This is looking worse and worse. We might lose a complete city tomorrow. I will have all the disaster relief info I can find up tomorrow. For now, cross your fingers.
Katrina
by John Cole| 22 Comments
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Katrina
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Stormy70
This is horrible. Many prayers go out to everyone in it’s path.
KC
Yeah, this is crazy. It’s not unbelievable though. I can’t remember on which show it was, but I heard an interview with a couple of scientists on NPR about global warming, it’s effects, etc. One thing they said was larger hurricanes would be a consequent and they specifically mentioned the danger such hurricanes would pose to New Orleans. They also mentioned wet lands destruction as playing a big role in increasing the damaging effects.
Obviously, I can’t say anything about the merits of their arguments, though I’m assuming they know what they’re talking about. At any rate, I guess we’ll be witnessing those climatologists’ worst nightmare now. It’s truly a horrible thing.
demimondian
I don’t think we’ll lose New Orleans tomorrow — I remember Homestead, which was devatated, and we didn’t lose it. Nor did we lost Galveston after the Great Storm there.
It does look like it’s going to be very bad, not just because of the damage and loss of life in NO, but also because of the devastation that will hit Slidell, which is a major refinery and chemical site. The contamination of the river and the delta if there’s major damage there could well destroy those fishing grounds for a long time to come.
ppGaz
According to CNN, a worst case scenario puts 20-30 feet of water into the New Orleans “basin” …. from which it cannot escape. The city is uninhabitable for several months; there is no way to speed the drainage of this water. Easily, the worst natural disaster in the history of the country.
Not to wish Katrina on anyone else, but we hope that the storm does not create the worst case scenario on New Orleans. The city is uniquely vulnerable and the potential tragedy is mind boggling.
Steve
I gave $50 to the Red Cross tonight. Let’s all hope that the city gets a reprieve from the terrible worst-case scenario.
srv
Galveston and Homestead are above sea level. They never opened Homestead again. Tomorrow night, ask yourself if it’s worth $100+ Billion to rebuild New Orleans.
J. Michael Neal
Yes, the worst case scenario puts 30 feet of water into New Orleans. However, that scenario is also pretty unlikely, and it looks like it hasn’t happened this time. The mightmare case involves a hurricane hitting the city from the east, in which case the storm surge would get pushed into Lake Ponchartrain, and over the levies. Katrina appears to be hitting from the south, where there are extensive swamps before you get to the city to absorb the surge. There’s going to be huge damage, but this isn’t the big one, I don’t think.
Moe Lane
It does look like it’s going to not hit head-on, thank [insert deity or deities here] / the power of positive thinking / the blind dictates of random chance (I think that covers pretty much all the bases).
jobiuspublius
This raises an interesting question. If society is obligated to salvage an investment, then, couldn’t society determine what, where, how to invest?
Catfish N. Cod
BREAKING: The Superdome roof is failing. There are nine thousand people inside.
If you are the praying type, now is the time.
MrSnrub
Catfish: Got a link to that news, or is that broadcast? I’m not finding anything via web.
What’s your source?
ET
Being from N.O. and having quite a bit of family still there – I have been watching this obsessivly. Luckly for N.O. though less for the Mississippi gulf coast (where I also know a number of people)the eye is going just east of the city. Of course if any of you are familiary with the way that geography and with hurricaines – that will only dull the brunt a little.
During hard spring rains with 5-12 inches is not uncommon it takes a few house to pump the water out. If they get enough water it could be a few days before the water alone is going and that is supposing the pumps can work. Apparantly at least right now – they aren’t or aren’t working much.
Apparantly a piece (about 1/12) of the ceiling of the superdome roof has blow off and it is raining into the building and the entire roof is compromised. People have to go into a covered area. Apparantly, they expect water to cover the entire floor at some point. And this is just the beginning.
Tim F
There’s only one thing that we can do now.
Donate to the Red Cross.
ET
OK I am now hearing some evacuees in centers in N.O. are going home. OK this is just starting and they are leaving.
Oh and the water pumps are down.
DougJ
I am praying for the best, but more and more I think that all of hurricanes, plane crashes, and unrest we are seeing worldwide are a sign of the End Times.
Davebo
“but more and more I think that all of hurricanes, plane crashes, and unrest we are seeing worldwide are a sign of the End Times.”
Would those be the end of your idiotic comments here?
Zifnab
*sigh* Yes, I suppose in that regard every day is a day closer to the end of the world and as climate change is a way to measure the progress of time and hurricanes are a distinct product of climate change… The end is nigh.
That said, Galveston was shaping up to be the biggest city in Texas before it got wiped out. It was supposed to be the New York of the South. After that, the city was mostly abandoned for Houston. The sad thing is there’s really nothing mankind has ever been able to do to stop mother nature functioning on this magnitude. You just have to roll with the punches.
ppGaz
Does that mean you are waiting for the Rupture?
Whoops, I meant Raptor.
jobiuspublius
Don’t worry DougJ. The sun is not schedualed to self destruct for another couple billion years. We’re way to early for the end times.
BumperStickerist
ummmm … Doug, using your basic criteria,
the world ended in mid-1942…
and before that, in September, 1914
Mankind has a basic vanity that assumes God gives a crap about their particular generation and, as such, there are people who think that God will pull the plug while they are on watch.
If it’s any comfort, you (and me) can be part of the ‘Dead Shall Rise Up!’ portion of the Rapture.
I’m hopeful that those left on Earth won’t mistake us for zombies. Even more hopeful that shotgun technology won’t have progressed beyond what it is today.
Otto Man
Looks like we’ve avoided the worst. Still, donations and prayers should keep on coming. When the waters recede, the damages are going to be astronomical.
On a lighter note, I bet this storm means that we’ll never again hear the classic sounds of Katrina and the Waves on New Orleans radio.
StupidityRules
DougJ, rapture happened last week. Bummer that you are still here…