Voluntary evacuations in New Orleans ahead of Gustav

[RedEarth]

Source: (AFP)

NEW ORLEANS (AFP) — Authorities began busing people out of areas of New Orleans on Friday ahead of the possible landfall of Tropical Storm Gustav, forecast to hit the region as a powerful hurricane early Tuesday.

Officials in Saint Charles parish, in western New Orleans, have been busing out residents who want to leave the city.

While the Friday evacuations are voluntary, authorities in Saint Charles and the five other New Orleans parishes are planning mandatory evacuations starting noon Saturday if Gustav remains on the same path.

Parish officials "are extremely concerned about storm surge flooding" that Gustav would cause, noting that "the entire parish remains at risk.



Read more: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h_pRg8PjsWyfviUQrPDgGKV_FnoQ

[Purveyor]

1. Gustav has just been upgraded to a hurricane with wind speed of 75mph. eom

[EFerrari]

2. Oh, cr@p. Where's Swamp Rat?

Be careful, guys.

[L0oniX]

3. Gustav will be arriving as the RNC begins ...how bad is that for New Orleans?

Will anyone in our government be ready to do something to help this time around or will they be too busy fawning over a so called war hero and an idiot governor from Alaska?

[cobalt1999]

4. At least they've learned some lessons from Katrina.

Get your people the hell OUT!

[jdlh8894]

5. Should have done that 200 years ago. n/t

[WolverineDG]

15. 200 years ago, they were smart enough not to build in a flood plain nt

[SpiralHawk]

6. And aggresively blame Democrats for your own massive failures

[RL3AO]

7. Dr. Jeff Master's new blog

"Unfortunately, I think that people living in New Orleans should mark the anniversary of Katrina by getting the heck out of the city. You live at the bottom of a bowl, ten or so feet below sea level. This is not natural"

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1049&tstamp=200808

[HopeHoops]

8. WARNING - DANGER John McCain - Political Storm Approaching!

So, we may have to delay the RNC due to WEATHER - can't have voters being reminded of Katrina in the middle of their big party now can we?

[KamaAina]

9. Quibble: There is only one New Orleans parish, Orleans Parish

the others mentioned are suburban. St. Charles Parish (same as "county" elsewhere") is actually upstream from New Orleans proper, past the airport.

[RL3AO]

10. Looks like Gustav is a category 2 now

[RL3AO]

11. And theres confirmation.

HURRICANE GUSTAV TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATE
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL072008
210 AM EDT SAT AUG 30 2008


DATA FROM AN AIR FORCE RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT
GUSTAV CONTINUES TO STRENGTHEN AND NOW HAS MAXIMUM WINDS NEAR 100
MPH...155 KM/HR WITH HIGHER GUSTS. THIS MAKES GUSTAV A CATEGORY TWO
HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE.

$$
FORECASTER BLAKE/AVILA

[uppityperson]

12. thank you rl3ao

appreciate your interest and postings of weather stuff

[RL3AO]

13. Is now a major category 3

HURRICANE GUSTAV TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATE
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL072008
600 AM EDT SAT AUG 30 2008


DATA FROM AN AIR FORCE RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT
GUSTAV CONTINUES TO RAPIDLY STRENGTHEN AND NOW HAS MAXIMUM WINDS
NEAR 115 MPH...185 KM/HR WITH HIGHER GUSTS. THIS MAKES GUSTAV A
DANGEROUS CATEGORY THREE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE
SCALE...THE SECOND MAJOR HURRICANE OF THE 2008 ATLANTIC HURRICANE
SEASON.

$$
FORECASTER BLAKE/AVILA

[tpsbmam]

14. Hurricane Gustav will intensify to Category 4 strength day before landfall

Shit, shit, shit.

http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2008/08/hurricane_gustav_will_intensif.html

Hurricane Gustav is expected to dramatically intensify as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico over the next three days, and now will arrive at the central Louisiana coast with strong Category 3 winds after briefly reaching Category 4 strength.
The rapid intensification is linked in part to the "loop current" just northwest of Cuba, a deep pool of warm water that has broken off from the Gulfstream and floated into the central Gulf. Warm surface temperatures across the rest of the Gulf will keep Gustav revved up until it makes landfall at about 1 a.m. Tuesday south of Morgan City and Houma.

Gustav will still be a strong Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds when it arrives at Eunice in west central Louisiana at 1 p.m. Tuesday, and will still be a strong tropical storm with winds greater than 50 mph when it reaches the Shreveport area 24 hours later.

The forecast path is moved slightly west right at landfall, which will place both Morgan City and Houma in Gustav's northeastern quadrant, and subject to a growing threat of storm surge. Even before this increased intensification estimate, early surge modeling by Louisiana State University indicates a chance of water 15 feet deep in the Houma area.