New Orleans in for it

[Essan]

There are already reports of levees breaking in some areas. Also a hole in the roof of the Super dome (one of the main refuges in the city), though this doesn't sound too serious. A lot of tornado alerts out and winds up to 120mph still expected around the eyewall:-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED

TORNADO WARNING

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA

842 AM CDT MON AUG 29 2005

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW ORLEANS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...

PEARL RIVER COUNTY IN SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI

THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...POPLARVILLE...PICAYUNE

* UNTIL 945 AM CDT

* AT 838 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED

THE LEADING EDGE OF THE HURRICANE KATRINA EYEWALL APPROACHING THE

SOUTHERN PORTION OF PEARL RIVER COUNTY.

* THE ONSET OF DESTRUCTIVE WINDS WITH GUSTS OF 100 TO 120 MPH WILL

BEGIN SOON. THESE DESTRUCTIVE WINDS WILL PRODUCE WIND DAMAGE SIMILAR

TO A TORNADO. SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN

INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

AND REMAIN IN YOUR SAFE SHELTER UNTIL THE EYEWALL PASSES.

Now down to a CAT 3 but that's to be expected.

[Michelle]

Thank goodness it didn't turn out as bad as everyone thought. They interviewed some of the people that said they weren't going to leave and said they'd heard it all before blah, blah, blah,.... it seems that they were right.

[Talon]

'Up to 80' dead in US hurricane

Large parts of Biloxi may have been destroyed and, according to an internet posting by the mayor, roads are impassable and telephone lines down.

Biloxi resident Harvey Jackson told an ABC reporter he had lost his wife, Tonette, when their house split in two.

"We got up the roof and the water came..." he said, weeping.

"I held her hand tight as I could and she told me 'You can't hold me'. She said 'Take care of the kids and the grandkids.'"

Damage estimates of more than $25 billion suggest it could be the US insurance industry's most expensive natural disaster ever.

Forecasters have warned of heavy rain as the storm heads north towards Tennessee and Ohio. Tornado warnings are in force in some areas.

Rain warning

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour told reporters the county's death toll could reach 80 as rescuers reached cut-off areas.

"We know that there is a lot of the coast that we have not been able to get to," he said.

"I hate to say it but it looks like it is a very bad disaster in terms of human life."

Three people were also killed by falling trees in the state, and in Alabama two people died in a road accident.

The hurricane brought 105mph (170km/h) winds to Mississippi, where Governor Barbour told reporters it came in "like a ton of bricks".

Katrina was later downgraded to a tropical storm as it passed through the eastern part of the state, with wind speeds of 60mph (97km/h).

The storm swept ashore on Monday after moving across the Gulf of Mexico.

At least two oil rigs were set adrift. One in Mobile Bay, Alabama, broke free of its moorings and struck a bridge.

'Devastated city'

About 80% of New Orleans was under flood water, Mayor Ray Nagin said, although the historic French Quarter escaped major damage.

The mayor told a local TV station that bodies had been spotted floating in the water.

"I don't have any good news to really share," he said. "The city... is in a state of devastation."

More than a million people were evacuated from the New Orleans area as the hurricane approached.

Flood waters surged across the western part of the city after a vital flood defence gave way but the storm weakened after making landfall, sparing New Orleans a direct hit.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/worl...cas/4197986.stm

[Daughter of the Nine Moons]

that is terrible

[_Nyx_]

I have a cousin who lives in Biloxi on the coast....he refused to leave with his parents....said he'd 'ride it out'....we haven't heard from him since yesterday morning......

[Essan]

Hope he's okay Lila! But I understand all communications are out in many places (including mobile phones), so lack of contact isn't too much cause for alarm atm.

Sounds like flooding is getting worse in NO and whilst it could have been much, much worse, I expect a big rise in casualties in the coming days

Edited: to add this link - a picture showing just some of the flooding..... (not sure of its origin as posted by a friend on another website)

Edited August 30, 2005 by Essan

[The Skeptic Eric Raven]

They are saying the damage and death toll will be worse than Camille. It is scary. My mother who is mentally ill rode it out about 20 miles from Biloxi. It will probably take a week before I know if she is alright.

[justcallmefox]

anybody know how long it will take to get New Orleans out from under the water? is it even POSSIBLE to get that much water out?

FOX news is reporting that 80% of the city is under water.

God be with the people that live in New Orleans and their families and friends.

[Michelle]

It depends on when they can get the electricity going again. Using generators will be slower but possible. Because of the lay of the land, it being in a bowl, the water will not naturally run off. The estimate right now is at least two weeks. The water has not crested (finished rising) at the moment so we will have to wait and see.

Before it actually hit they were predicting anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 deaths, but, gratefully, it looks like it is no where near that number.

My thoughts are with all the people effected, throughout the South.

[Essan]

It depends on when they can get the electricity going again. Using generators will be slower but possible. Because of the lay of the land, it being in a bowl, the water will not naturally run off. The estimate right now is at least two weeks. The water has not crested (finished rising) at the moment so we will have to wait and see.

Before it actually hit they were predicting anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 deaths, but, gratefully, it looks like it is no where near that number.

My thoughts are with all the people effected, throughout the South.

818027[/snapback]

It looks like the intial euphoria when the eye missed NO and it looked like the effects weren't going to be as bad as expected was sadly misplaced.

It's gonna be a long while before NO is a living, working city again. And from the reports coming out of the region, the death toll may be very high It'll be days before the full horror is known, but expect the worst

[Talon]

US battles to save storm victims

The Superdome stadium is without power, and toilets are overflowing.

"It's a very, very desperate situation," Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco said.

One resident of New Orleans said escaping from the storm was "hell".

"We were screaming, hollering, flashing lights. It was complete chaos," Kioka Williams told the Associated Press news agency.

She had to hack her way through the ceiling of her beauty shop as flood waters rose in the city of half a million people - much of which lies below sea level.

Flooding

Walls keeping water out of the bowl-shaped city have been breached, and emergency teams are using helicopters to drop 1,350kg (3,000lb) sandbags and concrete barriers into the gaps.

New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin said up to 80% of the city was submerged, in some cases by waters 6m (20ft) deep. He warned water levels could still rise.

"Some sections of the city which are dry now could see nine or 10 feet (some 3m) of water," he said.

The US Army Corps of Engineers says it could take a month to clear the flood waters, and the government's disaster relief agency has urged evacuees not to try to get back to their homes.

The BBC's Alastair Leithead in New Orleans says there is panic as vital supplies run out. Heavily armed police have been trying to impose a form of martial law to stem outbreaks of looting.

While some looters are stealing non-essential goods, others are simply trying to find food and water.

'Hundreds dead'

The situation appears to be even worse in Mississippi.

"You're going to be looking at hundreds dead along the coast," a state official said.

Casinos housed in barges have been hurled onto the beach and beyond. Tens of thousands are homeless, and officials say it could be weeks before power is restored.

"I can only imagine that this is what Hiroshima looked like 60 years ago," said Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour after viewing the destruction from the air.

Survivors are being found all the time, including two children who lost their parents.

Harrison County in Mississippi bore the brunt of Hurricane Katrina as it slammed into Biloxi and Gulfport before heading inland.

Mississippi media earlier reported 54 people killed in the state.

In Biloxi, 30 people were reported dead in one block of flats which was hit by a 9m (30ft) "storm surge".

The town's death toll may be "in the hundreds", municipal spokesman Vincent Creel said.

Mobilising

Louisiana's Governor Blanco urged residents to spend Wednesday in prayer and assured them the crisis would eventually be overcome.

The US Red Cross has mobilised thousands of volunteers for its biggest-ever natural disaster effort and federal emergency teams are being dispatched to affected areas.

President George W Bush, who has cut his holiday two days short, has called on Americans to donate to the Red Cross or other organisations.

Damage estimates of more than $25bn suggest it could be the US insurance industry's most expensive natural disaster ever.

The price of crude oil on the international market hit a record $70.85 a barrel due to the vulnerability of oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico.

The US energy secretary has announced that oil will be released from government petroleum reserves.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/worl...cas/4199350.stm

[_Nyx_]

Still no word on my cousin....none of us has any clue if he's dead or alive at this point...

[Talon]

There's a wrestler called Hedenriech who also lives down there, all the phones line as down so he's heard no word on his father, he can't even reach local authorities on the phone.

[Babs]

Terrible. It gets worse by the day. This storm will be felt through-out the country for many years to come. We all will have hardship now, I'm afraid. Thank god this 'biblical proportioned' storm spared New Orleans a direct hit; instead of hundreds of lives, it would have been thousands.

I can't believe it! I just heard Germany has offered assistance.

Edited August 31, 2005 by Babs

[Talon]

I can't believe it! I just heard Germany has offered assistance.

And why wouldn't Germany offer assitence? They've been a Democracy for 60 years now, and as a NATO member are one of your allies.

[Babs]

West Nile virus is coming in on the waters, I heard, and the alligators and poisonous snakes, among other dangerous wild animals, are a real concern. No water to drink and no food. Plus no toilets. Human waste and toxic chemicals floating around in a cesspool, along with body parts and coffins. Horrible stories: with millions homeless on the streets with nowhere to go. The heat is up in the 100's because of the water in the city and the hospitals can't take in all the injuries. Some fire depts. were hit.... as a big hospital was hit, and I think I saw a Red Cross building on fire.

And to make matters worse they can't stop the flooding in new Orleans. It's filling up like a bath tub. There are people trapped in their attics and on roof tops. The elderly and injured are still in their homes being rescued, now, but so many will not be rescued. Many rescuers can't get to these people in those neighborhoods because they just can't physically do it. One fella set his house on fire hoping the authorities would see him and help him, but the rescue units can't even get near his neighborhood.

We don't know how many are dead.

Edited August 31, 2005 by Babs

[Babs]

95% of the oil out in those rigs beyond New Orleans (in the gulf) are damaged. That is a fourth of our oil, they are saying. Americans gas is going sky-high; people are waiting in lines at the gas stations, fighting. And the airlines have gone up immediately, 22%. How long can Americans pay these prices? The airlines will go bankrupt, chapter 11 it, in 5 yrs. (they are saying) .....and then what?

How long can we do this??

Edited August 31, 2005 by Babs

[Babs]

I feel sorry for those people in the superdome. Thousands in there during the hurricane with the roof coming off and the field filling up (with water) along with the stair wells and elevators filling up with water.. It must of been hell. The heat in there.... and nothing working, including the toilets. Some people, the next day, after the hurricane storm, wanted to leave, but the national guard said no. Finally the guard told them that if they left, they wouldn't be allowed back in.

These poor people are just now standing by, waiting for busses to pick them up. To take them to Houston, Texas.... to 'their' dome.

Texas is taking them in. And many states are saying that if New Orleanians can get to their states, they will take them. Give them rooms in their homes. As far as Arizona.

Edited August 31, 2005 by Babs

[Babs]

Talon....I am overwhelmed and happy that Germany is offering to help.

[justcallmefox]

Just watched the news about 20 minutes ago.

Miss. governor says it could be 12-16 weeks before residents of NO could go back to their homes. To state the obvious, that's 3 or 4 MONTHS. I can't even comprehend that. Hopefully, everyone left homeless by Katrina has somewhere to go, even if it's only a shelter.

ALSO, the refugees staying in the Superdome are being bused over to the Astrodome.

Thought one of the many pictures I have seen was interesting. Apparently, an oil rig broke free from it's moorings and got stuck under one of the bridges. (can't find a link to it, but some of you keeping up with the news might know which pic I refer to)

Another interesting thing: Wikipedia (EXCELLENT online encyclopedia) already has an article up about Katrina. Check it out:Wikipedia

[recon_soldier]

Isnt it convenient, the only pump already set up in new orleans, to pump large amounts of water out of the city, pumps the water into the river, that the rising waters are coming from.

[Babs]

It is so convenient that the levies malfuntioned or didn't work. What happened there?? A couple were breached, but the rest weren't working ... is that how it went?

The super dome refugees have to wade through waist-high water to get to the busses. Busses are coming in from all over the country. Helicopters, military trucks...it looks like a war zone.

[twpdyp]

Let us examine the intelligence required to build your city in an area below sea level and in a hurricane zone. I am willing to bet that us humans rebuild this city in the same place with the same flaws.

[Babs]

Agree. Humans will do it again. Common sense tells you that building close to the coast. ........or living near the water, as pretty as it is.

This is the biggest national natural disaster. It looks like a war zone. No... worse.

Edited August 31, 2005 by Babs

[jeceris]

the tragically hip were extremely prophetic, with their song"new orleans is sinking"

and, yeah why woud you build or live in a city below sea level, with levy's only to protect you. and rebuild it again on the same spot, knowing it will happen again.

it looks like the 3rd world now, and i'm reading about gangs cleaning out the gun section in a walmart, and now roaming and looting, reminds me of escape from new york, that's probably what the place is going to become.

and yeah oil rigs in the gulf went down, but that makes it ok to raise gas prices by $0.20 this morning.

what a mess.

and i guess i feel sorry for those who lost it all, and disgusted by those who see this only as an opportunity to loot, and a not an opportunity to work together to rescue other people, to start with sandbags somewhere, and a pump and at least try to reclaim the property an acre at a time.

3-4 months before they can get back!!! wow. new orleans is becoming the modern atlantis.

but the cynic in me is waiting for the big battles to begin between the gang of looters and the national guard.

it's real messy and it's just gonna get messier.