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

[technochick99]

I think we need to give Shep a break, he is running on very little sleep, no electricity, no shower, it is hot and humid, it stinks, the food is bad, there is devastation everywhere. He is trying to report what he sees, as he sees it.

Worth repeating!

[Pete]

Fires breaking out all over the place.

I heard last night that natural gas from broken lines is bubbling up through the flood waters. I wonder if it is being ignited.

[CajunConservative]

"""One of my relatives by marriage belongs to this organization. He's been in Iran, went to the Tsunami, was in NY after 9/11. His group left yesterday for NOLA. He is very modest, but it sounds like they are the first responders along with the PD and FD."""



They are and they don't want or need the accolades. This is their ministry. They do it out of love.

[NautiNurse]

Thank you for posting the phone numbers.

[King Prout]

placemark

[jpsb]

240 explains it nicely, or as I read on another post, the levies turn to tooth paste in a long hard rain. Having a hard time getting a handle on what these levy breeches mean to N.O. I was told N.O. is divided into sections and that a levy breech would only effect that section. Wish someone could explain just what is happening to New Orleans and what the long term effects will/might be.

[dirtboy]

but I simply doubt the resources are in place now, or that they will be before water levels equalize.

Not only that, but almost all the highways into the region are closed. Communications are down. No power.

All they can do is watch now.

[fooman]

fox needs to improve. thanks for the info on cnn, because I had quit watching them.

[dawn53]

And most cities, the water would run off eventually...not in NO.

[Alberta's Child]

The scary thing is this hurricane is just precursor to what is coming. For those who think we are not approaching an end, just look at what is occurring. The disasters are becoming more catastrophic.

You might be right about "approaching the end," but you might also be wrong. The disasters are not becoming more catastrophic -- they're actually becoming less so. If you go back through the annals of history you'll find that the worst disasters in terms of loss of human life occurred years ago. The Yangtze River in China used to have a major flood every few decades, killing hundreds of thousands of people in the process.

What has changed in recent years is that the exposure to these disasters is increasing. Andrew was the worst hurricane ever to hit Florida -- because there were more people and buildings in its path than ever before. Katrina will be the worst hurricane ever to hit Louisiana -- because there are more people and buildings in its path in 2005 than ever before.

[cwiz24]

I'm so tired of hearing that people dodged a bullet down there. Tell that to the people that lost everything, including family members. Maybe they dodged a bullet to the heart, but it definitely lodged in a major organ.

[apackof2]

brain-addled Cindy S on an ad on CCN

I agree..back to FOX, that a horrible time to show such an ad...but calculated to reach more people

[MarMema]

You're not alone.

[Alberta's Child]

Do you live in a flood plain?

[jeffers]

"To: jeffers
NO can be drained. Had it flooded yeaterday during the heigth of the storm, there'd be nothing left worth draining.

I disagree. If there are four major breeches in the levees, by this time tomorrow New Orleans will be at the same water level as Lake Pontchatrain. Pumping water back into the lake is useless if there is open
communication between the lake and the city.

And if fires break out, it's over. Recall what happened to Grand Forks when it flooded. This is far, far worse."


I agree that fires are a major concern now.

I disagree that NO water levels equalling Lake P. are a bad thing. If the levees held, that would have been better, but they have been breached. From here, the only way to minimize damage is for the levels to equalize without scouring effects under the buildings. Yes, this is a triage point of view, but what else do we have?

[HankReardon]

Yes, I saw the the video of Mr. Jackson. My heart goes out to him and his family. Very tragic about his lose, very sad. Another tragedy is that this poor man does not know how, or cannot speak properly. Also very sad to see.

[cwiz24]

Any live news coverage viewable from the net right now?

[NautiNurse]

How deep is Lake Ponchartrain?

[apackof2]

Thanks, I hope your right....but part of me questions the wisdom of rebuilding a city so obviously vulnerable to a natural diaster of this magnitude