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** 10th update, Mon. August 29th, 4:00 pm CDT **
This will be my last update until this evening, so that I can catch a break and some zzz's. Probably just as well, as things have been pretty silent for webloggers in New Orleans, presumably because power and phonelines took another hit during the storm's departure. Combine that with portable phones, laptops, etc. that cannot be recharged and you tend to get a whole lotta silence. WWL is reporting the grizzly headline "Mayor: 200 trapped on Ninth Ward rooftops; bodies floating in Bywater". Sadly, that figures. You can't expect to have tens of thousands of people not evacuating from a major hurricane like this without the potential for hundreds, if not thousands, to lose their lives. Just be glad that the evacuation worked as well as it did, as it no doubt saved thousands of lives. As relieved as I am that many of those whose stories I've shared are alive today, obviously, many others are not.
It's hard to say this morning that New Orleans was "lucky". They clearly weren't. Rather, this hurricane should be a wake-up call. More needs to be done, not only to safeguard the great city of New Orleans and its people, but to protect the entirity of the United States from hurricanes, flooding, and coastal erosion. Humans don't cause hurricanes. That said, many scientists believe that their actions can make them more severe. I don't know about you, but on matters of science, I would rather put my trust in scientists rather than politicians.
Oh... and BTW, help the Red Cross help others. They can use it.
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** 9th update, Mon. August 28th, 2:30 pm CDT **
Although the storm is still blowing over and the news is generally pretty encouraging, considering the worst case scenario, obviously there will be very bad news for many others. I'm seeing reports of a New Orleans warehouse being looted and 15-20 feet of flooding in St. Bernard's Parrish. In Mississippi, Katrina brought a 22-foot storm surge, blew out the windows of a hospital, and washed sailboats right up onto the coastal highway. I've heard unconfirmed rumors of major damage to practically every structure in Slidell, but confirming that information will have to wait.
I'm sure most people will return home to find significant damage to either their property or their possessions. Even a simple leaky roof and some busted windows can can become a big deal if the contents of your home are exposed to the elements for up to a week before you can return to do something about it. No knowing how many people lost their homes altogether, but obviously, quite a few did, or will find their homes structurally damaged and needing significant repair or even demolition and rebuilding. It's really easy right now for things to look better than they are.
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"My mom is uptown at Touro and said there were two to three feet of water in the streets and they had lost some windows. WDSU said uptown doesn't have catastrophic flooding, but significant wind damage."
** 8th update, Mon. August 28th, 11:15 am CDT **
Looks like all the good news for New Orleans was a little premature. Obviously, the eye of the storm was the cause of the calmer weather, because
"Ok, winds have picked back up some and the direction has changed mostly to north to south. Most of the windows on our building have two layers, glass outside and plastic inside. Some have completely broken, but or offices have a few with the glass broken but hanging on slamming against the plastic. I'm telling you though, if there's no flooding, the city will be fine. This can't be any worse than cleaning up after Mardi Gras. So far. I'm hearing reports of an 18 foot storm surge, but who knows. There's a sports car on the street in front of our building -- spanked. No windows left, debris in the back seat, etc. Rain has picked up too now. Looks like Benson is getting his retractable-roofed stadium after all ;) "
So, the feeling seems to be that the worst is over, but now that the eye of the storm has passed over New Orleans, they'll be facing the tail end of the storm. Winds and rain should be less than that experienced earlier, but the question is whether already damaged structures will collapse and whether the levee system will keep Lake Pontchartrain from being whipped up and blown into the heart of New Orleans. Obviously, there has to be some concern for the Superdome too, which has already had significant roof damage.
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** 7th update, Mon. August 28th, 11:15 am CDT **
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"No flooding downtown from where we are -- 650 Poydras. Lots of broken windows, lots of debris, downed trees, total loss of power in the city, except for places with generators like we have. Could have been 1000 times worse. Sounds like Gulfport is taking the beating that was meant for us."
** 6th update, Mon. August 28th, 10:00 am CDT **
Good morning, everyone. New Orleans is still there, but it's taking a beating. The city's natural "shield" appears to have deflected the hurricane somewhat, and the strength of the hurricane has decreased, but it's still a killer hurricane which is still causing significant damage and flooding to the city, and seems likely to cause even worse damage to places such as Biloxi as it approaches. So little can be known for sure until the region has been thoroughly inspected -- right now, what seems like a victorious riding out of a wet and rainy night might turn into a sad and almost insurmountable loss elsewhere, as we discover that well-known, beloved buildings and sections of the city are lost.
It is still too early to say just how bad the flooding will be, as the worst of it has yet to occur. WWL reports that a levee breach has occurred along the industrial canal at Tennessee Street, and that significant flooding is expected to occur.
Although power was knocked out for large sections of the city around 4:30am, it appears to be back up for sections of New Orleans this morning. This means we're still getting people in New Orleans who are able to report to us the conditions there. If you are in New Orleans, or along coastal Mississippi or Alabama, I'd like to hear from you. Please email me at insomnia @ livejournal.com. And now, the latest reports from New Orleans:
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For those of you who haven't been reading this, I'm on the 10th/11th floors of a 27 floor high rise at 650 Poydras in downtown New Orleans. If you go to Google Earth or some other map program, we're the big brown building between Poydras ave and Lafayette Square and between Camp Street and St. Charles Ave. We're about 6 blocks from the river. We have a view (in the daytime) of the river, the twin spans over the river, the interstate, the Entergy building, the landmark building, the federal court of appeals building, a bunch of hotels, etc. Welcome to ground zero. It's definitely a mess outside, but as long as no flooding occurs, the city should be fine. There's really nothing to say... imagine a low rumbling turbine engine for several hours, lots of wind and debris, and me taking pictures and video. . . . I'm updating from Directnic.com's data center on the 10th floor of 650 Poydras. Lots of windows out all over the building. Total mess outside, but no water in the streets. Downed trees, signs gone, flags gone, debris everywhere. One truck was pushed down the street into a car..."
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Let's hope for the best. Obviously, lots of buildings will face a similar fate, as these winds are not going away anytime soon. Despite all the talk that will inevitably occur about how the evacuation was not necessary, I suspect that wiser souls will point out that the evacuation saved thousands of lives. It almost assuredly will make the job of emergency crews much easier.
** 5th update, Mon. August 28th, 1:30 am CDT **
I've been watching the ParadeCam's live streaming broadcast, which seems to be about the most useful way to determine the current weather in New Orleans, while it still has power. Lots of wind, lots of rain, and even the occasional emergency vehicle, but no major flooding yet, although enough wind for downed powerlines and the occasional bit of wind damage. It's still *way* too early though.
The last post from New Orleans I've seen was 40 minutes ago, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're necessarily cut off from the rest of the world. I kind of doubt it, given that the cam is still working. Rather, they're probably trying to get a bit of rest. Lord knows, it's been a long day. I don't know how much longer they will have power, but I've been surprised in the past with other hurricanes, where people on the scene have used car batteries and laptops to post pictures of the storm the next morning. There's at least one LiveJournaler who is working in an emergency-related position, and who might be able to check in, even if power and phones are out for most, so we'll see, I guess.
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I am gonna keep the windows open. Big roof over-hang in the front of the building. In the back some water will get in, but it dripsd into the stairway. A bit of water in the stairway is the least of the landlord's problems at this point. If I can keep the pressure differential from getting too high (between outside & inside the building, I may be able to prevent the roof from rupturing.. . right now there are 26,000 people inside the Superdome. There are no exits for massive amounts of people onto the roof. Just a few one-person hatchways for repair people. Even if the 26,000 people were not old, feeble, sick, invalid, confused, and/or frightened, no fucking way you get an orderly procession onto the roof in heavy rains and high winds. I, on the other hand, am in an apartment with windows. If the waters get deep, I can leave with no problem. I do wish I had a good quality Mae West floatation jacket right now. Not sure I can stray afloat with an air mattress. I do plan to buy a good qulaity flotation vest & flare gun if I get thru this. I never thought I would need either one of those! But being here in my apartment sure seems better to me than being trapped in the dome should the worst worst scenario come to pass."
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** 4th update, Sun. August 28th, 10:15 pm CDT **
The hurricane is coming in slowly but surely towards New Orleans, which is being buffetted by strong winds and squalls. Just heard of a tornado warning for Orleans/St. Bernard Parrish/ Shell Beach/ Reggio / Hopedale moving west northwest. Anyone on that track could face tornadoes soon. And now, more posts from those still there.
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** 3rd update, Sun. August 28th, 8:00 pm CDT **
The hurricane is still a cat-5, still headed for New Orleans, and a Weather Underground meteorologist reports an approximately 70% chance that the levees will be breached and the city flooded. Fortunately, I have found fewer new people in the path of the hurricane lately. Most of the reports coming in from people in New Orleans are people I've already identified, who are keeping us updated on what is going on.
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** 2nd update, Sun. August 28th, 4:00 pm CDT **
The hurricane is still a cat-5, still headed for New Orleans. One of the parrish representatives said that approximately 20-30% of their people aren't evacuating, despite evacuation orders. That could mean about 100,000 people citywide will attempt to ride out the hurricane.
I discovered additional people who haven't evacuated the path of the hurricane, for one reason or another.
Looks like </a></strong></a>
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... meanwhile, if you search over at Craigslist in New Orleans, you can find dope. Finding marajuana, however, may be harder.
** 1st update, Sun. August 28th, 11:30 am CDT **
Most of the latest posts I've noticed from LJ users in New Orleans are from people who have evacuated:
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...but several posts are from people who haven't evacuated.
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Just in case it might help someone, I'm organizing LJers to offer up free shelter for evacuees and to offer carpools out of New Orleans. Is there a better way to get to know another LJer than to ride out a hurricane with them, ideally in relative safety? I think not