Katrina Live Thread, Part X

Various ^ | 30 August 2005

[NautiNurse]

Catastrophic damage occurred to Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Major bridges are destroyed. Mobile AL suffered its worst flooding in 90 years. In New Orleans, a large section of concrete levee broke last night. Water continues to rise, threatening, among many things, Tulane Hospital with 1000 patients. New Orleans officials: Do not attempt to return to the city at this time if you evacuated. It is too dangerous.

Sun-Herald Gulfport MS

WLOX TV Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagula

Gulfport News via Topix.net WAFB Baton Rouge

Slidell, Mandeville, and Covington Updates Warning: website is overloaded due to heavy traffic

Mobile Register via al.com

Mississippi updates via Jackson Ledger

Lafayette LA Daily Advertiser

Pensacola News Journal

[mhking]

Are these folks Democrats or Republicans?

It doesn't matter. They are Americans. They are in need of assistance.

[Dog Gone]

At least there's SOME good news!

[the Deejay]

Brian Williams was showing inside the Dome when the top pulled off; it wasn't quite as simply as flapping "skin."

I saw that, too.

Water was POURING IN.... not TRICKLING IN, as they led us to believe.

[EBH]

Jefferson Parish is closed until Monday, Tim Whitmer Chief Adm. Ofc. Jp. "Jefferson Parish will be a new Parish when it's rebuilt." http://www.wwltv.com/

[KC Burke]

I have to compare it to a rock concert I went to many decades ago that lasted three days. One death and one birth for 200,000 attendees. I don't think that with the high percentage of aged or infirm, two deaths indicate much more than the fragile nature of the group being assisted and the stress of the situation.

[daybreakcoming]

Thanks to those who were able to direct me to some Slidell news that sounds even worse than I imagined. Sis and brotherinlaw live on the Lake Ponchatrain side of Slidell. Please post me if you hear anything else about this area.

[Dog]

Can I get an update?

[conserv13]

The levee broke and the city is flooding. : (

[Howlin]

Nobody on this forum thought that.

[rwfromkansas]

My word.......on the local news they played video of a reporter talking to a man who barely escaped with his wife and kid...his wife is believed to have washed away.

His house was ripped in half.

The reporter was almost crying....

And so was I, which is a rare thing My word.....that poor man.

And to think that others probably have even worse stories.

[NittanyLion]

If they aren't allowing media helos over the city it's to avoid outright panic. Things must be even worse than we're hearing. Much worse.

It's very possible they're simply trying to maintain empty skies for SAR helicopters - I don't read it as an attempt at controlling information available to the public.

[oldleft]

I think the outside concourse is about 20 feet above the plaza around it. The top of the dome is 200-something feet tall, so people should be able to stay above the water. I think we have to adjust our thinking to just getting people out alive and keeping them alive.

[r9etb]

...if WE, sitting here at our keyboards days in advance, can figure some of this stuff out, why in the world can't the people who are PAID to figure this stuff out can't figure it out. I mean, what is happening is almost exactly what was discussed on these threads from Thursday on.

Very true.

If we suppose that they weren't just corrupt, I think we can maybe understand some of the failure modes involved here.

The difference between them and us, I guess, is that they actually have to buy the stuff, and pay for the storage and maintenance, to make their plans happen. I'd imagine their budgetary process didn't allow for the necessary logistics, because they never took the threat all that seriously. Prolly a trade-off between perceived short-term needs, and tossing money into stuff they probably never thought they'd need.

And don't forget that most or all of the folks who'd have been involved are probably too young to have any clear recollection of what Bessie did to the city 40 years ago. So they probably had no way to understand the reality of the threat scenario.

Hell of a way to learn that their "responsible monetary decision-making" was wrong.

And again: that's assuming there wasn't any outright corruption involved.

[cajungirl]

We are doing okay. My sister is incommunicado in Wash Parish but I just have a feeling she is okay. No AC, no phone, no power but alive. And no telling what happened to her pet llama,,

[SlowBoat407]

Howlin, he meant "who cares if they're Republicans or Democrats?"

[Peach]

He was responding to someone who asked if they were Republicans or Democrats in the Super Dome.

[King Prout]

very true - and now the electorate is paying a true butcher's bill.

[Pyro7480]

11:28 A.M. - JP Councilman Chris Roberts: Three rescued from Grand Isle, according to Grand Isle Mayor.

Thanks be to God!

[TonyInOhio]

This is shocking, this entire thing, it is just unbelievable.

Agreed.

I was praying for your yesterday, cajungirl, and I still am today. I'm pretty sure a few thousand FReepers are doing the same.

Take Care!