http://www.nhc.noaa.gov for advisories.

And the below link explains why it is so devastating. Some estimates predict 70.000 or more people could die in New Orleans.

http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf?/washingaway/thebigone_1.html

"Filling the bowl" is the worst potential scenario for a natural disaster in the United States, emergency officials say. The Red Cross' projected death toll dwarfs estimates of 14,000 dead from a major earthquake along the New Madrid, Mo., fault, and 4,500 dead from a similar catastrophic earthquake hitting San Francisco, the next two deadliest disasters on the agency's list.

The projected death and destruction eclipse almost any other natural disaster that people paid to think about catastrophes can dream up. And the risks are significant, especially over the long term. In a given year, for example, the corps says the risk of the lakefront levees being topped is less than 1 in 300. But over the life of a 30-year mortgage, statistically that risk approaches 9 percent.

[ 28 August 2005: Message edited by: Rob8305 ]

[ 30 August 2005: Message edited by: Rob8305 ]

[ 30 August 2005: Message edited by: Rob8305 ]

[ 30 August 2005: Message edited by: Rob8305 ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by skdadl:
Rob, I was just remembering last night that we are approaching hurricane season. (If you look under Out and About, we have had some running discussions the last couple of years about threats as they developed, this time of year.)

Thanks for raising the alert. I recall talking about the precarious situation in New Orleans then, although the city was saved that time. Let's hope.

---

Yes this is the worst case nightmare scenario. I've read articles on the internet for years about just this thing and I hoped it would never happen.

This is nuts. Biblical disaster unfolding.

The evacuation orders coupled with emergency orders to seize private property and vehicles tells me that the mayor and governor believe this is serious. They've done exactly the right thing.

CNN is as usual, all over this. But if you want to see continuous local coverage from New Orleans, WWL has a live stream you can watch:

quote:

---

Originally posted by James:
If the worst case scenario does play out (and let's all hope/pray it does not), how much will the adventures in Iraq reduce the ability of the military to assist domesticly? I'm not asking that rhetorically. Does anyone here have anything of a handle on that ?

---

James, that is a very good question indeed. It was discussed on weather forums last night and they said most if not all of the national guard is in Iraq so this will stretch their resources considerably.

Another thing: The New Orleans Superdome had better not collapse and with 175 mph sustained it might just. That would lead to 30,000 deaths or injuries.

quote:

---

Originally posted by skdadl:
At the moment it is New Orleans I fear for, but I just had a look at the track predicted for that storm. It is coming right through Toronto on Wednesday night.

---

Where did you see that? I was looking at your link but I couldn't find the projected path of the storm.

Have no fear, by the time the system gets that far north it will be just rain.

The system has jogged a little to the east bringing the eyewall that much further away from NO but not far enough.

Even a minor disruption in production could send gasoline and natural gas prices sharply higher. See Dave Callaway's earlier column.

The region currently produces 1.5 million barrels of oil per day and 10 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, according to the U.S. Minerals and Management Service.

The gulf produces about a fifth of U.S. natural gas and about a quarter of its crude petroleum.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Américain Égalitaire:
Michelle: Have no fear, by the time the system gets that far north it will be just rain.

---

It is unusual for a hurricane to retain that much force this far inland, so I am wondering whether Hazel came in fast from the east coast, rather than from so far south as Katrina, and then made a U-turn and headed for us?

quote:

---

Originally posted by James:

Hurricane Hazel

---

[ 28 August 2005: Message edited by: James ]

Oh, and another thought. Do you think perhaps the US will take global warming seriously now?

[ 28 August 2005: Message edited by: Doug ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by West Coast Tiger:
Rob8305: Are you serious about most or ALL of the National Guard being tied up in Iraq??? Holy crap.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by cco:

There are still plenty of NG in Louisiana; they've been deployed and are helping with the evacuation. It'd take another war or two to exhaust the entire Guard.

---

The US National Weather Service apparently thinks it is.

quote:

---

MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT
LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL
FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY
DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.

THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL.
PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD
FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE
BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME
WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.

HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A
FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.

AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH
AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY
VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE
ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE
WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.

---

On my street, we were without power for nine days -- but we didn't lose water, for example, which is expected there.

I think I heard a little earlier that it was expected to reach New Orleans around 2 p.m. tomorrow.

[ 28 August 2005: Message edited by: Sharon ]

Last year's Hurricane Ivan, which came ashore along the Alabama-Florida line moving through an area mostly devoid of rigs, caused widespread destruction both above and below water in the fields off Alabama and eastern Louisiana. Floating rigs were found drifting hundreds of miles from the wells they had been plumbing, while some rigs with legs fixed to the bottom toppled into the sea. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of pipelines were tangled and torn to pieces by sea currents and massive underwater mudslides.

quote:

---

Originally posted by James:
And much as I'd dreamed to, I never got a chance to see it.

---

I tried to paste the map but it doesn't work for me. You can plot it at randmcnally.com. They're right in downtown New Orleans near the Mississippi.

I would be very worried and I think they're putting up a good face right now.

[ 28 August 2005: Message edited by: Américain Égalitaire ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Américain Égalitaire:
I would be very worried and I think they're putting up a good face right now.

---

You would be amazed at how seldom it occurs to TV types that they could get hurt covering a story. Most of the reporters are probably perversely excited that they're going to get a 'hurricane live hit' for their resume tapes-- everybody seems to want one.

We once had a passle of tornadoes hit when I was producing in Michigan in 2000, and when one swooped our way we nearly lost our station's tower. The whole time all of us were muttering, 'this is great video... this is hot!'

It didn't occur to anyone until afterwards that we had been in danger.

[ 28 August 2005: Message edited by: Tape_342 ]

The red star marks the WWL station. See on left top the edge of Lake Pontchartrain, which is where the great spill is expected come from, I believe?

quote:

---

Originally posted by skdadl:
Map of city centre
If you zoom in, you will see that WWL are right on the northwesterish edge of the old quarter (do they call that the Latin Quarter?) -- Bourbon Street, etc.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by blacklisted:
on a more domestic note, you might want to fill up your car, and any other storage you have available. $100/bbl oil is about to hit,literally

---

And depending on how much refining capacity is put out of commission, there could be a much higher percentage jump in the price of gasoline at the pump.

And then there will be the huge jump in the price of lumber, plywood, drywall, cement and other building materials when reconstruction begins. Although there will be a huge construction boom in New Orleans and the surrounding area, construction will come to a swift halt elsewhere, and what building continues will see materials and lobour costs soar. And add to that the increase in insurance premiums to cover the staggering loss pay outs.

[ 28 August 2005: Message edited by: blacklisted ]

[ 28 August 2005: Message edited by: blacklisted ]

quote:

---

FXUS64 KLIX 282153 AAA
AFDLIX

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
452 PM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005

.UPDATE...TO ADD TORNADO WATCH #752.

.DISCUSSION...
SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA SEEMS POISED FOR A DATE WITH DESTINY AS
CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE KATRINA CONTINUES TO KEEP A BEAD ON BARATARIA
BAY AND THE GREATER NEW ORLEANS AREA. THE GFS MODEL CONTINUES TO
BE SUPERIOR IN ITS HANDLING OF THE SYSTEM INASMUCH AS TO BASE THE
CONVENTIONAL FORECAST PARAMETERS WITH GOOD INTEGRITY AND IN
AGREEMENT WITH NHC ADVISORIES.

NEEDLESS TO SAY...THE WORST CAN BE ANTICIPATED AND URGENCY IS
BEING STRESSED IN ALL PRODUCTS AS A WORST CASE HURRICANE SCENARIO
FOR THIS VERY FRAGILE AND VULNERABLE STRETCH OF U.S. COASTLINE.
THE EYE IS EMERGING ON THE KLIX LONG RANGE LOOP AND BANDS ARE
EXTENDING TO LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN AT THIS TIME. THINGS WILL BE
DETIORATING STEADILY FROM THIS POINT FORWARD FOR THE NEXT 24
HOURS.

WILL MAINTAIN ALL WARNINGS AS ALREADY POSTED AS WELL AS THE FLASH
FLOOD WATCH. STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ADVISED THAT THE FIRST
TORNADO WATCH OF THE EVENT WILL LIKELY BE ISSUED FOR THE REGION
EARLY THIS EVENING...PROBABLY RIGHT AFTER SUNSET.

MOST ATTENTION WITH THIS PACKAGE WAS DAY 1-2 WITH LITTLE IF ANY
CHANGES MADE BEYOND DAY 3. GOOD LUCK AND GODSPEED TO ALL IN THE
PATH OF THIS STORM.

---

You can get a lot of up to date data here:

Louisiana Data IWIN

and here:

The first thing I do tomorrow morning is top off the tank:

Analysts: Katrina is `perfect storm' to push up energy prices

quote:

---

The impact was immediate Sunday night when electronic trading resumed on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as crude oil futures spiked $4.50 per barrel, putting the cost above $70 for the first time since oil began trading there in 1983.

---

quote:

---

So, imagine you're the poor person who decides not to evacuate: Your house will disintegrate around you. The best you'll be able to do is hang on to a light pole, and while you're hanging on, the fire ants from all the mounds -- of which there is two per yard on average -- will clamber up that same pole. And, eventually, the fire ants will win.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Boom Boom:
I think we'll see a repeat of reporters standing outside in the hurricane - like the one last year, reporters getting hammered by wind and rain... is there some reason they can't report from inside?

---

Update: Katrina made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane at Buras, Louisiana (which is about 50 km SE of New Orleans, along the Mississippi Delta). This is sort-of good news, as the strongest winds in a hurricane are those to the east of the eye. New Orleans will receive the southerly winds.

people are being given "refuge" there, live on CNN, even though it is at best a guess whether the best reinforced structure can resist 200 KMH winds

pray this is not another World Trade Centre-like live-on-TV catastrophe ...

[ 29 August 2005: Message edited by: Geneva ]

My relatives got out. Thank God!

I've been watching WKRG TV for the last hour or so since WWL seems to be down for the time being. (They must have high-tailed it to Baton Rouge at midnight)

You can watch WKRG here if you are looking for coverage:

http://www.wkrg.com/

WWL no longer streams so I've been watching CNN. The usual suspects are out in the storm, Gary Tuchman of CNN near Biloxi seems to be in the worst of it. I think he's nuts from what I'm seeing but I guess he wants to be there.

Edited to add: thanks for the link WCT!

[ 29 August 2005: Message edited by: Américain Égalitaire ]

amazing juxtaposition of the banality of Sunday football markers and ads around the field, with this coming life-or-death struggle

[ 29 August 2005: Message edited by: Geneva ]

quote:

---

...time to take refuge "in the smallest room in your house."

---

And you have to open the windows of the house on the opposite side to the one copping the wind, so your house doesn't explode, which I've always found weird to do in a god-awful gale.

[ 29 August 2005: Message edited by: Suzette ]

quote:

---

you have to open the windows of the house on the opposite side to the one copping the wind,

---

Suzette, I can't do that. One side of my house is attached to ... another house.

But how would I know where the wind was coming from anyway in a hurricane? That is definitely one of the parts of these reports that I do not follow. The damn thing is going round and round and thus hitting from all directions, no?

quote:

---

Originally posted by skdadl:
I do not wish to explode.

---

quote:

---

The damn thing is going round and round and thus hitting from all directions, no?

---

The opening does make a difference; I've felt the pressure in a house go up and down with the gusts during a cyclone before it's opened up -- makes your ears go crazy. It's very strange, but then, it's only one of many strange experiences during a cyclone. The noise has been the most unnerving for me before.

Brr... I'm getting goosebumps thinking about all of this.

With that I'm off to bed. Hopefully there'll be good news for all the folks in the storm area by the time I wake up.

[ 29 August 2005: Message edited by: Suzette ]

edited to add: I was outside in a tornado that whipped through a community in northern Ontario in I think 1991 - the siding was beginning to come off my house, so I ran outside to hold it on - against wind of way over 100 mph. Scary.

[ 29 August 2005: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]

From CNN:

quote:

---

Three residents of a New Orleans nursing home died Sunday while being evacuated to Baton Rouge, said Don Moreau, chief of operations for the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner's Office.

The 23 residents were supposed to stay at a church, where one of the bodies was found. The other body was found on a school bus and a third person died at a hospital, Moreau said.

The others were found to be suffering from various forms of dehydration and exhaustion, he said.

Moreau did not know whether authorities would term the deaths storm-related. "These people are very fragile," he said. "When they're loaded up on a school bus and transported out of New Orleans ..."

---

A bus? Wait till the last 24 hours before you think about these issues?

[ 29 August 2005: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by brebis noire:
skdadl, I visited nursing homes when I was in Dallas. Very jarring and dispiriting experience. In fact, it was my first step towards realising what was horribly wrong about U.S. society and my first step to the left of centre.

If you are old, and not rich, nobody cares about you - least of all, any form of government. Since you are no longer a worker, you have no worth.

---

That is so true and it is the shame of the nation.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bacchus:
Hmm I guess its a good thing I had to cancel my halloween New Orleans trip *sigh*

---

A small good news story:

quote:

---

We probably won't know the worst about Hurricane Katrina until the sun finally comes out tomorrow morning. Because the eye of the storm passed just to the east of New Orleans, and because the winds slightly dimimished at landfall, many are already saying, "It could have been worse."

We hope they're right, but we're not so sure. Already, there are reports of the city's poorest neighborhoods -- home to rows of one-story "shotgun shacks" -- flooded to the rooftops. And already, at least three elderly people died in the hasty evaculation of a nursing home.

The first priority is survival, and here's a link to a site where those of us here in Philly can lend a helping hand through the American Red Cross. (Link via Adam Bonin and the Blinqmeister, who also beat us to the punch with the obscure 1980s pop-music reference that is threatening to crash the Internet today.)

But when the flood waters recede, we hope America will reflect on what's happening today along the Gulf Coast, and maybe see Hurricane Katrina as a wake-up call. Ultimately, it's Mother Nature that's too blame to the storm -- and yet we look at some of the impacts and we also see a tracking map for some of the ways that America has veered off course in the last five years. No mortal could have stopped Katrina -- but here's how our government's policies are making the impact worse.

1) Dumb priorities: What exactly do we mean by that? When President Bush made his decision to cut taxes at the same time he was expanding the anti-terror campaign to a misguided war in Iraq, something had to be cut somewhere.

And one of those things was...you got it -- hurricane protection efforts.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Boom Boom:

Last estimate I heard from the insurance companies was $30 billion, but that could double.
Wow.

[ 29 August 2005: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Rob8305:
The director of Fema was just on Larry King Live

---

I did see some road signs in the background of some CNN video that said they were one of the designated "emergency information" station.

Unfortunately WWL-AM doesn't stream audio.

Although many folks think that ham radio is obsolete in this "internet age", the ham radio folks are very active.

Edited to add: it was live. The anchor came back from the break trying to compose himself. Unbelievable.

[ 29 August 2005: Message edited by: Américain Égalitaire ]

The newsroom helicopters are out today, and the flooding and other devastation is truly painful to watch. Reminds me of the reports coming in from Bangladesh thirty years ago, and the tsunami in Asia last winter. I wish I could see the levee breaks, but no photos or video yet. Is the water still pouring in? If the levee is broken, and NO is below sea level, then won't the water level in NO eventually match sea level?

One commentator on Faux News said in some places the water inside houses and businesses is up to the ceilings. He also said it will take weeks, months, and years for these buildings to be restored to their original condition. Everything inside - furniture, carpets, appliances, wallpapper, will likely have to be replaced.

I saw on video a pile of boats jammed into the outside of a building, all piled on top of one another - expensive sailboats. There was a garage with vehicles all slammed into each other - didn't say if it was a new car dealership or used vehicles, but they're all finished. These scenes are being repeated all through NO and Biloxi, which appear to be the worse hit cities so far.

Faux questioned if the international community will respond. I wonder if the rest of the US will respond, first? After all, the US prides itself on being the wealthiest country in the world with the best living standards.

[ 30 August 2005: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]

(I always thought the US lumber industry was mostly concentrated in the northwest and northeast - thanks for correcting me)

[ 30 August 2005: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]

A huge concern in both NO and Mississippi is disease: folks are walking around in filthy water, with no electricity to run hot showers or baths. And, mosquitoes - West Nile was already a problem there. No electricity - in some places, there won't be any for two months - so no airconditioning, stoves or fridges - in an area superheated by the sun and rising humidity. I predict parts of LA and MI will be unliveable very soon.

Out where the refineries are, there won't be electricity for at least a week; so America's reefining capability is shut down. Gas prices are going up, again - and so will everything else.

quote:

---

The hurricane that struck Louisiana yesterday was nicknamed Katrina by the National Weather Service. Its real name is global warming.

When the year began with a two-foot snowfall in Los Angeles, the cause was global warming.

When 124-mile-an-hour winds shut down nuclear plants in Scandinavia and cut power to hundreds of thousands of people in Ireland and the United Kingdom, the driver was global warming...

...Although Katrina began as a relatively small hurricane that glanced off south Florida, it was supercharged with extraordinary intensity by the relatively blistering sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico...

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Contrarian:
BBC reports up to 80 dead. It talks about the man you saw, AE, Harvey Jackson, who lost his wife when the house came apart.

---

Yes, CNN got ahold of the tape and they're playing it regularly.

From the WWL website:

quote:

---

****ALL RESIDENTS ON THE EAST BANK OF ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON REMAINING IN THE METRO AREA ARE BEING TOLD TO EVACUATE AS EFFORTS TO SANDBAG THE LEVEE BREAK HAVE ENDED. THE PUMPS IN THAT AREA ARE EXPECTED TO FAIL SOON AND 9 FEET OF WATER IS EXPECTED IN THE ENTIRE EAST BANK. WITHIN THE NEXT 12-15 HOURS****

Jeff Parish President. Residents will probably be allowed back in town in a week, with identification only, but only to get essentials and clothing. You will then be asked to leave and not come back for one month.

---

New Orleans may be a near total loss. If all of those buildings continue to remain underwater, won't their foundations essentially rot to the point where they will all be condemned?

There are growing fears of widespread disease. They have 30,000 people in the Superdome with no power, no toilets and temps around 100 degrees fahrenheit. They don't know where they're going to go and how they will get there but they have to leave.

Tomorrow's forecast: Hysterical

quote:

---

Data fail to back up claims weather is getting worse, says Tad Murty

From time immemorial, people have worried about the weather. And for good reason. From the thunderstorm that contributed to the slaughter of three Roman legions in Germany and the brutal cold that demolished the armies of Napoleon and Hitler, to the cool, wet summer that resulted in Ireland's potato famine, weather has had a massive impact on human history.

Weather affects us significantly today as well. Besides dramatic events such as the 1998 ice storm, weather's vicissitudes impact us daily in ways both crucial — will the rains come before my crops die — and pedestrian — should I bring an umbrella to work?

However, it is only recently that it has become fashionable for governments, environmental activists and the media to worry about the weather 30, 50 or even 100 years in the future.

"Altering climate patterns will cause more frequent and severe extreme weather events ... threatening the health and safety of Canadians and people around the globe," exclaims Environment Canada in Project Green.

Natural Resources Canada posters distributed to schools nationwide claim that "experts anticipate more severe thunderstorms, which can cause injury and property damage, ... (and) more frequent freezing rain events."

Environmental groups seem to be competing with each other for the most terrifying forecasts. While the David Suzuki Foundation warns of increasingly "bizarre weather" and the impact of "new weather patterns" that "will generate unexpected new types of disasters," the Sierra Club goes even further in its 2004 Environmental Report Card. Combining a dozen catastrophes into one sentence, it asserts: "Canada can expect increased persistent droughts, retreating glaciers, more floods, more sudden deluges of rain washing contaminants into watercourses, a warming and melting Arctic, dropping Great Lakes levels, loss of water quality, more ice storms, more forest fires, more severe coastal storm surges and more extremely hot days, and thus, more smog days in summer."

All this would be quite worrisome if it were true. Fortunately, there is no significant scientific data to back up these claims.

---

[ 30 August 2005: Message edited by: Américain Égalitaire ]

The lake is draining into the basin,water is raising, fires are spreading, people are continuing to die.

One commentator said people are hungry and thirsty, and nothing's open, and they have no way of getting out of the city, no idea when help will arrive, and they are getting desperate. The stores are full of food and people are hungry - what else can anyone expect?

quote:

---

The cops in one location said there's so much looting going on, and no way of getting anyone to prison, that they've basically been forced just to watch; nothing else they can do.

---

The guy from WDSU in NO is being interviewed by Aaron Brown now and says the National Guard is being called to keep order in the dome.

Also there are other reports of pumps failing in other parts of NO. He just said 10-15,000 people in the dome and its problematic to try to evacuate them.

I think if you read between the lines of what is being said officially by everyone, the situation down there is far worse than they are letting on officially. The TV reporter at the scene seem to be the most honest about what's going on - whouda thunk it? The one time when they can be as melodramatic as they want and be spot on in the analysis.

This is really, really, really getting bad.

edited to add from the CNN report:

quote:

---

As many as 30,000 people were being housed in the Louisiana Superdome, where toilets were overflowing and there was no air conditioning to provide relief from 90-degree heat.

---

[ 30 August 2005: Message edited by: Américain Égalitaire ]

This is like Lisbon 1755. A city destroyer. A Pompeii 78 CE.

What do you think the economic rammifications are going to be?

Oh and FEMA is coming in to take over.

[ 30 August 2005: Message edited by: Papal Bull ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Vansterdam Kid:
I thought there were only 9,000 people in the superdome. This is what I remember reading yesterday.

---

I think looting is inevitable in a time of extreme calamity such as a massive hurricane and the unknown after-effects - with the possibility that shortages of everything will occur. I think looting is a combination of greed and the survival instinct, not to mention mob mentality.

Since when does recovery of a shopping cart full of stolen groceries or clothing or small appliances justify the taking of a human life?

I checked online and theres about 130,000 troops in Iraq of which about half are national guardsmen so roughly 65,000

[ 30 August 2005: Message edited by: Bacchus ]

Hmm another update. There are about 135,000 troops in Iraq of which 41% were national guardsmen but this is presently being trimmed to 11% (this started in June)

Washington post update on it as of July 1

[ 30 August 2005: Message edited by: Bacchus ]

Total numbers of National guardsmen -460,000 of which 135,000 are active status at any given time around the world. In contrast only 9000 national guardsmen were sent to vietnam

[ 30 August 2005: Message edited by: Bacchus ]

"Despite [its] achievements, base funding for Hurricane Research Division (HRD) has not increased for the last two decades and its purchasing power has been severely eroded by inflation and increased overhead costs. Because of the lack of funding, the scientific staff has decreased from 40 to 26 federal employees and will continue to decline without new financial support. Another consequence of inadequate funding is that HRD has not been able to upgrade crucial computer equipment that is necessary to expedite its research. Furthermore, key investigations of hurricane motion, rainfall distribution, and rapid intensification are slow to be transitioned to operations at the National Hurricane Center."

"Our funding is going down and down," Goldenberg says. "We are wondering if our lab is going to continue to exist. It's that bad."

from: http://tinyurl.com/bsb35

edited to add date (2001)

[ 31 August 2005: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]

From the 6/6/05 New Orleans City Business:

In fiscal year 2006, the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is bracing for a record $71.2 million reduction in federal funding…The cuts mean major hurricane and flood protection projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms. Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane has been shelved for now.

....Landrieu said the Bush administration is not making Corps of Engineers funding a priority. “I think it’s extremely shortsighted,” Landrieu said. “When the Corps of Engineers’ budget is cut, Louisiana bleeds. These projects are literally life-and-death projects to the people of south Louisiana.”

from: http://tinyurl.com/8v4js

[ 31 August 2005: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]

quote:

---

Rescue teams were still picking up people throughout the city Tuesday, leaving them on island-like highway overpasses and on a levee to wait to be moved again. Eventually, they will end up in the Superdome, where 15,000 to 20,000 people have taken already refuge, said Louisiana National Guard Maj. Gen. Bennett C. Landreneau. One person died at the Superdome attempting to jump from one level to a lower one.

---

Unbelievable. Why would someone try that??

quote:

---

Among the evacuees are 5,000 inmates from New Orleans and suburbs that need to be moved. Officials were trying to figure out how.

The historic French Quarter appeared to have been spared the worst flooding, but its stores were getting the worst of human nature.

"The looting is out of control. The French Quarter has been attacked," Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson said. "We're using exhausted, scarce police to control looting when they should be used for search and rescue while we still have people on rooftops."

As Sen. Mary Landrieu flew over the area by helicopter, a group of people smashed a window at a convenience store and jumped in.

At a drug store in the French Quarter, people were running out with grocery baskets and coolers full of soft drinks, chips and diapers. One looter shot and wounded a fellow looter, who was taken to a hospital and survived.

Only rooftops were visible in several neighborhoods and the occasional building was in flames.

On a grassy hill in the Carrolton neighborhood, a group of people watched the water quickly rising in the street, about a foot an hour by some estimates.

William Washington had gone to bed in dry house Monday night, well after the hurricane had passed. The water came up Tuesday after the levee broke, and by afternoon his home was flooded.

"We're trying to get to the Superdome," Washington said as he waited with neighbors. "We're waiting for the National Guard. The radio mentioned that they would pick people up."

With hundreds, if not thousands, of people still stranded in flooded homes, attics and rooftops across the city, rescue boats were bypassing the dead to reach the living, Mayor C. Ray Nagin said.

"We're not even dealing with dead bodies," Nagin said. "They're just pushing them on the side."

A few more feet of water could wipe out the entire city water system, said Terry Ebbert, the city's homeland security chief.

The intestates are impassable, the bridges may be unstable and no one knows if the buildings can withstand the damage brought by Katrina, the governor said after flying over the region.

---

http://tinyurl.com/8mn8t

http://tinyurl.com/aqx3j

quote:

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Looting became a problem in both Biloxi and in New Orleans, in some cases in full view of police and National Guardsmen. One police officer was shot in the head by a looter in New Orleans, but was expected to recover, Sgt. Paul Accardo, a police spokesman.

On New Orleans' Canal Street, which actually resembled a canal, dozens of looters ripped open the steel gates on clothing and jewelry stores, some packing plastic garbage cans with loot to float down the street. One man, who had about 10 pairs of jeans draped over his left arm, was asked if he was salvaging things from his store.

"No," the man shouted, "that's EVERYBODY'S store!"

Looters at a Wal-Mart brazenly loaded up shopping carts with items including micorwaves, coolers and knife sets. Others walked out of a sporting goods store on Canal Street with armfuls of shoes and football jerseys.

Outside the broken shells of Biloxi's casinos, people picked through slot machines to see if they still contained coins and ransacked other businesses.

"People are just casually walking in and filling up garbage bags and walking off like they're Santa Claus," said Marty Desei, owner of a Super 8 motel.

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So let it be written.
So let it be done.

[ 31 August 2005: Message edited by: James ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Jesse Hoffman:
God, see if you can spot the difference here.

http://tinyurl.com/8mn8t

http://tinyurl.com/aqx3j

Disgusting. I am so pissed off.

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For most of today Bush did his usual play with the soldiers routine, comparing invading Iraq to WWII.

quote:

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President Bush commerates the 60th anniversary of the Allies' victory over Japan at a naval base in Coronado, California

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But later;

quote:

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President Bush plays a guitar presented to him by Country Singer Mark Wills, right, backstage following his visit to Naval Base Coronado, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. Bush visited the base to deliver remarks on V-J Commemoration Day. (AP Photo/ABC News, Martha Raddatz)
AP - Aug 30 11:56 AM

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Responses...or lack there of to natural disasters have a tendency to bring down governments.

To use an extreme example, the Somoza regime's looting of relief supplies after the '72 Nicaraguan earthquake was a major factor in his eventual overthrow during the Sandinista revolution.

quote:

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Originally posted by radiorahim:
Responses...or lack there of to natural disasters have a tendency to bring down governments.

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When has a lack of response to a natural disaster ever brought down a US government? How could this "bring down" the Bush administration? We don't have a parlimentary system.

Sorry, but Bush is here until January 2009.

[edited for clarity]

[ 31 August 2005: Message edited by: Sven ]

I'm also confused about the apparent lack of federal response. They're just now bringing in the military - they should have been in first thing after the storm. This is the wealthiest country in the world but you wouldn't know it from the response.

The water is still rising tonight and there are still people stuck in their attics and on roofs.

[ 31 August 2005: Message edited by: kurichina ]

It was odd to sit listening to the rain in the dark and realize that it was the same storm that was passing by so innocently overhead here, while the people who met her two days ago were still coping with all those horrors, and will be, for a long time.

Interesting detail above about New Orleans not having been built below sea level but having sunk because of the levees. I hadn't known that. I've always wondered what could have possessed the French to put the city there in the first place.

quote:

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Associated Press
August 31, 2005


WASHINGTON — Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman said Wednesday the Bush administration has decided to release oil from federal petroleum reserves to help refiners affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The move, which was expected later in the day, is designed to give refineries in the Gulf Coast area a temporary supply of crude oil to take the place of interrupted shipments from tankers or offshore oil platforms affected by the storm.

The U.S. Minerals Management Service said Tuesday that 95 percent of the Gulf of Mexico's oil output was out of service. Oil prices surged back above $70 in European markets on Wednesday but dipped quickly after disclosure of the decision involving the release of supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Eight refineries were shut down due to Katrina — half of them producing gasoline.

The government's emergency petroleum stockpile — nearly 700 million barrels of oil stored in underground salt caverns along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast — was established to cushion oil markets during energy disruptions.

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quote:

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As parts of flooded New Orleans slip into chaos and Gulf Coast communities struggle to deal with the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana's governor is declaring Wednesday a day of prayer.

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I'm sure that's going to be a big help.

"Something like half of New Orleans is now below sea level -- as much as fifteen feet. New Orleans, surrounded by levees, is emplaced between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi like a broad shallow bowl. Nowhere is New Orleans higher than the river's natural bank.

Underprivileged people live in the lower elevations, and always have. The rich -- by the river -- occupy the highest ground. In New Orleans, income and elevation can be correlated on a literally sliding scale: the Garden District on the highest level, Stanley Kowalski in the swamp. The Garden District and its environs are locally known as uptown. ..."

quote:

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Louisiana's governor is declaring Wednesday a day of prayer

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That's just a key phrase to get the reich's attention, and some $$$.

Skdadl, I saw the sliding scale of elevation and income level apply in Dallas as well. When there were heavy rains, the poor areas of town were systematically flooded, while the richer areas were like 'what flood? There's no problem...' I saw this happen twice in two years, they were called 'flash floods'. A good way to keep the poor down.

[ 31 August 2005: Message edited by: Rand McNally ]

(Wait a few moments for the looping to begin to work -- then you can see how the storm moved over several hours.)

It's interesting to see the circular motion, now greatly dispersed, of course, still continuing -- as of 14.00 GMT (about fifteen minutes ago), extending from Maine way out into the Atlantic but then swinging down southwards again.

Notice also other little hot spots in the Caribbean.