Katrina

I flew my 182 to Houston (IAH) this morning & drove my van back here.

Traffic on I-10 was wide open both ways from Houston to Lafayette

Better safe than sorry :)
 
Heard it was upgraded to Cat 5. I hope those of you that live in the area get the heck out.

Stay safe

Dee
 
45r is open. Noticed quite a few cars at the little motel in Silsbee. Hope the thing weakens.
 
Eamon said:
I flew my 182 to Houston (IAH) this morning & drove my van back here.

Traffic on I-10 was wide open both ways from Houston to Lafayette

Better safe than sorry :)
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You getting that Caravan out of there, too?

Suprised you'd take the 182 to IAH.... figured the fees would eat you alive compared to some of the other options.
 
I always find the NOAA forecasters comments rather..interesting: (exerpts from this morning)

PREPARATIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY SHOULD BE RUSHED TO COMPLETION.
THERE IS NO CHANGE TO THE TRACK FORECAST.
HURRICANES RARELY SUSTAIN SUCH EXTREME WINDS FOR MUCH TIME. HOWEVER WE SEE NO OBVIOUS LARGE-SCALE EFFECTS TO CAUSE A SUBSTANTIAL WEAKENING THE SYSTEM.

Translation: Why are you reading this? Flee! Now!


Look at all the pretty colors:
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/DATA/RT/float-ir4-loop.html

Spiral Galaxy VS New Orleans?
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/DATA/RT/float-vis-loop.html

Cat4-5 storm surge expected to be 18-22ft on a city that's what? -8ft MSL in places?

Run away. Quickly.
 
fgcason said:
PREPARATIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY SHOULD BE RUSHED TO COMPLETION.
THERE IS NO CHANGE TO THE TRACK FORECAST.
HURRICANES RARELY SUSTAIN SUCH EXTREME WINDS FOR MUCH TIME. HOWEVER WE SEE NO OBVIOUS LARGE-SCALE EFFECTS TO CAUSE A SUBSTANTIAL WEAKENING THE SYSTEM.

Run away. Quickly.
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Run away, indeed. The latest P-3 just came back in, sustained winds now reported at 184mph, and the storm has deepened to 902mb. This is one mean mother.
 
wsuffa said:
You getting that Caravan out of there, too?

Suprised you'd take the 182 to IAH.... figured the fees would eat you alive compared to some of the other options.
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The desk women like me... No Charge & if the wind get over 25 kts I was promised a free hangar :) Plus my Van is allways parked there so It was easy to get home.

It is 2:30 on Sun & my job just called. I am flying the Caravan to Addison as soon as I am packed. Ahh free flight free hotel.. I hope I get a rental car.

:) :)
 
Eamon said:
The desk women like me... No Charge & if the wind get over 25 kts I was promised a free hangar :) Plus my Van is allways parked there so It was easy to get home.

It is 2:30 on Sun & my job just called. I am flying the Caravan to Addison as soon as I am packed. Ahh free flight free hotel.. I hope I get a rental car.

:) :)
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Good deal. Forgot you had the van there.

Figured they'd get that plane out of there. Katrina's shaping up to be a big 'un. No word from the folks I know in New Orleans.

Funny, when I was in there a week ago, I was looking at the flood gates in the levee by Lakefront. Asked him about them - he said he'd never seen them put in, and to the best of his knowledge, they'd never been used.

Bet they are now.

I also learned that New Orleans has a giant pump and pipe system to pump water out of the city up into the canals & bayous that are on the other side of the levee. Haven't been tested in years. It'll be a long time before things are back to normal.
 
Steve said:
It's looking like CAMILLE II, the Sequel.
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Steve, do you have any idea how this hurricane might affect you guys? How far are you from New Orleans and the projected path?
 
Eamon said:
The desk women like me... No Charge & if the wind get over 25 kts I was promised a free hangar :) Plus my Van is allways parked there so It was easy to get home.

It is 2:30 on Sun & my job just called. I am flying the Caravan to Addison as soon as I am packed. Ahh free flight free hotel.. I hope I get a rental car.

:) :)
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Eamon, call me 214-914-9951 if you need any help at all.

/s/ Spike
 
I was supposed to fly to Shreveport this morning for business. I know it is a long ways from N. Orleans but decided to make the trip next week. I hate to take a chance with the Six setting out on the ramp if things got ugly there. It is great to be flexible in my schedule.

Hope God is with you all that are effected by this storm.
 
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I have a good friend, lives in NOLA, he, his wife and dog got out very early this morning, are in Natchitoches for the duration. They have important papers and family photos in the trunk of the car, and consider that they have all that they really need.

He tells me that, if the storm surge does as promised, he is confident that his home will be gone by this time tomorrow. Very calm, all considered, but he also recognizes (as he should) that, if the storm does as promised, there would be no point (or reason) to staying.

I rode out Alicia in Houston in '83, that was enough fun for me! If Katrina is anything like the currently-promised strength, it will be a real doozy.

Good luck, God keep all of you in SE LA.
 
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
413 PM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005

EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE KATRINA CONTINUES TO APPROACH THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA

DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED

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.

POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN
AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING
INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY
THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW
CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE
KILLED.

http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/iwszone?Sites=:laz062
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:hairraise:

CNN decided it's "Hurricane Headquarters."

It's gonna be a bomb. I don't wanna watch. My heart is with those folks.

They had a guy from Philly who went down for a bachelor party. They heard the early warnings and as yankees might tend to do, they thought it cloudn't be that bad. Then they thought maybe they should try to get home. No flights. No cars. They're stuck there on the 17th floor of the hotel for the duration. It's gonna be a week or three they'll never forget.

The windows are going to go. I'd imagine they will have no power, food or water. He said they got bottled water and filled the bathtub. There aren't going to be any roads. We could hope that eventually there will be efforts to get people out with military vehicles.
 
Steve said:
....Cheryl is out of harm's way in DC right now.
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Sorry, I couldn't help but smile at that.

Y'all take care. Let us know how things go.
 
Prayers out to everyone down there.

The rest of up, buckle down... crude is up $4.67 a barrel already, gasoline futures are already up $0.20 a gallon.

This ain't going to be pretty.
 
Steve said:
Good chance I'll be offline for a few days as we hunker down.
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Steve, when you have a chance to get back online, please let us know how you're doing. We'll be thinking about you guys.
 
SCCutler said:
Eamon, call me 214-914-9951 if you need any help at all.

/s/ Spike
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Thanks Spike. I'll be fine. When I find out what they have in store for me tomorrow I will call you. Maybe we can have food or drink :) I will prolly be here till Tue afternoon or evening.
 
From Advisory 27:

National Weather Service said:
SPECIAL THANKS ARE EXTENDED TO THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE RESERVE
HURRICANE HUNTER CREWS STATIONED AT KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE IN
BILOXI MISSISSIPPI...WHO HAVE BEEN FLYING CONTINUOUS MISSIONS
THROUGH KATRINA EVEN AS THEIR FAMILIES AND HOMES ARE BEING
SERIOUSLY IMPACTED BY THIS HURRICANE.
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Crazy m'fers... I can't imagine flying a big 4 engined plane all through this garbage! Big, big, big cajones.

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
SCCutler said:
I rode out Alicia in Houston in '83, that was enough fun for me! If Katrina is anything like the currently-promised strength, it will be a real doozy.
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I rode out Andrew in Miami. Bad, bad thing. My personal threshold is now to ride out a 3, evac for anything bigger.
 
Steve said:
.....HURRICANE KATRINA IS IN CHARGE OF THE OPERATION. ....
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Ain't that the truth?
 
My brother works for a company with facilities in the storm area (thankfully he's not at one of these). He sent me the following this morning...

• Pascagoula
The warehouse facility took what appears to be a 6’ - 8’ tidal surge which blew out all of the windows on the first floor of the warehouse and flooded it....A total loss of whatever remained on the first floor...The second floor offices /conference room appears to be alright.... The covered shed for the 9m RHIB is gone ....Only the wood piling driven into the ground remains.....There is still quite a bit of flooding in the Pascagoula area and Larry could not get to the Port of Pascagoula to assess the condition of our OSRB 402...All Pascagoula employees are safe, but several experienced severe damage to their property and belongings... Midstream offices adjacent to our warehouse were devastated....

• Ft. Jackson
Ft. Jackson, on the other hand, is another story....The warehouse is a concrete slab...Everything was lost...We do not have a report on our concrete dock there in Ft. Jackson, but we expect the worse....The OSRB 450 barge is high and dry on one of the local hurricane protection levees we think is near Buras, Louisiana (we can’t be sure for now)....See enclosed photograph.... All of our employees at the Ft. Jackson site are safe but several have lost everything..... Plaquemine parish remains flooded.....
 
gkainz said:
My brother works for a company with facilities in the storm area (thankfully he's not at one of these). He sent me the following this morning...

• Pascagoula
The warehouse facility took what appears to be a 6’ - 8’ tidal surge which blew out all of the windows on the first floor of the warehouse and flooded it....A total loss of whatever remained on the first floor...The second floor offices /conference room appears to be alright.... The covered shed for the 9m RHIB is gone ....Only the wood piling driven into the ground remains.....There is still quite a bit of flooding in the Pascagoula area and Larry could not get to the Port of Pascagoula to assess the condition of our OSRB 402...All Pascagoula employees are safe, but several experienced severe damage to their property and belongings... Midstream offices adjacent to our warehouse were devastated....

• Ft. Jackson
Ft. Jackson, on the other hand, is another story....The warehouse is a concrete slab...Everything was lost...We do not have a report on our concrete dock there in Ft. Jackson, but we expect the worse....The OSRB 450 barge is high and dry on one of the local hurricane protection levees we think is near Buras, Louisiana (we can’t be sure for now)....See enclosed photograph.... All of our employees at the Ft. Jackson site are safe but several have lost everything..... Plaquemine parish remains flooded.....
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Ouch. Everyone walked though, so that's a big +.

So, just how do they get that barge back into the water anyway?
 
fgcason said:
So, just how do they get that barge back into the water anyway?
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I bet they could throw a whole bunch of water at the opposite side, and it would go back that way, but would probably cause damage. That's a good question, I'd like to know too!
 
Hmph.

Lives lost, property destroyed, and for some reason CNN thinks the fact that 123 Wal-Marts were closed by Katrina merits home-page level headlines....

Sorry, I know its the money section, but of all news, thats a bit fat *SO WHAT* to me...
 
fgcason said:
Ouch. Everyone walked though, so that's a big +.

So, just how do they get that barge back into the water anyway?
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I asked my brother that same question... he said "we have no idea" ... :hairraise: I suggested a big excavator on the front deck and dig their way to the ocean...
second suggestion was to fill it with helium, make it a blimp and fly it out ... he reminded me again why I'm a software engineer...
 
I got some more details on the barge from my brother in response to my questions. He said:

"She is around 400' long and about 20' wide. The 450 designation represents
450,000 bbls of product storage... Luckily she is empty....

I don't know if we can get her off the bar in one piece - we may do a lot of
damage pulling her off. I don't think we can pick her with cranes.

The last resort is to cut her up in place.

We shall see what our insurances want to do..."
 
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gkainz said:
I got some more details on the barge from my brother in response to my questions.
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What a mess. Even if you could pick it up, the terrain there doesn't look overly hospitable to rolling machinery to dump it back in the water.

I'm more of a mechanical person than software but not on that scale. I'd be tempted to say just leave it until the next hurricane comes through then float it off...or borrow a couple crawlers from NASA.

Keep us updated on this one. I'd really like to see how they move it if they don't cut it up.
 
It's gonna go from worse to worse. It's gonna go from shock to "can do" to outrage "why aren't THEY doing more?" For now people aren't that hungry. The cops in NOLA are running out of gas.

A natural disaster, a huge snowstorm, is what knocked out the Chicago "machine" in the 1980's and brought us Jane Byrne.

Steve, you're gonna need to hunker down for the anger.
 
mikea said:
It's gonna go from worse to worse. It's gonna go from shock to "can do" to outrage "why aren't THEY doing more?" For now people aren't that hungry. The cops in NOLA are running out of gas.

A natural disaster, a huge snowstorm, is what knocked out the Chicago "machine" in the 1980's and brought us Jane Byrne.

Steve, you're gonna need to hunker down for the anger.
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Actually, it's not going to go just in the news and politics worse to worse.

The New Orleans bowl is filling up. There is no power to pump out the bowl.
100,000 inner city residents remain. No sewage, no power, no food. Only one road remains- the road to Jackson MI (Interstate bridges are out). I give them three days and the coliform diarrhea starts.

Hospitals- no power, no way to deliver the supplies. Civil breakdown- they're already looting. Worse yet, owners will try to return, competing with the relief trucks on 61.

How much do you want to bet that in a few days Northern Command parks an aircraft carrier offshore and we do the tsunami thing....
 
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bbchien said:
Actually, it's not going to go just in the news and politics worse to worse.

The New Orleans bowl is filling up. There is no power to pump out the bowl.
100,000 inner city residents remain. No sewage, no power, no food. Only one road remains- the road to Jackson MI (Interstate bridges are out). I give them three days and the coliform diarrhea starts.

Hospitals- no power, no way to deliver the supplies. Civil breakdown- they're already looting. Worse yet, owners will try to return, competing with the relief trucks on 61.

How much do you want to be that in a few days Northern Command parks an aircraft carrier offshore and we do the tsunami thing....
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Doc, I think you post the inevitable. In my mind, I am wondering: what can we do? I speak with my friend from NOLA, who is holed-up in Natchitoches; he has no idea when he can go home, and whether there is a home to go home to. His office is likely safe, a hot, darkened, unpowered 32nd floor cave. His firm: two offices, one in New Orleans, one in Gulfport. Where to go?

What happens when they just have to close up a city? We are finding out.

Where do you put the downtrodden and unfortunate? We shall see.

Blessings: count 'em.

God be with the people of New Orleans and Mississippi.

===

What can WE *do*?
 
Wonder what they're going to do with the S&R/Relief operations when Bush comes for a visit with his 10+30 TFR? Can't possible screen all the aircraft in those operations. Can't imagine they'll stop for Bush.... if they do, his visit will cause more harm than good.
 
bbchien said:
Actually, it's not going to go just in the news and politics worse to worse.

The New Orleans bowl is filling up. There is no power to pump out the bowl.
100,000 inner city residents remain. No sewage, no power, no food. Only one road remains- the road to Jackson MI (Interstate bridges are out). I give them three days and the coliform diarrhea starts.

Hospitals- no power, no way to deliver the supplies. Civil breakdown- they're already looting. Worse yet, owners will try to return, competing with the relief trucks on 61.

How much do you want to bet that in a few days Northern Command parks an aircraft carrier offshore and we do the tsunami thing....
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We should have been doing that already.

Just my humble opinion.

Sometimes we spend more time helping folks in other parts of the world than we do taking care of our own.
 
wsuffa said:
Sometimes we spend more time helping folks in other parts of the world than we do taking care of our own.
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When are the French and the Pacific rim countries going to announce how much financial aid they're sending to the U.S.?
 
wsuffa said:
We should have been doing that already.

Just my humble opinion.

Sometimes we spend more time helping folks in other parts of the world than we do taking care of our own.
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Not to sound tooooo right wing/neocon for my own good.......
If Germany, France, et-al don't want to help out in Iraq, can't they help out in NOLA ????
Maye we need to ask for their help on this one. We'll continue to watch their back in the ME.

Just a thought.
 
A friend sent this info on New Orleans area:

Dave
================================================


Some interesting secondary problems starting to show up.
Credit cards on New Orleans banks are being rejected by the computerized credit card authorization systems, because the computers at the banks that validate the cards are not on-line on the networks. Most gas stations and motels are manually over-riding and accepting charges from cards from that arrea.

How do you get money out of a bank that is underwater?

Best view of breached levees

http://www.kathryncramer.com/kathryn_cramer/2005/08/new_orleans_lev.html

Local TV station with good current coverage.

http://www.wwltv.com/

The Times-Picayune web site

http://www.nola.com/

The local paper's site. The New Orleans paper is effectively being published on this site, until they can get back into New Orleans, and get access to their presses.

Specifically look at:

HEADLINES

Updates From The Times-Picayune

There are also many blocks of hundreds of pictures if you poke around on the site.

--







 
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