Faux and the Hurricane

[brettdale]

"Is it that bad?"

www.foxnews.com

Monster hurricane with 145 mph winds could submerge New Orleans under 20 feet of water, cause $100B in damage;

[merh]

1. Yes, it might be that bad.

:scared:

It could be worse than Hurricane Betsy. Says some prayers for the folks in her path.

[brettdale]

3. Oh No

Those poor people. Lets hope and pray this is not the case.

[merh]

9. This is one bad mother and she is still gaining strength.

She is a category 4 and if she hits New Orleans, well, they are below sea level -- the poor and homeless have no where to go. As a last resort, the city will open the Superdome as a shelter.

Pray she keeps moving west - NO can't stand her forces. :scared:

[ClintonTyree]

12. Actually, it would be better if it tracked more easterly.........

the worst winds, storm surge, tornadoes etc. are in the northeast quadrant of a hurricane. A hit west of MSY would push all of that right up the Mississippi into Lake Ponchartrain, overflowing it's banks into MSY itself.
I have no ill will for Biloxi, Gulfport etc. but there would be far less loss of life if it were to track in thier direction.
This thing is going to crush anywhere it hits, it's not going to be pretty.

[merh]

14. As I live in Biloxi - I would prefer it continues moving to the west.

And I do mean moving westerly, maybe making land falls in the swamps the way Andrew did. You are mistaken about the loss of life if it hit Gulfport and Biloxi. We would be devasted too.

:hi:

[ClintonTyree]

15. Sorry, I didn't wish you any ill will.........

and in you live in Biloxi, why are you still there? :shrug: I'd be getting the hell out of there, pronto! Please, leave! Run away, don't be a hero, this thing is going to mash anything for 50 miles in either direction upon landfall.
I agree, I'd like to see this go WAYYYYYY west, preferably to CRAWFORD! ;)
Good luck to you and PLEASE stay safe!

[jobycom]

16. There is nothing to hope for now, we just wait and see.

My parents live in Gulfport, and most of my friends in the world live in that area. My relatives live either in Gulfport or New Orleans.

This is no Andrew. This is a genuine Class 4, and is measuring now stronger than Andrew did when it hit Florida. They bumped Andrew posthumously up to a Class 5 based solely on property damage, but I don't believe it was ever a true Class 5. This one might be.

If it hits MS, their will be a lot of destruction. Bye casinos. Obviously I don't want that. And my 70 year old father is not going to enjoy watching the various sheds and pine trees in his yard crushed and twisted and mangled. But if this strong Class 4 or maybe even weak Class 5 hits the Atchafaliya full force, the devestation could be worse than anyone is imagining so far. The Mississippi River has naturally wanted to go down the Atchafaliya river bed for a century. What happens when a twenty foot storm surge shatters the levies? It could be worse than the soup bowl people are talking about. The River could turn into a giant tiolet flush on its way to its new river basin.

Hopefully, none of this will happen. The wind strength alone won't cause that kind of damage. The storm surge is the frightening part. There's no gaurantee what it will be like. Camille had the worst storm surge in recent times (except maybe Gilbert, which hit Central America) because of a variety of factors, including high tide. Katrina may not have any of these factors. It could wind up being a big let down.

There's just no good place to hope this thing hits. The only hope is that it goes away somehow. But it just doesn't care about petty little human concerns.

You've lived on the Coast a long time, Merh. You know what I mean when I say this could be the one we've always expected. All the times we drive past the casinos and shake our heads and say "They have no idea what the next hurricane will do to these things." All those news reports we've seen over past hurricanes, where the reporters stand out in the wind in their raincoats and act melodramatic about the danger of it all, and we just shake out heads and say "you don't even know what a real big one is like." This could be the one. I'm not feeling real good right now.

Hopefully I'll be laughing at my paranoia on Tuesday.

[HeeBGBz]

20. Goodbye new Hard Rock Casino

Set to open in the next two weeks.

Say goodbye to these insurance write-offs.



Soon to be Shrapnel-on-the-Beach.



I don't feel too good about this either. I hope this isn't a Camille Part Two.

[jobycom]

24. Camille

Was a different animal than the average hurricane. 190+ sustained winds, gusts over 214 mph (the highest measured gust, and it broke the anenometer, so it was higher than that), largest barometric drop of any hurricane except Gilbert (I think that's right), and a 24+ foot storm surge, again second to all but maybe Gilbert. Camille was a nightmare that even storms like Ivan and Andrew don't come close to.

The storm surge caused a lot of the destruction in Camille. Basically, you had a 24 foot tsunami, followed by hours of 200 MPH winds, which of course switched directions after a while, and you had steady rain so bad that the next day it caused fatal mud slides in Tenessee.

The bad thing is, Katrina doesn't have to be that bad to cause much worse damage. The Coast is built up now like it's never been, and if it does a tenth of what is feared to New Orleans, it could make people forget Camille.

Just for reference, here's a picture of Pass Christian after Camille. Imagine this effect on the Coast now. (I'm sure you're aware of it, but just to illustrate to anyone who isn't).

[AnnInLa]

25. uh, as a swamp rat west of New Orleans,

I don't want it either. Funny how everyone along the coast prays it doesn't head for them, knowing that it has to head somewhere to someone. Puts one in an awkward position. The problem here where I live is that the people of New Orleans have clogged up the highways and taken every motel room....if the storm jogs just a little to the west, we Cajuns will have to evacuate, but won't be able to get anywhere and will have no place to stay.

[ClintonTyree]

26. You ought to be going anyway...........

they have the contraflows in effect now and traffic along I-10 westward is moving along about 60 MPH according to Channel 4 out of New Orleans. This storm is huge, and even IF you're on the westward "dry side", there's going to be catastrophic damage everywhere. Please get the he** out of there. If you DO decide to stay, please stay safe. We don't want to lose any of our DU Brothers and Sisters. Good luck to you, I'll send whatever good Karma I have left your way! :hi:

[AnnInLa]

29. thx.....trying to decide now, if to go, and where to go, and when

[merh]

30. Let's will it over to some area where there are no folks.

Stay safe - :hug:

[malaise]

31. Now I understand why you wanted me to

bite my tongue. I thought you were in New Orleans. My fear is that somewhere West of New Orleans will take the worst of it. Prepare and take care. This is frightening. Freeze as much water as you can and lock it up tight in igloos by wrapping it in old newspapers. It will stay cold for four or five days. After Gilbert in 1988, we were without running water for five weeks and seven weeks without power. We survived and so will you.

[HeeBGBz]

17. Not better for me

That is what it seems to be doing, btw. I've got a big day ahead of me.

[jobycom]

18. They always hook east at the last minute

That's not scientific, it's just always been my observation that they always turn northeast at the last minute and hit east of where they are projected to hit, at least in that area of the Gulf. They seem to behave differently around Texas and Florida.

[aquart]

5. Done.

[wli]

6. doubtless Dems will be slaughtered as churches only evac rethugs n/t

[merh]

11. This storm and the evacuation procedures of the city (or lack

thereof) don't recognize political party. The class system of our nation will be the cause of many deaths as the poor and the homeless will be the victims.

[Usrename]

22. The Big Easy is in trouble.

Sen. Landreu has been trying for years to get funding for evacuation routes. I think it may be in the highway bill that just passed. I don't think they can get out. She doesn't strike me as someone who would make that up.

[MadisonProgressive]

2. That is not hyperbole, I'm afraid.

[MadisonProgressive]

4. While perusing the evil-doers propaganda tools, I found this:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,167242,00.html

[ClintonTyree]

28. I find it a little odd that the "psychic"..........

is still there doing Tarot Card readings when this monster is barreling at her. You'd think a psychic would have the sense to see what would happen with a direct hit. Maybe she really IS psychic and foresees that there's no trouble? She must really trust her psychic abilities, that's all I can say!

[SlowDownFast]

7. Ya don't get em in New Zealand

brettdale?

I appreciate your passion on DU.

[brettdale]

10. nah we dont get Hurricanes

We get droughts, the odd flood, strong winds, but not a lot of Hurricanes.

Thanks for the kind words!

[shraby]

8. New Orleans is below sea level.

If it gets a direct hit, there may not be a New Orleans to rebuild..that's how bad it is. I just hope they are able to evacuate everyone.
I read on another blog that the Gov. has ordered a lot of buses, Greyhound is sending a lot of them and more Amtrak trains to transport people out of there.

[ClintonTyree]

13. There are about 300,000 people.......

that won't be able to evacuate. The poor. It costs money to evacuate, and a car. Statistics say the are more than 90,000 families in MSY without cars. If the levy on Lake Ponchartrain looks as if it's going to break, they purpously blow the levy in one particular spot to minimize the damage to the city. That particular place is right in the poorest part of the city, naturally. That place would be inundated with flood waters up to 20 ft.high. It sucks to be poor and "expendable".
There is a reason the Parish Morgue has 10,000 body bags on hand.
I'm not a praying man, but I'm going to say anything I can to keep this monster away from MSY.

[jobycom]

19. What is MSY?

[ClintonTyree]

21. That's the airport code for New Orleans.........

Louis Armstrong International. When referring to a city, it's considered, at least in a meteorological sense, to refer to it in those terms. "NO" could get some people confused.

[jobycom]

23. Thanks.

[HeeBGBz]

27. Katrina is now a Category 5

With winds at 160 mph.

[Massacure]

32. Link please? Last I looked it was 145 mph and that was 20 minutes ago.

[SlowDownFast]

34. link on the Cat 5 please.

[magellan]

35. Link to NHC

000
WTNT62 KNHC 281117
TCUAT2
HURRICANE KATRINA TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATE
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
615 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005

...KATRINA NOW A CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE WITH 160 MPH WINDS...

...AT ABOUT 605 AM CDT... 1105Z... AN AIR FORCE RECONNAISSANCE
AIRCRAFT REPORTED THAT MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS IN HURRICANE KATRINA
HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 160 MPH. KATRINA IS NOW AN EXTREMELY
DANGEROUS CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE
SCALE.

FORECASTER KNABB

$$

National Hurricane Center

[Skidmore]

33. Is Geraldo or one of the other fine brave Faux faces

going to be windblown on the beaches for this monster?