at Grand Isle, Louisiana's only inhabited barrier island.
The storm formed in the Bahamas and ripped across South Florida on Thursday, causing nine deaths, before moving into the Gulf of Mexico. It was expected to grow in strength over the gulf because surface water temperatures were as high as 90 degrees - high-octane fuel for hurricanes.
Nagin said he spoke to a forecaster at the hurricane center who told him that "this is the storm New Orleans has feared these many years."
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a test. This is the real deal," he warned. "Board up your homes, make sure you have enough medicine, make sure the car has enough gas. Do all things you normally do for a hurricane but treat this one differently because it is pointed towards New Orleans."
Making matters worse, at least 100,000 people in the city lack the transportation to get out of town. Nagin said the Superdome might be used as a shelter of last resort for people who have no cars, with city bus pick-up points around New Orleans.
"I know they're saying 'Get out of town,' but I don't have any way to get out," said Hattie Johns, 74. "If you don't have no money, you can't go."
Owners of gas stations in and around New Orleans were forced to direct traffic as lines to the pumps stretched down surrounding streets. Gas stations were running low on gas by midafternoon Saturday.
"I was in line at the bank for an hour and have been waiting for gas for 30 minutes," said John Sullivan. "If it's anything like they say its going to be, we don't want to be anywhere close to the city."
Louisiana and Mississippi made all lanes northbound on interstate highways. Mississippi declared a state of emergency and Alabama offered assistance to its neighbors. Some motels as far inland as Jackson, Miss., 150 miles north of New Orleans, were already booked up.
By 2 a.m. EDT Sunday, the eye of the hurricane was about 310 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. It was moving west-northwest at about 8 mph and was expected to turn more to the northwest during the day, the hurricane center said.
"We know that we're going to take the brunt of it," Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said. "It does not bode well for southeastern Louisiana."
Some tourists heeded the warnings and moved up their departures, and lines of tourists waited for cabs on New Orleans' famed Bourbon Street.
"The problem is getting a taxi to the airport. There aren't any," said Brian Katz, a salesman from New York.
But plenty of people in the French Quarter stayed put, and bars were rocking Saturday night.
"The only dangerous hurricanes so far are the ones we've been drinking," said Fred Wilson of San Francisco, as he sipped on the famous drink at Pat O'Brien's Bar. "We can't get out, so we might as well have fun."
New Orleans' worst hurricane disaster happened 40 years ago, when Hurricane Betsy blasted the Gulf Coast. Flood waters approached 20 feet in some areas, fishing villages were flattened, and the storm surge left almost half of New Orleans under water and 60,000 residents homeless. Seventy-four people died in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.
Katrina was a Category 1 storm with 80 mph wind when it hit South Florida on Thursday, and rainfall was estimated at up to 20 inches. Risk modeling companies have said early estimates of insured damage range from $600 million to $2 billion.
Nine people were killed in Florida, including two people discovered Saturday in their home after suffering apparent carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator. Utility crews were working to restore power to about 700,000 customers, down from more than 1 million. Florida has been hit by six hurricanes since last August.
Katrina is the 11th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. That's seven more than typically have formed by now in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane center said. The season ends Nov. 30.
But that's just me.
The libs will be blaming Bush because the La National Guard is in Iraq.
NO is done for if it takes a direct hit.
My brother left Slidell for Baton Rouge this afternoon - as soon as it's daylight outside, look for massive traffic jams as people get out of the city.
