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

[kenth]

Sorry, my assumption. She and the mayor were passing the buck to each other even after the President signed an emergency declaration ahead of time. Then Sunday, it was shortly after being reported that the governer had talked with President Bush, that the mayor and governor came out together to announce the evacuation to the Superdome.

[jeffers]

"To: jeffers

This is erily close to the special FX (Fox) showed this summer about what would happen to this country should this very scenario happen.... This isn't going to be a pretty winter if the other half of their
scenario comes to fruition."

Can you post a short version of their projections as related to winter?

[r9etb]

Well, isn't turnabout fair play....? ;-)

Stick around, though -- as you proved yesterday, you've got a lot of good stuff to contribute to this thread.

[mother22wife21]

SoothingDave-

I am in complete agreement with you on this issue. In the current situation, if my procuring much needed survival supplies leads directly to mine and others survival, Heck yes I would do it, and would not want to have to carry around the dead weight of someone struggling with the moral question of my getting those supplies. Doesn't mean I wouldn't see to their survival needs, but they would have to have that discourse on an internal basis and STFU.

When it comes to situations like this, If I have stayed able bodied and have the wherewithal, I am morally obligated to see to those in my care. Period. Restitution can be made when I can get some clean undies and a cup of coffee and a job.

[RDTF]

LOL!!!

[sinkspur]

In the news I've seen a lot of NO public officials and citizens interviewed, and none have that distinctive, cliche Louisiana accent.

That's the "Cajun" accent. You'll hear that more in West Louisiana, home to the Acadians, or "Cajuns."

Mary Landrieux has a light cajun accent; you can hear it in words like "water" ("waduh"). My wife is from Lake Charles, La., and worked to overcome it. But, when she talks to her family, she slips into her cajun, and she's not even aware she's doing it until I start laughing!

[BlueNgold]

The Friday morning track is not meaningless in the vein of discussion I was having. Someone posted that the evacuation order should have come 24 hours sooner. That would have put the voluntary evacuation order into Friday morning. As you are clearly aware, on Friday morning the track was for FL, so such an order at that point would have been unreasonable. That's it - that's the only point I was making.

And yes, the models started pointing to LA on Fri afternoon and evening, and were dead set on NOLA by Sat morning 5 AM. That's not in dispute. The question centered around the point at which it is reasonable evacuate of a major city.

Perhaps they could have advanced the voluntary evacuation by 10-12 hours (into Friday evening), but even at the point where the models began pointing to LA those same models showed a strike probability of less than 20% for NOLA. I am not yet persuaded that clear and convincing evidence existed to warrant an earlier evacuation order.

To begin a regular policy of evacuating at the point people are saying should have been done for Katrina would in my mind only serve to further jade people to the evacuation orders. The evacuation operations would necessarily be more numerous and therefore the opinion of the populace that the orders were simply hype and over-concern would be more rampant than it already is.

So how does a major city prepare and enact an emergency plan that is designed for 24-48 hours instead of the standard 72? Can it be done? I'm not convinced that it can.

Take this scenario - Friday 4 PM was the earliest reasonable prediction of a LA landfall, and at that point they were predicting a strong Cat III or weak Cat IV at landfall. That gives less than 60 hours from the point where the path shifted until the point at which hurricane force weather was being experienced in the area, and about 62 hours to actual landfall. The NOLA EMP required 72 hours for full implementation, as do most cities, and even in that plan their disaster models showed significant loss of life and property.

Public safety is a tough business, and there were (and are) a lot of people working their tails off dealing with this storm. And I guess I'm just tired of all the people out there who always seem to know what should have been done after the fact. Sorry for the rant.

[dennis1x]

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this, how long it will take before they can even begin to rebuild?

it will all be back to normal before mardi gras 2006, you can be sure.

[Petronski]

But, when she talks to her family, she slips into her cajun, and she's not even aware she's doing it until I start laughing!

Aww.

[Howlin]

Do we know this is a fact?

Yes, we do.

[LibWrangler]

Since you're an old-timer FReeper, you should be setting the example here, d'boy. As you point out, you have more experience than many. Ease up, please.

[bayourant]

I am sorry I campaigned against her twice butshort of her doing a filiabuster and stopping all senate business if we didnt get the necessary funding there wasnt much she vitter jindal or anyone else could do

[XRdsRev]

A very good friend of mine is an upscale contractor in eastern Virginia. His business partner is a black man, very nice guy, very knowledgable. My friend has told me more than once that they have lost jobs when the potential clients realize that the business was co-owned by a black. A few people even told him they didn't want a black man in their home. It is sad but true.

That having been said, the vast majority of people don't feel that way and there are racists in all areas, shapes and colors.

[Arizona Carolyn]

The VP of Tulane University Hospital was on the phone with CNN last night and said water was rising at the rate of one inch every five minutes.... they had generators on the second floor was were calling for a FEMA evacuation of 1000 critical patients.

[milagro]

Did I just hear the Gov of Louisiana say that it is "just lake water" in New Orleans now? Is that as stupid as it sounds?

[Strategerist]

And yes, the models started pointing to LA on Fri afternoon and evening, and were dead set on NOLA by Sat morning 5 AM.

You continue to push the timing of things forward of what they were. The models were actually basically dead set on NOLA by 2PM Friday.

[Moose4]

Actually, yeah, the new Ravenel Bridge over the Cooper River opened last month, I think. Sadly, they had a worker killed recently in the process of dismantling the old Grace and Pearman Bridges that the Ravenel replaced.

And I agree with you...driving the Grace Memorial Bridge was one of the scariest experiences I've ever had behind the wheel.

}:-)4

[Howlin]

He called them.

OMG< the mayor is calling for a DAY OF PRAYER again.........she is a loon.

[SoothingDave]

The government can't provide everything for everyone...thats part of the reason why some of us here on FR are conservative.

Even conservatives understand that there are legitimate functions for the State. Among these is providing for public safety.

Conservative does not equal "anarchist."

At any rate, when facing the possibility of on adverse event...like a hurricane...basic traits of human nature should take over (intelligence, responsibility, dilligence, common sense, etc. and appropriate actions are taken to preserve ones life) In other words...most grown-ups can handle it.

If a city invites thousands of people to tour and then has not plans for protecting them in an emergency, I find that to be poor planning. Yes, adults on their own home turf can be and should be responsible for themselves. But a tourist in a strange city with no means of transportation (and the normal means (rental cars, airplans, etc.) exhausted) is due some consideration from the city which invited him.

SD

[bjs1779]

Water rising at Superdome knee deep and not threatens the generators on the ground floor, which require ventilation to operate. - just reported by an official on CNN

Do you know what the elevation of the Super Dome is? Is the ground floor the same height as the field itself? I thought that was slighlty above sea level.