Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part VII

NOAA - NHC ^ | 28 August 2005 | NOAA - NHC

[bonfire]

One would think that a mayor of NO would have given a situation such as this a bit of thought even BEFORE he became mayor.

sheesh.

[DoughtyOne]

Yep. You know, something's wrong when one storm can disrupt the nations supply of gasoline to this extent. If oil rigs and refineries are damaged to the point that they might be, we could be in a serious world of hurt when it comes to gasoline, and other oil derivitives.

[Howlin]

This is a LOCAL problem for the most part; the governor and the mayor are going to have to take the blame for the shoddy "plan" which evidently involved prayer and no order to evacuate until it was too late.

[PhiKapMom]

I don't care who he backed -- his decisions in this disaster about to happen were flawed. Would have no confidence in him whatsoever if he were my Mayor.

[Miss Marple]

I heard that President Bush strongly suggested it. I also heard the head of the hurricane center personally called the mayor. There was something to that effect, because the story put out by the mayor's office originally wa that he couldn't order a mandatory evacuation because of some legal reason.

[Howlin]

Precisely.

[DoughtyOne]

LOL, I hadn't heard him today.

[RobbyS]

He's a lot closer to NO right now than he would be if he were in DC. As an aside, I wish they would let him STAY in Crawford for a longer time. Ft. Hood is right there to provide him all the support he needs, except for state dinners.

[John Jamieson]

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, touched a high of 70.80 usd and was trading at 69.78 dollars at 10.00 am (0200 GMT), up 3.65 usd from its close of 66.13 in the US on Friday.

[newzjunkey]

Reports of price gouging for fuel, hotels and other things! Civil and criminal prosecutions *will* occur. Reported in mid-parts of L.A. through to Lafayette.

Allegations include stations taking only cash for fuel and no credit cards.

Reporting forms available via: L.A. Att General website

[JennysCool]

From the "Weather Corner" in the Mercury News

Q. During our recent spectacular lightning show I noticed that sometimes there was a greenish tint to the lightning. Can you explain this? Lucy Baldwin - Palo Alto

A. Clouds often take on a greenish hue before severe storms, but this is most often associated with hail. Hail is usually part of a thunderstorm. These tall, dense cumulonimbus clouds often block most of the sunlight, so the greenish tint may be a reflection of Earth's green foliage. However, the cause of the green tint has not been proven conclusively.

[kenth]

The problem with the mayor and governor's inaction was that it prevented the evacuation of those without the ability to evacuate. There are people without money, without vehicles to travel. Instead of being able to get those people out on some form of public transportation, the failure to act has put them in a last ditch effort to stay alive by riding out the storm in the Superdome.

When the mayor and governor have to be told by the President that they need to evacuate their cities, something is seriously rotten in that state's chain of command. Crucial hours were lost because that mayor was consulting with lawyers over the legalities of trying to save lives. I think there's plenty of blame to lay at their feet.

[blondee123]

Well, I sure hope Pres. Bush releases some of the oil reserve we have, NOW! It's time to do it, Americans cannot pay more for gas than it is right now. This increase could go on thru the winter, if reserves are not released!

[Chena]

I'd be surprised.... but if you're praying for New Orleans, as most good Freepers have been, you're praying for a whoooooooole lot of Democrats. Louisiana is still a blue state.

I would be seriously disappointed in anyone who would turn a natural disaster for ALL Americans into a political issue. When push comes to shove, in any tragedy, or looming disaster, it matters not whether you are a Republican, Democrat or some other political persuasion. We, as fellow Americans, have a duty to pray for each other in times of need and do our best to lend a helping hand. :)

[Howlin]

you talk real big but until you are put in his shoes and overseeing and are SUCCESSFUL trying to handle a city with a million people in it then you can start bashing him.

If I ran and got myself elected to the mayor's office in New Orleans, the first damn thing I would have done is ASK FOR THE EVACUATION PLANS.

The President of the United States of America had to call that man and tell him to ORDER AN EVACUATION.

[adam_az]

MSNBC just interviewed Sheriff Harry Lee, the infamous Nutria hunter!!!

http://www.google.com/search?hs=uuG&hl=en&lr=&client=firefox&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=sheriff+harry+lee+nutria&btnG=Search

[exhaustedmomma]

It's not like the city has the means to bus the people out of town.

NO has: Public transit vehicles, public school busses, Amtrak, Greyhound, boats, to name a few. They did arrange for pick up points in neighborhoods (like schools) to take them to the Dome... that was assuming they could get to the pick up points.

[onyx]

I fully understand some folks had no means of transportation out of NO, and that the dome is their only shelter, but the others who have elected to stay put,... well, I hope no rescuer/safety officer loses his or her life trying to save the foolish folks.

[PhiKapMom]

I have a feasible alternative -- start the evacuation of New Orleans before this morning. Also make sure every main street was going one way -- OUT of the city. Make sure that people in nursing homes/hospitals were not abandoned. My list would go on and on but it would be a plan in case of a catastrophic hurricane and it would be put into action several days before not less than 24 hours before the hurricane hit.