photo of the superdome roof >

[Stephanie]

thanks to crispini - way down in the other thread so re-posting here - unbelievable, those poor babies

[ohio_liberal]

1. I think we can safely say now

that is 1/12 or more of the roof fabric gone.

[Ian David]

2. I'd say about 2/24, actually.

Speaking of...

I've got a whole lot going on over here, and unfortunately it is all too easy to leave a glaring error intact for a six-minute eternity.

I've got DU going, listening to CNN, and juggling back and forth between Cellphone message groups.

I suppose that if someone here on DU were using their laptop inside the Superdome they may have been momentarily panicked and endangered in the brief moment it would take them to glance up at the roof.

In any case, I'm watching DU, listening to CNN, and passing information along to people who have no source of information other than their cellphone and are actually in the path of the storm.

They have expressed gratefulness for both the detail and the accuracy of my messages to those who actually have a stake in it.

So, I regret, and apologize for, my six-minutes of inaccurate information given to people who have the entire internet full of information at their fingertips.

In fact, I would have corrected it sooner, but the Upoc website was having trouble, and I needed to enter my text messages directly from my cellphone.

While my fingers were busy using the tiny little cellphone buttons to update people with nothing more than their phones to get the news, I regrettably neglected my post here on DU for a whole six minutes.

I am deeply ashamed.

Please excuse me if I have devoted too much of my attention to those 104 people on the Disaster Update cellphone message group.
http://communities.vtext.com/group.jsp?group=disastersupd

I apologize to anyone here who I may have inconvenienced, or who may have become (more) disturbed by it.

[ohio_liberal]

5. Dude, I'm not picking at you....

It wasn't even meant as mild sarcasm. :pals:

[Ian David]

6. Oh, I know. I'm just piggybacking off your post. Thanks!

:toast:

[ohio_liberal]

12. It's almost noon here

I'll take that beer. :D

[Ian David]

18. That's 12/24ths of the day. n/t

[ohio_liberal]

40. Yes, it surely is, and....

I think I'm going to spend 9/24ths of it drunk off my ass. The local weather is estimating 10-18 inches of rain in eastern Ohio because of Goddamned Katrina. We're going to be under water again. :(

[mongo]

49. Only it will take Bush two and a half weeks to sign a

disaster declaration for Ohio - just like last time.

I'm concerned too. Last time we were cut off from our house - I wonder if this time we'll be trapped there....

[Terran]

31. Somebody DID pick on him earlier

for the 1/12 vs. 1/2 mistake. Got *royally* picked on--what a waste of time.

[ohio_liberal]

39. I know, I read it

I thought maybe he thought that *I* was taking a poke at him too, and I surely wasn't. Did all that make sense? ;)

[Terran]

50. Yep. I just wasn't sure if you had that context.

It's been a rough day for some people and it's not even half over.

[lpbk2713]

19. Could you please give a link or two to the cellphone groups?

I'd like to get some first hand reports too. TIA.

[Ian David]

25. Go to this thread for links

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4493595&mesg_id=4493595

[lpbk2713]

29. Thanks

I see you live in Brockton. I used to live in Hingham BTW.

[Chico Man]

43. Grew up in Easton

[Tyranny_R_US]

3. Yesterday when I mentioned that someone should be held accontable

for placing people in a shelter that they possibly knew couldnt hold up I was told here by another member "Shit Happens", now that it actually has happened and people's lives could be in REAL danger where do we start?

[Tin Man]

8. Roof is / fabric // foam insul // steel plate /

I think the photo shows just the fabric and foam insulation being peeled away - the ernest structure of the roof (steel plates over steel truss) is still intact (I think).

[ultraist]

20. We don't know if the structural integrity is compromised

I haven't heard any reports of engineers having examined the damaged roof and assessing whether or not there is structural damage.

[tigereye]

55. thank you

[Straight Shooter]

4. For now, I am grateful the building is there and sheltering them.

The winds are not as ferocious as once feared. Maybe New Orleans will have the good fortune to be spared the full fury of the storm.

[FloridaPat]

7. Amamzing the rest of it is still there.

[GOPisEvil]

9. What you're seeing is the foam and fabric being ripped away.

The physical structure of the building is just fine.

Edit - my point being is that the people inside could be much, much worse off.

[ohio_liberal]

10. Wonder how many people are getting soaked

I know that soggy underwear doesn't compare to being DEAD, but still soggy underwear for the next day or so is not good.

[Ian David]

13. I may be wrong, but I thought Guy on CNN said he heard metal tearing away

Even so, I suppose huge foam sheets could SOUND like metal tearing away.

Or metal rivets that hold them in place.

[GOPisEvil]

22. Well, I'm at work, and not watching CNN.

However, if CNN told me that water was wet, I'd go check for myself. ;)

[PurpleChez]

11. I've been told that as many as 3000 National Guardspersons

who could be in Louisiana helping with the hurricane in countless ways are instead fighting *'s illegal war of lies in Iraq. Can anyone confirm?

[Ian David]

14. I've heard numbers between 3,000 and 7,000. See related threads

Louisiana National Guard committed to six years in Iraq
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4482119&mesg_id=4482119

Is the LA National Guard too occupied in Iraq to help evacuation?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4484162

[demo dutch]

45. I heard on NPR that 4000 are in Iraq and 3000 helping out in LA

[SammyWinstonJack]

54. No outrage from the freepers over that?

That doesn't concern them, that NG are in Iraq and not home doing what they actually ARE suppose to doing? How will they defend that? I'm sure they'll find a way. It's Clinton's fault, right? :eyes:

[Ian David]

57. They're fighting hurricanes over there so we don't have to fight them here

[PunkPop]

34. Yes, it is an illegal war of lies.

n/t

[Jara sang]

15. Something very ominous about that photo

I don't know what it is, probably the idea that there are 70,000+ people in that building hunkered down in fear for their lives. Has a building of this size ever been used for evacuation purposes for so many people before?

[Stephanie]

16. it's terrifying

I can't imagine being in there

[ohio_liberal]

17. There's not that many people

Depending on which news you hear, there are anywhere from 10-30,000. It's not the first time they've used it as a shelter, although I believe this is the most serious occasion.

[Ian David]

21. If things go too badly, that dome could become our new "Twin Towers"

on edit: From what I'm hearing, even without the dome, the rest of the stadium may still be "reasonably safe."

If 3,000+ people die because of this hurricane, do you think Shrub will declare "A War on Hurricanes" and declare himself "The Weather President?"

How much emergency preparedness could we have bought with the $187 Billion we spent on Iraq? Not to mention all the National Guardsmen we'd still have at home to help.

[ComerPerro]

44. Yeah, that money and the guardsmen would have been nice

But Bush needed his war to distract people

[littleraf]

52. Dubya doesn't care about New Orleans

New Orleans is 70% black, and in statewide elections the Democrats depend almost solely on New Orleans to deliver the vote for the Democrats -which they do. During the west coast firestorms Bush neglected the states who didn't vote for him. He's done this with other disaster areas as well. When he came down in 2002 to stump for Susie Terrell's Senate bid New Orlenas residents protested him and New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin (who's a Republican by the way and probably the only black Republican in the whole state) was shamed into criticising Bush in order to keep the city from lynching him. And then New Orlenas delivered a humiliating defeat to Bush's hand-picked candidate. So if you think Bush gives a two-bit damn about New Orleans then you're crazy. He's grateful for the distraction though, this hurricane's certainly moved Cindy Sheehan from being the Top Story. I'll bet he was praying all throughout this ordeal...praying that the storm would be disastrous and take hundreds of lives. The bigger the disaster the longer the coverage of it, the less attention given to his failures.

[name not needed]

23. There's only 15,000 people in there.

Although it probably could hold 70 thousand.

[LiberalEsto]

24. I thought it was about 9,000

The stadium's seating capacity is 70,000.
But even one loss is one too many

[Ian David]

28. Different sources are giving different numbers

According to the mayor and the national guard, the number is about 30,000.

[jor_mama]

32. I think there are only about 10,000 in the Superdome

Sorry ... didn't read through the whole thread ...

But on another note, think of opening the celophane on a CD. You have the hardest time getting a little hole, and once you get the little hole, you can get the rest of it off the CD. It's similar to the roof of the Superdome. A little opening may not seem like a big deal, but that's the grip the wind needs to tear open more at a much quicker rate.

[gasperc]

37. I think it's about 8000 people

the stadium can hold 73,000 but that's not how many took shelter

[theboss]

51. There are like 9,000 - 10,000

Though I agree that 70,000 would make it far more dramatic.

[ultraist]

26. CNN is reporting that the entire membrane is gone, exposing the structure

to rain and wind. Doesn't sound good to me.

[Oreo]

27. Showing only about 1/10th left now

WWL is showing a webpage from somewhere that shows only about 1/10th of the white covering left. Is there a sub-surface or is this the only thing btw the inside and outside?

[ultraist]

33. There is a membrane and foam tiles

Both of which protect the structure from rain and wind. Even though the membrane doesn't offer structural support, just as regular roof shingles don't, it's important to keep the structure dry. Water does major damage to structural components and weakens them.

That's why it's important to never let a small leak or missing roof shingles, in your roof go. ;)

[mshasta]

30. ...

&resize=full

John Volkmann (L) and his wife Kathy of Pass Christian, Mississippi, run for shelter as a piece of sheetmetal flies through the air as Hurricane Katrina hits a hotel in Gulfport, Mississippi August 29, 2005. The storm made landfall early this morning, hitting the coastal gulf city of New Orleans, Louisiana. REUTERS/Frank Polich

[sysoprock]

35. Hasn't NO already seen the worst of it?

I can't imagine the structure sustaining any worse damage if the worst part of the storm has already passed.

[thereismore]

36. I heard a guy on AAR say the worst is likely over - less wind. nt

[Deja Q]

38. Looks like the top coat peeled off; the roof is still there.

Let's hope the underlying roof superstructure remains intact.

[feminazi]

41. Rachel Maddow was interviewing a reporter for

the Times-Picayune about 15 minutes ago. She said they had a reporter who had been at the Superdome. It's foam, as other people here have reported, that has been blown off the roof. The roof structure is still intact and the reporter was not aware of people being exposed to the elements.

[demo dutch]

46. The media is so irresponsible, to report that it's raining inside!

[woodsprite]

58. I had heard at least one 6' hole in the roof, and that was early n/t

[spinbaby]

42. Another photo

http://tinyurl.com/c8qeu

[Tin Man]

47. damage appears to be mostly "cosmetic" in this image - n/t

[jean]

48. From WLOX-TV "At the Superdome, wind peeled pieces from the roof..."

Katrina brings damages to coastal Mississippi
http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=3778086

"At the Superdome, wind peeled pieces from the roof, leaving two holes that let water drip in."

[cascadiance]

53. Do the Saints have another stadium to play in?...

I know this is the least important question in this situation, as these folks' lives are far more important. But I was just wondering if the NFL has made plans for an alternate stadium(s) for them to play in in the coming weeks, as I'm guessing even if they can find these people other shelter, it's going to take at least a few weeks if not longer to clean it up, do necessary repairs, and go through necessary inspections before having another game in there. Hadn't heard anyone say anything about this. I'm hoping that they aren't going to push people out too early just to get the stadium back in use for the Saints. On the other hand, perhaps the city can use as much revenue as it can get it's hands on to help them with the rebuilding costs, that it might lose if the games are moved elsewhere.

[Sgent]

56. In theory

they could play at LSU's stadium in Baton Rouge, but if there is no structural dmg they probably won't change.

[sasquatch]

59. Is it true they had to put AC because they'd get lighitning storms?

:shrug: