New Orleans Storm Thread: Merged

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

I hope that anyone here from New Orleans or Southern Louisiana have gotten the hell out of dodge.

New Orleans Braces for Powerful Katrina

Aug 28 3:48 PM US/Eastern

By ALLEN G. BREED

Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS

Monstrous Hurricane Katrina barreled toward the Big Easy on Sunday with 175-mph wind and a threat of a 28-foot storm surge, forcing a mandatory evacuation, a last-ditch Superdome shelter and prayers for those left to face the doomsday scenario this below-sea-level city has long dreaded.

"Have God on your side, definitely have God on your side," Nancy Noble said as she sat with her puppy and three friends in six lanes of one- way traffic on gridlocked Interstate 10. "It's very frightening."

Katrina intensified into a Category 5 giant over the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico on a path to come ashore early Monday in the heart of New Orleans. That would make it the city's first direct hit in 40 years and the most powerful storm ever to slam the city.

"I'm really scared," resident Linda Young said as she fill her gas tank. "I've been through hurricanes, but this one scares me. I think everybody needs to get out."

Rain began falling on southeastern Louisiana by midday Sunday, the first hints of a storm with a potential surge of 18 to 28 feet, topped with even higher waves, tornadoes and as much as 15 inches of rain.

"We are facing a storm that most of us have long feared," Mayor Ray Nagin said in ordering the mandatory evacuation for his city of 485,000 people, surrounded by suburbs of a million more. "The storm surge will most likely topple our levee system."

Conceding that as many as 100,000 inner-city residents didn't have the means to leave and an untold number of tourists were stranded by the closing of the airport, the city arranged buses to take people to 10 last-resort shelters, including the Superdome.

Nagin also dispatched police and firefighters to rouse people out with sirens and bullhorns, and even gave them the authority to commandeer vehicles to aid in the evacuation.

"This is very serious, of the highest nature," the mayor said. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime event."

For years, forecasters have warned of the nightmare scenario a big storm could bring to New Orleans, a bowl of a city that's up to 10 feet below sea level in spots and dependent on a network of levees, canals and pumps to keep dry. It's built between the half-mile-wide Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, half the size of the state of Rhode Island.

Estimates have been made of tens of thousands of deaths from flooding that could overrun the levees and turn New Orleans into a 30-foot-deep toxic lake filled with chemicals and petroleum from refineries, and waste from ruined septic systems.

Katrina's eye was expected to make landfall around sunrise Monday on the southeastern Louisiana coast, although Mississippi also was in danger, said Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Because Katrina was such a big storm with hurricane- force wind of at least 74 mph extending up to 105 miles from the center, areas far from the eye's landfall could still be devastated.

At 2 p.m. EDT, Katrina's eye was about 180 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. The storm was moving toward the west-northwest at nearly 13 mph and was expected to turn toward the north-northwest.

A hurricane warning was in effect for the north-central Gulf Coast from Morgan City, La., to the Alabama-Florida line, the hurricane center said. Tropical storm warnings extended east to Indian Pass, Fla., and west to Cameron, La., a spread of about 480 miles.

Despite the dire predictions, a group of residents in a poor neighborhood of central New Orleans sat on a porch with no car, no way out and, surprisingly, no fear.

"We're not evacuating," said 57-year-old Julie Paul. "None of us have any place to go. We're counting on the Superdome. That's our lifesaver."

The Superdome, the 70,000-seat home of football's Saints and the New Year's Sugar Bowl, opened at daybreak Sunday, giving first priority to frail, elderly people on walkers, some with oxygen tanks. They were told to bring enough food, water and medicine to last up to five days.

In the French Quarter, most bars that stayed open through the threat of past hurricanes were boarded up and the few people on the streets were battening down their businesses and getting out.

Sasha Gayer tried to get a train out of town but couldn't. So she walked back to the French Quarter, buying supplies on the way, and then stopped at one of the few bars open on Bourbon Street.

"This is a lot more fun than sitting at home listening to apocalyptic media reports," she said. "This is how you know it's a serious hurricane. You can't find a slice of white bread in the city, but you can still buy beer."

Airport Holiday Inn manager Joyce Tillis spent the morning calling her 140 guests to tell them about the evacuation order. Tillis, who lives inside the flood zone, also called her three daughters to tell them to get out.

"If I'm stuck, I'm stuck," Tillis said. "I'd rather save my second generation if I can."

But the evacuation was slow going. Highways in Louisiana and Mississippi were jammed as people headed away from Katrina's expected landfall. All lanes were limited to northbound traffic on Interstates 55 and 59, and westbound on I-10.

Katrina was "unmitigated bad news" for motorists across the nation because it shut down offshore production of at least 1 million barrels of oil daily and threatened refinery and import operations around New Orleans, said oil analyst Peter Beutel. He predicted crude oil could top $70 a barrel by Monday or Tuesday.

Hotels were spared from evacuation orders to give tourists and locals a place for "vertical evacuation."

Tina and Bryan Steven, a couple from Forest Lake, Minn., who came to attend a conference of emergency medical services, sat glumly on the sidewalk outside their hotel in the French Quarter.

"We're choosing the best of two evils," said Bryan Steven. "It's either be stuck in the hotel or stuck on the road. ... We'll make it through it."

His wife, wearing a Bourbon Street T-shirt with a lewd message, interjected: "I just don't want to die in this shirt."

Only three Category 5 hurricanes _ the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale _ have hit the United States since record-keeping began. The last was 1992's Hurricane Andrew, which at 165-mph leveled parts of South Florida, killed 43 people and caused $31 billion in damage.

New Orleans has not taken a major direct hit from a hurricane since Betsy in 1965, when an 8- to 10-foot storm surge submerged parts of the city in seven feet of water. Betsy, a Category 3 storm, was blamed for 74 deaths in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.

Rappaport warned that Katrina, already responsible for nine deaths in South Florida as a mere Category 1, could be far worse for New Orleans.

"It would be the strongest we've had in recorded history there," Rappaport said. "We're hoping of course there'll be a slight tapering off at least of the winds, but we can't plan on that. ... We're in for some trouble here no matter what."

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

Urgent Weather Message from NWS New Orleans

WWUS74 KLIX 281550NPWLIXURGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA

1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005

DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED

HURRICANE KATRINAA MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969. MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. ATLEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL.PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED.

CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE. HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT. AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATEADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...

AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK. POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...

BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEWCROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BEKILLED.AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEARHURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE..

.ARECERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTUREOUTSIDE!LAZ038-040-050-056>070-282100-ASSUMPTION-LIVINGSTON-LOWER JEFFERSON-LOWER LAFOURCHE-LOWER PLAQUEMINES-LOWER ST. BERNARD-LOWER TERREBONNE-ORLEANS-ST. CHARLES-ST. JAMES-ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST-ST. TAMMANY-TANGIPAHOA-UPPER JEFFERSON-UPPER LAFOURCHE-UPPER PLAQUEMINES-UPPER ST. BERNARD-UPPER TERREBONNE-1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005

[Barton]

WOW. When did it strengthen so much? damn.

Biggest hurricane to hit LA?? Or strongest hurricane ever??

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

It picked up MAJOR steam in the gulf. Jumped from a 1 to a 5. Others have hit LA before but this will be the largest, not to mention the first direct hit ot NO.

NO will be a lake when this is done, period.

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

Estimates have been made of tens of thousands of deaths from flooding that could overrun the levees and turn New Orleans into a 30-foot-deep toxic lake filled with chemicals and petroleum from refineries, and waste from ruined septic systems.

[DireJet38]

My parents are there, third story hotel room. There is no way out, no cars for rental, no shuttle out, no airport, they have to wait it out with the rest of the hotel employees and their families...Last time I talked to my dad they were rigging up boards, ect. for protection.

Wild Times.

[NYJJared]

Well as of right now it just went down to 165 MPH sustained. But if it was at 175/185 it'd be about as strong a hurricane we could get. Only 3 other Cat 5's has made landfall in the U.S., the last being Andrew in '92.

They're a little behind the 8 ball in the evactuation. The roads are gridlocked. They're planning on putting tons of people in the Superdome, but there's concern from engineers that even that place would receive significant damage. But anyways, if it's a direct hit to New Orleans, downtown would be a lake.

Everyone missed this forecast really bad, this storm has been crazy. No one thought it would be this strong last Friday, let alone take this path. I'm a Meteorologist, and our company never thought it would be this bad. We had a Gulf threat of 15% Thursday. So this has really added to the craziness in the evactuaion and planning down there. IT's like someone saying you got 2 days to move 100,000's of people or you and your belongings will all be destroyed.

[spjets]

My parents are there, third story hotel room. There is no way out, no cars for rental, no shuttle out, no airport, they have to wait it out with the rest of the hotel employees and their families...Last time I talked to my dad they were rigging up boards, ect. for protection.

Wild Times.

good luck to you and your parents bro...

[Smizzy]

Dude....This storm is going to whipe out New Orleans.

I heard most of the city is below seas level and their sewer systems are terrible and run by Pumps.

No way they recover. The Saints are looking for a stadium to play in as we speak.

[dickkotite]

My parents are there, third story hotel room. There is no way out, no cars for rental, no shuttle out, no airport, they have to wait it out with the rest of the hotel employees and their families...Last time I talked to my dad they were rigging up boards, ect. for protection.

Wild Times.

what do you mean theres no way out? they can walk right? so they should get out of the area thats under the levee.

if i were them, id be walking for hours. the worst place to be is in the first 20 miles and i could walk 20 miles in a full day

[Jets28]

My parents are there, third story hotel room. There is no way out, no cars for rental, no shuttle out, no airport, they have to wait it out with the rest of the hotel employees and their families...Last time I talked to my dad they were rigging up boards, ect. for protection.

Wild Times.

...Im praying for your parents as we speak. I hope God looks out for all those stuck there cause that storm is gonna be a whopper man. And Smizz NO is way below sea level. When they get bad storms the graves and everything come to the surface. When I went on a tour down there they talked about all of that. When those sewer pumps get shut down from the flooding its gonna be horrible. They are actually using the Dome as a shelter. God Bless them all....watch CNN...190 miles away from NO.

[Jets28]

Dude....This storm is going to whipe out New Orleans.

I heard most of the city is below seas level and their sewer systems are terrible and run by Pumps.

No way they recover. The Saints are looking for a stadium to play in as we speak.

....10 ft below sea level

[Smizzy]

190 miles away and 180 MPH

Jesus H Christ.

[Jets28]

190 miles away and 180 MPH

Jesus H Christ.

...They are gonna have to sit in the stands at the top of the Dome because the field level can still get flooded CNN just said. Wow man. Snow seems good in the northeast huh?..

[DireJet38]

what do you mean theres no way out? they can walk right? so they should get out of the area thats under the levee.

if i were them, id be walking for hours. the worst place to be is in the first 20 miles and i could walk 20 miles in a full day

The eye of the hurricaine is 32 miles wide, walking would be pointless, they are hatched up with a bunch of people in the highest level of their hotel, I'm sure they will be fine.

Thanks for the kind words from all, sleep will not be found tonight.

[gg]

The eye of the hurricaine is 32 miles wide, walking would be pointless, they are hatched up with a bunch of people in the highest level of their hotel, I'm sure they will be fine.

Thanks for the kind words from all, sleep will not be found tonight.

oh boy dire... i will be thinking positive thoughts! my best wishes that they come through this with a great story and nothing else.

[Jetheelz]

DireJet, I hope your folks will be safe and well protected. I will remember them in my thoughts.

[haggis]

This storm is unreal. We cannot even begin to comprehend how powerful it is. Good luck to all those in it's path for the next 24hrs.

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

Dire your parents are in my wishes.

[Jets28]

what do you mean theres no way out? they can walk right? so they should get out of the area thats under the levee.

if i were them, id be walking for hours. the worst place to be is in the first 20 miles and i could walk 20 miles in a full day

...that was very insensitive man. This guy is worried about his parents. Just offer a prayer or a good thought but dont say silly things like that. They can't out walk a storm. They are safer in sound structure not walking down the streets of NO.

[Verde]

The eye of the hurricaine is 32 miles wide, walking would be pointless, they are hatched up with a bunch of people in the highest level of their hotel, I'm sure they will be fine.

Thanks for the kind words from all, sleep will not be found tonight.

32 MILES? MILES???

Good Lord, Dire...I hope your parents will be okay.

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

Is it just me or is the Superdome the LAST place you'd want to be in a hurricane???

A structure that big is going to be inherently unstable with Cat 5 winds, which if I'm correct, not even a modern day building can be built to code to defense against it, let alone a 70s structure.

The people obviously can't be on the main field area because the roof will be the fist to go, which means the concourses, tunnels, and inner rooms. That's great til the flooding starts.

I see this pic and can't help but worry people are walking into a tomb.

[Smizzy]

Not a good idea by any stretch of the imagination.

[Maxman]

It is times like this that make me realize that we all answer to a higher power.

I pray that everyone gets through this okay.

[The Troll]

I hope it doesn't turn left after it hits New Orleans. If so, I may be looking for a new place to live.

[stormshadow19]

As with everyone else, I hope everyone gets out alive, and that there is minimum damage.

And DireJet, I hope that your parents are able to get out alive, and undamaged.

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

Anyone watching the news? This is going to be a nightmare.

[Smizzy]

They said over a million people have left the area and about 100,000 remain.

12,000 in the superdome.

I can't believe how big this thing is...they said it's a " once every 500 yr storm "

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

I'm watching Fox News right now......

As much as I enjoy the network, they MUST get rid of Geraldo Rivera NOW.

[Smizzy]

I'm watching Fox News right now......

As much as I enjoy the network, they MUST get rid of Geraldo Rivera NOW.

CNN

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

[T-Mac]

The Dome is the only way to go. The city will be flooded for a long time after the storm. Like jets28 says, it's below sea level.

This is my favorite city to visit, may the Lord spare the town and everyone in it.

[bitonti]

a cat 5 storm hitting NO is one of those "worst case" scenarios the gov't secretly plans for - that's the ALL CAPS announcement GOB provided. It will be a national emergency. the city will be pulverised. it will be a media bonanza in that sick way that 9-11 was. pray for those people.

[Smizzy]

The guy from CNN said National Geographic did a story last yr on the effects of a level 5 Hurricane hitting...get this...New Orleans

[dickkotite]

...that was very insensitive man. This guy is worried about his parents. Just offer a prayer or a good thought but dont say silly things like that. They can't out walk a storm. They are safer in sound structure not walking down the streets of NO.

how was i being insensitive?

he made it sound like they were boarding up a downtown hotel, and i suggested that one could easily walk and get 20 miles further away from the storm surge, which comes off the sea and does the most damage and killing.

if i had 24+ hours, id be walking to higher ground away from the coast rather than planting nails near the coast.