Stay safe

[cthulhu77]

Upset beyond belief here...too many great places gone. All I can do is keep my fingers crossed, and hope that all of the people do alright.

g

 

[tonmo]

...Now the governor of Louisiana is considering the first total evacuation of an American city in about 140 years...

the decision has been made. The levee is broken and they've abandoned efforts to fix it... water is rising up to 9 feet over the next 12 hours. Major catastrophe. Looked like New Orleans was spared the brunt of the storm (and they were), so there was initial encouragement, but the levees aren't holding up, which is making the worst fears realized for this one.

 

[cthulhu77]

Time to give...boy, what a catastrophe !!!!

 

[tonmo]

Yeah, we're giving.

 

[um...]

"Canal Street". That would almost be funny if nobody actually lived or worked or owned any property there.

 

[cthulhu77]

Yeah, we are going to tabulate how much we can donate tonight...wish I had worked a bit harder over the last month. I am letting this "over 40" lazy-thing hit me too hard...time for some buffing, I would say.

greg

 

[Clem]

From CNN:

The city had no power, no drinking water, dwindling food supplies, widespread looting, smoke rising on the horizon and the sounds of gunfire. At least one large building was ablaze Tuesday.

This is a disaster that will resonate for years to come. It's already brought out the worst in human nature: looting on the one hand, racist commentary from pundits on the other. Let's hope the better angels prevail, utimately.

Clem

 

[William Tyson]

i hear that it will whipe new orleans out

 

[erich orser]

is a disaster that will resonate for years to come. It's already brought out the worst in human nature: looting on the one hand, racist commentary from pundits on the other. Let's hope the better angels prevail, utimately.

Clem

Luckily I've missed these particular pundits on this one. This is just horrible. Absolutely horrible.

 

[sorseress]

Part of the problem lies in the diminishing wetland south of the city. Years worth of diverting the natural flow of the Mississippi have ended up sending the silt that flows down the river out into the gulf, rather than allowing the delta to build. On top of all the problems the flooding is causing right now, there is a huge potential problem considering the many, many petrochemical plants and refineries in the area. I haven't heard if any of them were seriously damaged by the storm, but even minor leaks can cause lots of problems, and the flood waters will carry that poison right into the gulf.

 

[Fujisawas Sake]

I worry that this is only the beginning of even more severe hurricane seasons. We Californians have seen our share of disasters as well. I hope that the survivors remain safe and can find food and shelter.

My in-laws in East Texas told us that Orange, TX has become a shelter town for Louisianans fleeing Katrina.

This is very sad indeed.

John

 

[corw314]

This is not getting any better. What was said about them toying with the balance of things, seems to be the case this morning. The waters coming back to where it rightfully belongs. Really is a shame.

 

[cthulhu77]

The news today seems to be of the concensus that New Orleans may not be repairable...sad, but why weren't those levy's fixed earlier????

greg

 

[Fujisawas Sake]

I think its like the tsunami walls and breakers in Japan. They work, but only on a limited extent. However, it is something. I really think they thought it couldn't happen.

I come from the central valley region of California. During the 1980's and 1990's we suffered horrible floods that wiped out dozens of neighborhoods. I don't think people saw that coming, though a lot of conservationists warned that the reason we had such amazing farmland was that the entire area was a flood plain. People here called them "100-year" floods, meaning that we would only get them once every century or so.

Well, not exactly.

I really hope that New Orleans can get back on its feet someday.

John

 

[Melissa]

What a sad day. New Orleans has always been my favorite US city to visit. I went last November, and sweetie's more recent response was "I should have gone with you. I'll never see it."

Here is an interesting and horrifying interview from 2002 with a hurricane specialist, pointing up the city's vulnerabilities:

NOW on PBS | PBS

Sorseress is right about the other worries - contaminants, infection, and so on, all across the Gulf Coast. A friend who worked for the Red Cross makes sure to have water and first aid kits and packed bags all the time. She sent this url about disaster preparedness, and recommended adding a box of baby wipes to their list.

http://www.redcross.org/static/file_cont36_lang0_23.pdf

Melissa