http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1472820/posts?page=15#15
From the weather channel blog:
An amazing phone call just aired on The Weather Channel a few minutes ago from Jim Cantore's producer, Simon Temperton. The two of them are at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport, Miss. (current conditions), where they have sought refuge from rapidly rising floodwaters on the second floor along with 300-400 residents of the home.
Here's some of what Simon reported in his phone call:
"We're going through some unbelievable conditions. Water is seeping into the building. I'd say we've had at least a 20-feet [of] storm surge. It has washed away all our rental cars, and everything else [in the parking lot]...
"Now water is seeping into the home and they are evacuating everyone to the second floor. I'm standing in 5 or 6 inches of water [on the second floor]. The power is out. There are a few emergency lights. It's a very daunting prospect right now....
"It's a very dangerous situation. I've been doing this for 15 years, and [I've] been Mr. Cantore's producer for many hurricanes, and I've never seen anything like this. This is probably the scariest situation we've ever been in -- just the sudden rise of water and how fast. They said we were good here for 27, 30 feet [of storm surge] -- they've never seen anything like it. They thought we were completely safe.
"We're not even shooting [video] anymore. We're basically in self-preservation [mode] right now. We're helping people put up boards and sandbags to keep the water from coming in. We've become part of the crew.
"In the time we've been talking, the water has risen, I'd say, another 3 inches. It's up to the top of my boots. The water keeps rising."
-- Posted by Laurel, Product Manager, The Weather Channel Interactive
Yep, that's a hurricane for you. When you've been through a few, all you can do when you hear these reports is GASP...feeling soooo sorry for those caught up in it. Praying for all those folks.
"I'm not doing too good right now," Chris Robinson said via cellphone from his home east of the city's downtown. "The water's rising pretty fast. I got a hammer and an ax and a crowbar, but I'm holding off on breaking through the roof until the last minute. Tell someone to come get me please. I want to live."
WWL: Water 8-10' deep near Jackson Barracks, which appears to be at about 0' elevation. That's the area called Arabi, which is just SE of the industrial canal. In its own levee system, surrounded by the Miss. River to the south, Industrial Canal to the west, and Intercoastal Waterway to the north. Flooding here will NOT affect downtown New Orleans, which is in a separate levee bowl.
"In the time we've been talking, the water has risen, I'd say, another 3 inches. It's up to the top of my boots. The water keeps rising."
Those guys are in trouble.