The Perfect Storm

[Cheddar]

Katrina is looking to smash New Orleans and the Gulf Coast to pieces. 

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/28/hurricane.katrina/

Oil has gone up to record high as of 1945 EST, rising 4 dollars a barrel to over 70 dollars per.  This is expected to get worse (IE top your tank out tonight).  I hope the disaster is not as bad as studies fear; I will try and dig up the one done by a professor down there who states New Orleans will become a cesspool of toxic waste if something like this was to hit. 

[Shockeye]

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005
DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED

HURRICANE KATRINA
A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969.

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.

Seems the National Weather Service has no hope for the city.

Good luck Haemish, hope you escape any harm and damage.

[Moaner]

Here is a link to that message.  It'd definitely scary.  Especially this part...

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.

[Strazos]

That could certainly put a crimp in the plans of thousands of drunkards if the damage is bad enough....

Mardi Gras is in October or something, right?

[stray]

I hope it's all a fluke, and turns out to have, at the most, category 3 like effects (fat chance, I know..). However, I can't believe there are actually people sitting around in these cities, deciding to "ride it out".

[Cheddar]

That could certainly put a crimp in the plans of thousands of drunkards if the damage is bad enough....

Mardi Gras is in October or something, right?

Considering that most of New Orleans will be gone by tomorrow afternoon or under toxic sewage, yes,  I would say that Mardi Gras will be a bust for Bourbon Street.  I am going to see if the Military needs volunteers to re-activate for clean up activities tomorrow; not sure how that program works exactly.  

[Merusk]

I hope the disaster is not as bad as studies fear; I will try and dig up the one done by a professor down there who states New Orleans will become a cesspool of toxic waste if something like this was to hit. 

Here's one that was dug-up by an Orleans inhabitant over at Corp.

http://www.weather.com/newscenter/specialreports/hurricanes/vulnerablecities/neworleans.html

Dismal picture indeed. Good news that floating corpses won't be a concern... unless of course those pumps become useless like the article mentions not more than 5 paragraphs above that section.  Yay editing.


 

Mardi Gras is in October or something, right?

You mean the celebration of excess before the purification of soul by abstensia during Lent, culminating in "Fat Tuesday" (AKA Mardi Gras in French) the day before Ash Wednesday?  Yeah, sure, October.

[Cheddar]

National Weather Service announcement

http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/iwszone?Sites=:laz069

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.

AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WATCH IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR
HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS.

[Trippy]

Stay safe everybody that's down there.

Edit: fixed grammar

[Cheddar]

Just to lighten things up before the horrors begin to sink in, here is a video clip of Fox News accidently saying shit.

http://media.putfile.com/foxnews

[Fabricated]

Great. The southern coast of the US gets utterly destroyed, and the rest of the US's economy gets kicked into the shitter with $4 gas.

Let's just hope the news over-played the potential of the storm like they always do.

edit: If you want to watch a stream of a local news channel in that area, try here.

http://www.wwltv.com/cgi-bin/bi/video/makeadplaylist.pl?title=beloint_khou&live=yes

[Stephen Zepp]

My long time business partner (prior to me going to GG) is from New Orleans. I tried to call him early today to see if he needed anything during his evac, and to wish him and his family safety. As of 3 PM Pacific Time, all cell phone service was down, and the storm was still 225 miles away.

I was in Fort Walton Beach during Hurricane Opal and it flat out sucked, but it wasn't even near what this one looks like....going to be a bad one unfortunately :(

[Abel]

Good luck to all those in the Southern States.

Would be very sad to see a city like New Orleans in ruin (any city for that matter actually), so I hope Katrina will be a nice girl and won't do her worst.

[Llava]

Just for god's sake, don't suggest that she might be on her period.  That always just makes things worse.

Seriously, be careful folks.  Take care of yourselves, come out of it in one piece.

[Jain Zar]

I just found out how bad it was going to be before going to bed.  (Was trying to rewrite Wizkids' collectible Pirates game into something that doesn't blow ass and had the TV off.)

The mere thought of it being that bad is.. I dunno.. fuck.  And I am so broke I probably won't be able to donate anything to help in the sure to be needed relief efforts I don't think.  Im just not sure.

But the thought of all those lives destroyed and all that history wiped out..  And the thought of people like Fred Phelps who will probably dance all over the devastation as a way to be even bigger gutter slime.. 

Its making me terribly sad and furious all at the same time.

A recent report dropped it from a 5 to a 4, but that's still gonna cause serious devastation.  150 mile an hour winds are no small matter. 

I just hope everyone makes it out ok and maybe it won't cause as much devastation as is being forecasted.

[MisterNoisy]

Good luck to everyone in the affected area, particularly in coastal LA, MS and AL.

We're only getting the edge of it, but wind's already picking up and throwing things like tree limbs left over from Dennis and random lawn furniture around.

I hope that NO and the surrounding area fares better than the NHC is expecting.  The downgrade to a Cat4 and general weakening trend are good things, but...

[Trippy]

Been watching the news for the last hour and a half. Power is out now in at least parts of New Orleans. It also sounds the drainage/pumping system can no longer keep up with the rain. :-(

Edit (4:37 AM PDT): They just said that it's still drifting to the east which means the brunt of the winds (the worst winds are apparently in the NE quadrant of the hurricane) may miss the lake and the storm surge may not be a worst case scenario.

Edit 2 (5:44 AM PDT): People are sounding pretty confident now that New Orleans dodged the worst case scenario even though it's still 50 miles or so to the South/Southeast. Apparently the hurricane would've had to have been about 100 miles west of where it is now for the worst possible storm surge to have occurred.

Edit 3 (6:27 AM PDT): Part of the roof of the Superdome where thousands of people are sheltered has peeled off. It now looks like Biloxi is in the direct path of Katrina.

Edit 4 (6:51 AM PDT): Unconfirmed report of a levee breach in NO.

[Fargull]

Hope everyone in the area is safe.

What a wonderful little quote from CNN...

""So, we're looking at a bowl full of highly contaminated water with contaminated air flowing around and, literally, very few places for anybody to go where they'll be safe."

He went further.

"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."

[Shockeye]

10:30 a.m. - This shot, taken from the third-floor roof of the Times-Picayune building during a slight break in the rain, shows where Hurricane Katrina's winds ripped away a large portion of the white covering of the Superdome on Monday morning.
(NOLA Photo by Jon Donley)

[Cheddar]

Wow.  Praise the Goddess that the hurricane hit farther east then originally expected.  Poor Biloxi :(

[Yegolev]

Looks like the tornado zone is closing in on the old homestead.  Going to see about skipping out of work early.

That could certainly put a crimp in the plans of thousands of drunkards if the damage is bad enough....

Mardi Gras is in October or something, right?

Wrong festival.

[Cheddar]

"I could have stayed at home and watched my roof blow off," said one of the refugees, Harald Johnson, 43. "Instead, I came down here and watched the Superdome roof blow off. It's no big deal; getting wet is not like dying."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050829/ap_on_re_us/katrina_superdome

[schild]

Haemish is ok, apparently the worst he and spt are going to get hit with is 60-80mph winds. I'll keep everyone updated as he has Zero power.

[Trippy]

Haemish is ok, apparently the worst he and spt are going to get hit with is 60-80mph winds. I'll keep everyone updated as he has Zero power.

How are they doing down there?

[Strazos]

I would have flown a kite.








On a long string from a very safe area.

[Llava]

I would have flown a kite.








On a long string from a very safe area.

Best to tie that string to something, it'll cut your arm pretty well.  I speak from experience there.  Kids do dumb things.

[schild]

Haemish is ok, apparently the worst he and spt are going to get hit with is 60-80mph winds. I'll keep everyone updated as he has Zero power.

How are they doing down there?

I'll talk to him again in the morning, but as of now, A OK.

[Trippy]

I'll talk to him again in the morning, but as of now, A OK.

[schild]

Haem is alive and well. Estimated time without power is 1-3 weeks. Only damage to his house was ripped off shingles. He said the only way it could get worse was if every appliance in his house shocked him with an SB.EXE when he touched it. He is, however, going insane without games to play.

[WayAbvPar]

Estimated time without power is 1-3 weeks.

Holy shit. I get pissy if my power is off for 1-3 HOURS. That sucks serious balls.

Let us know if there is anything they need.

[schild]

Let us know if there is anything they need.

If I had a battery powered GBA it would have already been sent with copious games. Unfortunately I got rid of that, my gamegear and a bunch of other battery powered gaming stuff a long time ago. At this very moment, lithium ion has been made obsolete.

[Shockeye]

The stuff in Haem's refrigerator is gonna stink.

[Shockeye]

Looting Begins in New Orleans

By ALLEN G. BREED, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 20 minutes ago

NEW ORLEANS - With much of the city emptied by Hurricane Katrina, some opportunists took advantage of the situation by looting stores.

At a Walgreen's drug store in the French Quarter, people were running out with grocery baskets and coolers full of soft drinks, chips and diapers.

When police finally showed up, a young boy stood in the door screaming, "86! 86!" — the radio code for police — and the crowd scattered.

Denise Bollinger, a tourist from Philadelphia, stood outside and snapped pictures in amazement.

"It's downtown Baghdad," the housewife said. "It's insane. I've wanted to come here for 10 years. I thought this was a sophisticated city. I guess not."

Around the corner on Canal Street, the main thoroughfare in the central business district, people sloshed headlong through hip-deep water as looters ripped open the steel gates on the front of several clothing and jewelry stores.

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 filled industrial-sized garbage cans with clothing and jewelry and floated them down the street on bits of plywood and insulation as National Guard lumbered by.

Mike Franklin stood on the trolley tracks and watched the spectacle unfold.

"To be honest with you, people who are oppressed all their lives, man, it's an opportunity to get back at society," he said.

[voodoolily]

Wow. Just wow. I'm glad Haemsy and SPT are okay. This kinda thing doesn't happen up here, but let's just say I'm glad I read all those survivalism books. Can they leave? Or would they hafta just walk or take bikes? Goddamn.

[Cheddar]

People will always return to their base nature if allowed the opportunity.  Remember these are not the law abiding, well educated people that left the city when the opportunity was availible.  What is sad is they either do not realize, or do not care, that they are making the situation worse not only from those they are stealing from, but for themselves as well.  Poor NO, spared the ravages of catastrophic disaster only to be raped and pillaged.