Hurricane Katrina

[manasecret]

Today the gods have decided to crush New Orleans in biblical proportions.

Or something. I don't know what to say, I'm supposed to be on the road to New Orleans from Houston right now, for my final year at Tulane, but instead I have to wait for who knows how long. It's a blessing for me in a way, because I wasn't ready to go at all, but I fear for the city. I'm truly scared of what will happen.

The city was built 9 feet below sea level, and the only thing protecting it day in and day out from destructive flooding is the system of levies they have and the massive water pumps that pump out flood water. But those levies against the will of a storm surge from a direct hit of a category 5 hurricane? Gone. The city could be under 15 feet of water before it's over. And pumps underwater, which they would be, apparently don't work.

I'm fortunate that I wasn't on the road or, worse, all moved in. My thoughts go to all the people in New Orleans and others in the wake of the storm.

[Jonbo298]

Maybe its just me but I want to see pictures of New Orleans and downtown area under 15+ feet of water just to see how bad it can get for once since New Orleans has been saying for a looong time if they ever got hit with a massive hurricane, it would be absolutely devastating as the pumps can't keep up or if they go underwater are screwed anyways.

But thoughts are out to the people of the city. It's gonna turn into hell but it will only be for a "short" time

[Bond]

Riding on the City of New Orleans,
Illinois Central Monday morning rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders,
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail.
All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out at Kankakee
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields.
Passin' trains that have no names,
Freight yards full of old black men
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.

Good morning America how are you?
Don't you know me I'm your native son,
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans,
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.

[BlueFire]

Hurricane Katrina is a persitent asshole. :]

She rammed right through my area on Thursday, and did decent damage for a category 1 storm. Everyone underestimated the storm. Hell, I did too. There are still thousands without electricity down here and won't get electricity until Friday. If a category 1 caused some havoc here, I can only picture what this cat. 5 monster will do. I still remember when Andrew came here in 92.

My thoughts are with the people of New Orleans. I hope most of them escaped this thing's wrath.

[Acebot44]

This sounds horrible for the people of NO, but like Jonbo, I also want to see how it all pans out and what the underwater city would look like.

[The Duggler]

"New Orleans Is Sinking"

Bourbon blues on the street loose and complete
Under skies all smoky blue-green
I can Forksake the dixie dead shake
So we dance the sidewalk clean
My memory is muddy what's this river I'm in
New Orleans is sinking and I don't want to swim

Colonel Tom What's wrong? What's Going On
You can't tie yourself up for a deal
He said" Hey North you're south shut you big mouth
You gotta do what you feel is real."
Ain't got no picture postcards ain't go no souvenirs
My baby she don't know me when I'm thinking about thoes years

Pale as a light bulb hanging on a wire
Sucking up to someone just stoke the fire
Picking out the highlights of the scenery
Saw a little cloud looked a little like me

I had My hand in the river
My feet back up on the banks
Looked up to the lord above and said hey man thanks
Some time I fell so good I gotta scream
She says Gordie baby I know exactly what you mean
She said, she said I swear to god she said

My memory is muddy what's this river I'm in
New Orleans is sinking and I don't want to swim

[DeathsHand]

The levees I think they said were somewhere along the lines of 15-20 feet tall, but the storm surges are expected to easily surpass that (could be around 35 feet)...

The city could be flooded for as long as 90 days...

Estimated that at least 80% of wooden structures in the area will be destroyed...

The tall office buildings and such could sway to the point of collapse...

Anybody crazy (or drunk) enough to have not evacuated or found a decent place to take shelter face certain death...

And now for some cheesey song lyrics: ..... Nah I got nothing.

[GameMaster]

It is expected to be the most powerful cyclone to hit the United States in recorded history, with winds projected by the National Weather Service being in excess of 179 mph.

Yikes! Everyone please remain in safety during this dangerous time.

[Dyne]

Wow. I can't imagine my area being flooded. Just insurmountable damage. A lot of buildings made with wood could be rotting after something like that.

[Stonecutter]

This is what you get when you build a city below sea level not 100 miles from a very large body of water.

And man there's gonna be some good darwinism coming to the people that stick it out.

[The Germanator]

Wow...This hits a bit close to home as the Spinto Band played in New Orleans exactly a week ago. I guess we are very lucky and I feel bad for anyone in that town, they have some good jambayala there.

[Neo]

The governor of Biloxi is comparing the hurricane to the tsunami even though 54 people died in MS and 220,000 died in the tsunami.

[DeathsHand]

Originally Posted by Neo

The governor of Biloxi is comparing the hurricane to the tsunami even though 54 people died in MS and 220,000 died in the tsunami.

54 people have been confirmed dead in MS (and I think a majority of those were from a single county)...

While that's still a silly comparison, once all is said and done, the death toll will be much higher than that...

And when it comes to damage to structures and such, this probably could be considered 'our tsunami'...

[DeathsHand]

I apologize for the 'double post', but incase anybody hasn't (for some reason) heard the news:

Hours after the storm had passed (and seemingly spared) New Orleans, the levees gave way, and a short while later the pumps failed... The city is now filling up like a bowl, and it's not expected to stop until it reaches the level of Lake Pontchartrain (some 4 feet above sea level)...

The bodies of the dead are being ignored so emergency workers can focus on rescuing survivors, all of whom will eventually have to be shipped out of the city...

In the meanwhile, there has been widespread looting, and I believe I heard that martial law was declared...

Flood Slideshow

[Jonbo298]

Everyone told New Orleans to expect the worst if ever hit directly by a hurricane and well, this is about as close as they will probably get to a direct hit by a Cat 4/5 storm