Hurricane Gustav

[DoubleHoseDiver]

New Orleans WAS evacuated prior to the storm. The problem was some chose to stay and some had no ride to leave. All I heard growing up was one day the BIG one will hit, well it did just that. I am afraid that if New Orleans is on the east side of the storm it will deal the final blow to my hometown. I hope that somehow we living along the Gulf Coast are spared. I am hurricaned out. Tim

 

[mike_s]

Hey. When the levies broke up in Iowa, etc on the Mississippi River when it flooded all those towns... did you see all the looting that they did of the stores up there? (Like you saw in New Orleans after Katrina?)


Well...... neither did I.

 

[Diveral]

Katrina was not the big one! It did not hit New Orleans, it hit Mississippi. It brushed by NO and the leavy break on Lake Ponchetrain is what got NO. A direct hit esp to a storm that passes just to the west of NO will be much worse than Katrina.

 

[ClayJar]

A direct hit esp to a storm that passes just to the west of NO will be much worse than Katrina.

Actually, we shouldn't discount the potential of a broad, slow-moving storm passing right over the Westbank. That would provide the highest storm surge through Lake Bourne and into Pontchartrain, with the left front quadrant winds helping to pile it higher and deeper onto the NOLA lakeside levee system. A bit less wind for potentially a lot more water.

Regardless, NOLA seems far more brittle in the face of hurricanes than it did just over three years ago. Whether that's indeed the case or merely a matter of perception is not something I'd particularly care to see tested.

As for me here in Baton Rouge, all my dive gear will be moved inside tonight, and I'm likely going to have to scrap my Labor Day weekend dive plans (since there is too great a chance for contraflow to make getting back to BTR more than a bit problematic).

 

[bge123]

Well, last weekend I was slated to dive the Oriskany and then Fay came through, so we bumped our trip 2 weeks to try for the weekend "after" Labor Day...and what happens...Gustov. All I can say is, I want to dive the Oriskany this season and will keep trying (holding hope for current plans, though slim at best)

 

[mike_s]

One of the problems that Katrina did was the way Louisanna's "panhandle" or delta drops down into the gulf. When the hurricane hit Mississippi (as DiverAL noted), the storm which was circulating on a counter-clockwise roatation, pushed all that water/rain/storm-surge up into the land mass where LA and MS meet. The water had no where to go as it was blocked by the bottom of LA sticking out.

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

New Orleans WAS evacuated prior to the storm. The problem was some chose to stay and some had no ride to leave. All I heard growing up was one day the BIG one will hit, well it did just that. I am afraid that if New Orleans is on the east side of the storm it will deal the final blow to my hometown. I hope that somehow we living along the Gulf Coast are spared. I am hurricaned out. Tim

Since Savannah is at sea level, we evacuated almost everyone for Hurricane Floyd. 97% of Savannah was moved out. Our evacuation was mandatory, not voluntary. Our trauma center evacuated ALL but the most critically ill that could not be moved. A few of us stayed with those patients and that was already predetermined. Since I do not have family here or children, I am part of the team that stays with the patients to weather the storm. That is not what happened with Katrina. The hospitals were not at mimnimum patient levels. Also, many agencies offered New Orleans trains (AMTRAK), busses, etc to evacuate people. The trains left the city empty. It was all unfortunate that corruption and failed applications of emergency plans resulted in the deaths of so many people. This time however, I have heard on the news that they are already evacuating the critically ill and those that do not have the means to leave. They have also announced MANDATORY evacuations of some of the parrishes. Regardless, this is going to be bad storm and I pray for the safety of everyone along the Gulf Coast.

Carolyn:sharks:

 

[EDGE245277]

The evacuation from New Orleans before Katrina was mandatory. All mandatory means is the local and state goverment have no resposibility to save you during the storm after they have declared a mandatory evacuation. People choosing to stay are plain stupid, the biggest mistake was not making transporation available for people who wanted to get out but did not have the means. As for the looting that has nothing to do with the storm, think LA riots....Looting has nothing to do with natural disasters, a trial verdict, or your team winning a title, It is the result of poor and uneducated people taking advantage of the situation. Also sea level has nothing to do with it...MS has areas that are 20 feet above sea level whiped off the map by a 34 ft surge. It is tuff to find any land along the coast that is 20 feet above sea level, heck 90% of Miami is below that.

 

[Tom Smedley]

New Orleans has the same mayor - However Louisiana does not have the same Governor. This one is acting instead of whining. My hopes and prayers go out to those in Gustav's path. My son and grandchildren live in Ponchatoula. Hope and pray with me. Please!

Amtrak offered thousands of seats and Nagle turned them down. The Mississippi coast from the sea to I-10 was a wasteland. NO wasn't the only one hit. Don't ever forget that.

 

[Tomeck]

It must listen adagio from the symphony N.9 of Gustav Mahler.