Still no word coming in from Biloxi Miss. Kessler Air Force Base, where Liz works, has issued a "Don't Move" order to all it's troops, which means Liz can't leave Panama Beach, the place she last told them she was. Very little of Kessler remains standing from what we hear. To stay apprised of what's going on at Kessler check out http://www.keesler.af.mil/ .At one point it looked as though Vlad and Liz were going to lose their hotel room since the resort had bookings for the Labor Day tourists. This has since been resolved and they now have the room through the weekend...though the hotel did jack up their room rate. The "Don't Move" order, however, doesn't extend to civilians. So Vlad, being Vlad, has loaded up the truck with as much extra water, gas, food, and tools as he can carry and this morning has decided to try and navigate what's left of the highways and is going to try to get into Biloxi. If he's able to get to the city he is going to assess the situation with their home and remove whatever the storm hasn't destroyed or the looters haven't made off with. If there is any amount of salvageable stuff he is going to start shuttling it to his Aunts home near Mobile, Alabama.
He has been told that where ever you go down there, plan on the trip using twice as much gas as you would estimate due to the impassable conditions of the roads. In addition to that, gas prices and availability are far from certain. He's heard the last available gas before he gets to the effected area is in Pensicola, Fl., some 100 mi from Biloxi.
[Friday 10pm]
Vlad Update 5 - From Ground Zero
The last I had heard from Vlad this afternoon, he was talking to an MP in Alabama who was turning him around because he didn't have the right permit to travel. Vlad then headed of to what ever was passing for the local seat of government to get his paper work.
He just called me from his 'neighborhood'. It's likely what's left standing will have to be leveled. As soon as he pulled up some of his neighbors, who were hanging around a grill in front of one of the remaining structures, came up and welcomed him back. They asked him if he brought a firearm with him, otherwise he could borrow one of theirs while he assessed his property. Vlad assured them he was covered. The neighbors all took turns lifting up their shirts and displaying their hardware. "Lots of looting going on" they said. "A bunch of houses have already been hit." Vlad declined their offer to share in the BBQ and headed off to find his ...house. As with everything else so far, some bad, some not so bad. One remarkable thing is that the four walls stood. That was the difference between some things being salvageable instead of a total loss. Great luck seeing that the storm surge, once it got to Vlad's house, judging by the watermark on the outside of the house, crested at 10 feet. Liz's car was whisked off the parking pad and wedged into a fence. The motorcycle is probably dead. Both car and cycle spent the last week submerged in salt water and probable won't run again. The exterior storage unit Vlad built was smashed all over the neighborhood. The patio furniture, probably washed up in the Dominican Republic.
Inside the house was a little better. First off, everything is a "horrendous mess". Although the water was 10 feet outside, the walls holding only let 5 feet of water into the house. All the ceilings have collapsed. A good portion of the shingles were ripped off the roof. There is a thick coating of fuzzy white mold on "everything, absolutely everything". Everything wreaks. Everything they can salvage will have to be extensively cleaned ("and where the hell do we clean it...", Vlad mused. All the furniture is a total loss. Some of the hard wood antiques might be saved with a great deal of restoration. His sword collection is a fused and rusted hulk. Some things like the clothes that they bagged and put on the top shelves of closets are recoverable. Things that are metal and glass seem to have done the best. Mostly what there is to save is the little stuff. . "I bring gas, water, tools, everything I think I'll need, and the one thing I want now is a cardboard box to put stuff in." There isn't an intact one anywhere to be found. Since there really isn't that much to save Vlad is foregoing the trip to his Aunts, where he was going to drop off whatever he took, and is instead going back to Liz.
All things tolled, best case scenario Vlad might be able to save maybe 30% of what he owns... if it doesn't deteriorate before he gets back. He pulled a couple of tarps over the holes in the roof in case it rained again, in an attempt to save what's left. In the end the house will have to be bulldozed.
The Military Police told him he'd probably want to get out of there by dark. "This is not a place you want to be after sundown" they said. They're still not letting the military personnel out of the shelter. It should be at least 3-4 weeks before they let non-essential troops, like Liz, come back. Before he left Vlad made a deal with hid neighbors who were going to stand as armed guards on their own property. He gave them one of his 5 gallon containers of gas and told them he bring them back as much as he could next trip if they would watch over hit lot too.
Vlad drove back to Liz in Panama Beach tonight. On the drive back he said "You just wouldn't believe some of the sights...Stuff blown up 30...40 feet up in the trees, still hanging there,...like clothes, lumber, shopping carts...crazy...like something out of Aster's backyard." (If you know Aster you'll understand)
(note: that report is from a guy I know personally, and covers events on Friday)
OMG - Had chills reading your post. Thank you very much for the MS update.