Hurricane Katrina Thread: Any LA Gaffers?

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I'm sorry to be the first ass in this thread but, isn't it a bit early for the Mayor of Biloxi to declare that Katrina is comparible to the Tusnami?

Certianly the destruction is bad but I just think that is a compareson that is way off the mark or am I missing something?
 
My summer job involved me working for an insurance company. We handle calls from FL, LA and MS and generally, the calls have been only from FL so far. The people who have called me from LA so far have been surprisingly calm about it.

What a disaster. There were a couple of temps who were making light of it. Fucking temps.
 
Incredible... the pictures, the accounts... my god... well on a good note 123 Wal-Marts are closed....
 
Tommie Hu$tle said:
I'm sorry to be the first ass in this thread but, isn't it a bit early for the Mayor of Biloxi to declare that Katrina is comparible to the Tusnami?

Certianly the destruction is bad but I just think that is a compareson that is way off the mark or am I missing something?

they have been comparing them since before the storm hit, Biloxi got hit very hard but still a very stupid statement imho
 
This was pretty much "the big one". However, it still could have been worse for NO from a wind damage point of view, but the I doubt the water could have been a whole lot worse But damn, Mississippi got HAMMERED. My father in law lives in Gulfport MS, about 2 miles from the coast, and brother in lives in nearby Ocean Springs. My FIL got out and went to Flordia, but we still haven't heard from my Brother in law.

From what I've read, parts of Gulfport are just about wiped off the map. In certain areas along the coast, anything that is about 1/2 mile from the ocean is GONE, except for very substantional buildings.
 
Phoenix said:
Guys its bad... its really really bad. Sections of the levee have pretty much collapsed today and many areas that were spared are underwater now. We have confirmed that my aunts house is destroyed from a neighbor using a boat.

The damage is beyond my comprehension.

Damn, where exactly are you located Phoenix? Are you on high ground and do you have some sort of way to escape the area if need be? Or are you far away enough from the city to be considered secure?
 
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That picture just is sad. Totally sad. I wish the city could have gotten buses or something to get the poor people out who couldn't afford to leave on their own. Really sucks.

So is the doomsday theory they predicted actually happening now?
 
Tommie Hu$tle said:
I'm sorry to be the first ass in this thread but, isn't it a bit early for the Mayor of Biloxi to declare that Katrina is comparible to the Tusnami?

Certianly the destruction is bad but I just think that is a compareson that is way off the mark or am I missing something?

Typical American egoism. The New Orleans disaster is troubling to be sure, but it's nowhere on the scale of the tsunami.
 
SnowWolf said:
Typical American egoism. The New Orleans disaster is troubling to be sure, but it's nowhere on the scale of the tsunami.

Oh please STFU with that nationalist (typical american) bullshit, most folks realize that's a dumb comment to make regardless of what damn country they are from.

EDIT: Geez Talas... I hope not too many...
 
Tommie Hu$tle said:
I'm sorry to be the first ass in this thread but, isn't it a bit early for the Mayor of Biloxi to declare that Katrina is comparible to the Tusnami?

Certianly the destruction is bad but I just think that is a compareson that is way off the mark or am I missing something?


Not really. I mean, maybe that is the only thing he could think to compare this tragedy to after seeing all the destruction and loss of life. I wouldn't be too critical of someone who just lived through Katrina and who just saw the destruction. Sitting at a keyboard thousands of miles away, sure you can be critical of someone's reaction to seeing all that, but give the guy a break.
 
dskillzhtown said:
Not really. I mean, maybe that is the only thing he could think to compare this tragedy to after seeing all the destruction and loss of life. I wouldn't be too critical of someone who just lived through Katrina and who just saw the destruction. Sitting at a keyboard thousands of miles away, sure you can be critical of someone's reaction to seeing all that, but give the guy a break.


I give you a pass figuring that it was a gut reaction to the destruction, without even putting in any thought from a loss of life point of view they are not compareable. Now then the impact to American life that may be different becasue this is going to effect every part of the country in one way or another.


Is the water still rising?

Also will the water recede or is NO now stuck like this?
 
phoenix,

I feel you man, I just saw one of my best friends houses flooded on TV, two houses away from the house on fire near E.J. Emergency room. I can't imagine whats hes going through seeing that on TV. I can't get in touch with anyone right now though. Reallly sad stuff going on. Worse than I thought it'd ever be.
 
I just saw that martial law has been declared in New Orleans......

Death toll in Harrison County (Gulfport/Biloxi) now at 80...... :'^(
 
Ark-AMN said:
Damn, where exactly are you located Phoenix? Are you on high ground and do you have some sort of way to escape the area if need be? Or are you far away enough from the city to be considered secure?

I'm in Atlanta. I'm getting news from a few people who are still in the city. Yesterday was lots of 'good' news about areas of the city that survived just fine. But now the 17th street canal levee has collapsed - hundreds of feet across, cannot be repaired; nothing but VERY bad news will be coming from the city. From that levee, water will pour from the lake all the way through downtown and to the river.

I've heard that sections of interstate 10s twin span are missing so if people decide that they want to go back, you really can't GET back. If you have relatives that were able to get out - tell them to stay put. They will only add to the chaos if they try to go back now. And while the mayor is asking people to leave the city, they can't GET out anymore. This is a disaster beyond reason.

Newest footage on the feeds show everything east of the 17th street canal flooding rapidly.
 
this is the latest from www.wwltv.com

Break in 17th Street Canal Levee is now 200 feet wide and slowly flooding the City of New Orleans. Huge sand bags are being airlifted to try to stem the rush of water in that area. The expectations are that the water will not stop until it reaches lake level.

And here are some entries from the news stations blog during the day:

11:15 A.M. - Hospitals with no power and rising waters are bringing patients to the Superdome.

11:13 A.M. - Plaquemines Parish...if you are found on the street...will be arrested. Marshall law in effect. 60 percent of homes flooded. 50 people rescued.

11:12 A.M. Governor Blanco, U.S. Senator Vitter - "Do Not come back Now" if you've evacuated.

11:06 A.M. Governor Blanco reports 700 people have been rescued since Monday afternoon, but that many more remain trapped.

11:01 A.M. - Break in 17th Street Canal Levee is now 200 feet wide and slowly flooding the City of New Orleans. Huge sand bags are being airlifted to try to stem the rush of water in that area.

10:53 A.M. - Latest on Northshore from St. Tammany Parish. Click here.

10:42 A.M. - Rising waters continue in N.O. due to failed pumps and breached levees at the 17th Street Canal and the Ninth Ward. Rising waters caused one hospital to evacuate patients to the Louisiana Superdome.

10:39 A.M. - Gretna officials say standing water is preventing them from getting to some people trapped in their homes. - Bill Capo.

10:37 A.M. GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) -- Rescuers in boats and helicopters searched for survivors of Hurricane Katrina and brought victims, wet and bedraggled, to shelters Tuesday as the extent of the damage across the Gulf Coast became ever clearer. The governor said the death toll in one Mississippi county alone could be as high as 80.

10:35 A.M. Governor Blanco - "Worse than our worst fears."

10:33 A.M. People trapped near Jefferson Parish and Orleans are being asked to get a boat and get to the Sam's Club parking lot on Earhart and Airline to meet the National Guard who will take you to the Superdome.

10:15 A.M. A spokeswoman describes Jefferson Parish as a "very dangerous" place. Jackie Bauer says there's gas leaks everywhere, water needs to be boiled, there's no commercial power, no pumping stations and the water's toxic.

And there's still some deep water in some neighborhoods. Bauer says there are other dangers -- snakes in the water, other vermin, loose dogs and cats everywhere. She says -- quoting now -- "We kind of have to fight for survival with them." - Associated Press

10 A.M. WWL-TV crew bugged out from French Quarter studios to transmitter site in Gretna. Trees down and sides of buildings collapsed. Roof shingles on the street are dangerous with nails and one WWL-TV car got a flat tire on the way over. - Dennis Woltering.

9:35 A.M. Marshal Law in effect in Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish. 60 percent of homes in Plaquemines Parish under water.

9:33 A.M. Uptown fared much better than the rest of the city. - Andy Jacobs, Uptown caller.

8:39 A.M. WWL-TV studios are being evacuated as rising water is coming into the station. The French Quarter is taking on water and water is expected to rise in the city for the next few days.
 
The expectations are that the water will not stop until it reaches lake level.

OMG! Like, the entire city has to be at lake level for it to stop? How high is lake level in reference to the ground level of the city, basically, how deep is Lake Orleans going to be?
 
Tommie Hu$tle said:
I'm sorry to be the first ass in this thread but, isn't it a bit early for the Mayor of Biloxi to declare that Katrina is comparible to the Tusnami?

Certianly the destruction is bad but I just think that is a compareson that is way off the mark or am I missing something?

in a localized area it's comparable (i.e. if the tsunami only struck 1 city, with about a day's warning to "get out", this is probably what it would be like). The fact that he's standing where it happened probably magnifies it to him. Of course, across the geographic scale it's not, but to him it would look like it is.

SnowWolf said:
Typical American egoism. The New Orleans disaster is troubling to be sure, but it's nowhere on the scale of the tsunami.

:rolleyes. You're an idiot.
 
80 confirmed dead in Harrison County Alone, this is bad.... harrison county is really a small community.The worst is the news from that area is hard to find and I cant get incontact with my family, I sure they are all right, it just sucks not knowing.I still feel the worst damage will be in Bay St Lois....The Sad video on CNN.com of the guy whose house split down the middle in Gulfport and he could only save his kid not his wife...made me cry...
 
Jesus fucking christ. I take back my first post. I don't want to see how NO handles a hurricane. :( Seriously, I never actually thought this would happen. Like Phoenix, I figured it was a lot of sensationalism by the networks, but damn man, this is incredibly bad. I mean, REALLY REALLY bad. If you been across the Twin Spans before, you know for that to be destroyed, it's gotta be pretty severe. The pics tell it all already. Man, I thought the worst was over. I didn't expect to wake up to see this. Good luck to anyone still down there. They clearly can't read this right now, but I hope everything works out for the best. Insurance companies are douchebags in the South. In FL, it's really hard to get good flood insurance. And this obviously hurts the people who need it the most, the poor. They are the ones who will be left homeless and desperate after this. :( PEACE.
 
This is awful. I'm in Ohio and they are calling for 3-5 inches of rain overnight. Has anyone done any projections (Army corp of Engineers) of how all this water is going to effect people downstream?

I can't fathom looking at all these pictures and then realizing that it can get much, much worse.
 
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/

The only place I can find info on the damage in MS. I would be greatfull for any info anyone can find...


Cam footage of the biloxi Mayor's office
http://www.sunherald.com/multimedia/sunherald/KRT_packages/archive/katrina/biloxi_movie.mov

BILOXI - The Gulf Coast woke this morning to devastation not seen since Camille 36 years ago. Hurricane Katrina, a massive Category 4 storm, trashed entire cities and left hundreds missing or dead.

South Mississippi bore the brunt of the powerful lashing, which shattered multi-million dollar casinos, buried Biloxi's beach highway and killed at least 50 people in Harrison County alone.

"This," said Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway, "is our tsunami."

Gov. Haley Barbour said on TV this morning that the death toll in Harrison might be as high as 80.

Many died on Point Cadet, at the southeastern tip of Biloxi's peninsula, officials said. Bodies were being recovered late into the night, and a portable morgue was being brought in to handle the dead.

Authorities feared some may have been washed away, never to be found.

"We'll be trying to determine a total fatality count," weary Assistant Police Chief Rodney McGilvary said early this morning, "if we ever have one."

Mississippi fared so badly because it stood east of Katrina's eyewall, in the segment of the storm that packs the most powerful gusts and raging waves.

With phones out, power gone and roads demolished, even emergency officials could get only a rough look at the devastation.

But it was clear as the sun came up today that southern Mississippi had suffered billions of dollars in damage and would take months, if not years, to recover.

Katrina's tidal surge - over 30 feet in spots -- demolished major bridges to three coastal counties, including those linking Biloxi with Ocean Springs and the connection to Bay St. Louis.

The storm swept sailboats onto city streets in Gulfport and obliterated hundreds of waterfront homes, businesses, community landmarks and condominiums.

The concrete Eight Flags display marking the Gulfport-Biloxi boundary - a signature of both coastal communities - was gone.

Hancock and Jackson counties fared no better. A foot of water swamped the emergency operations center at the Hancock County courthouse - which sits 30 feet above sea level.

The back of the courthouse collapsed under the onslaught.

"Thirty-five people swam out of their emergency operations center with life jackets on," neighboring Harrison County emergency medical services director Christopher Cirillo said Monday. "We haven't heard from them." Jackson County's emergency operations center also disintegrated as Katrina raged ashore. The roof was peeling off by 7:30 a.m., forcing officials to evacuate to the courthouse across the street.

Hundreds of Katrina's victims needed medical attention, but it was hard to give. Cirillo said three local hospitals could accept only the worst emergency patients, so officials set up medical triage stations at the Biloxi High School, a fire station on Pass Road and other spots. They urged the walking wounded to go there.

Memorial Hospital suffered some damage, but no injuries to patients or staff. It and Biloxi Regional had the only functional emergency rooms in Harrison County.

Cirillo said they had seen lots of cuts, broken bones, electrocution from downed power lines and breathing difficulties from the stifling heat. Looting was already a major problem as the wind subsided and darkness fell Monday. A furious Harrison County Sheriff George Payne was heard on the police scanner telling his deputies to make room in the jail for thieves.

They scoured broken homes and businesses for cars, radios, liquor, furniture, generators and anything else they could find.

Officials sent two hundred military police from Camp Shelby to help maintain order and enforce curfews, which remain in effect in most coastal communities.

Georgia, Alabama, Texas and Florida sent 35 ambulances to help, more than doubling American Medical Response's normal fleet of 32 - seven of which were lost in the storm.

Katrina will forever be compared to Hurricane Camille, the powerful Aug. 17, 1969, storm that cost the Mississippi Coast 144 lives and more than $6.5 billion in property damage in today's dollars.

A revitalized and growing Mississippi Coast had even more to lose. In Biloxi, the mayor said, the storm's surge put at least five casinos out of commission.

Grand Casino Biloxi washed across U.S. 90. Treasure Bay's pirate ship was beached. Beau Rivage still stood, while Hard Rock Casino -- scheduled to open in early September - was half destroyed.

Hard Rock's signature guitar, touted as the world's largest, survived the lashing.

In Gulfport, the Copa Casino barge sat on land next to the Grand Casino parking garage. The western Grand Casino barge, containing Kid's Quest, was swept around the west side of the hotel and now blocks U.S. 90. Katrina shattered high-water marks set by Camille, pushing surf, sand and debris higher than anyone alive today can remember. In Gulfport, water washed over the CSX railroad tracks, a line old-timers say Camille did not cross.

U.S. 90, the main road through all the coast's oceanfront communities, was buried under inches and even feet of sand in some sections, leaving questions about how the region's road network will recover.

"Highway 90 is destroyed, " said Holloway, Biloxi's mayor. "I saw a disaster. Water did not get this high for Camille."

Stories of narrow survival were everywhere. Jean Jenkins of Moss Point spent nearly seven hours crouched in her small attic with her husband, two dogs and a cat before her son-in-law could rescue her.

He had to come by boat.

"It was horrible," Jenkins said. "Horrible, horrible, horrible."

Jenkins said she's lived in her house for 29 years. She didn't evacuate because she'd never seen the water rise so high.

Monday morning, it came in fast and furious as Katrina raged ashore, giving Jenkins and her husband no escape but the attic.

When she finally embraced her daughter after the long ordeal, Jenkins said she'd lost everything. "We've got nothing left."

"You've got you," daughter Bonnie Cothran replied.

In neighborhoods throughout Biloxi and Gulfport, shell-shocked residents burst into tears and embraced, consoling one another over the devastation. Brothers Jesus and David Diaz walked up Biloxi's St. Charles Avenue in a daze.

"What are you looking for?" they were asked.

One brother replied: "Our house." Like many others, they may never find it again.
 
Listening to the story about the broken levee made me wonder, how the heck did they build the whole levee system in the FIRST place? I mean did they practically have to hold back an entire lake to build those levees?
 
Thanks to those who are continuing to post updates--the news and firsthand accounts in this thread are more informative to me than what the major news organs are putting out right now.
 
From WWLTV's site:

In New Orleans, meanwhile, water began rising in the streets Tuesday morning, apparently because of a break on a levee along a canal leading to Lake Pontchartrain. New Orleans lies mostly below sea level and is protected by a network of pumps, canals and levees. Many of the pumps were not working Tuesday morning.

Officials planned to use helicopters to drop 3,000-pound sandbags into the breach, and expressed confidence the problem could be solved within hours.

I hope so.
 
None of wwltv's videos work for me streaming in firefox - even though I have no issues streaming .wmv's in firefox anywhere else. I don't know why. I have to open the wwltv pages in IE to see them.
 
teiresias said:
None of wwltv's videos work for me streaming in firefox - even though I have no issues streaming .wmv's in firefox anywhere else. I don't know why. I have to open the wwltv pages in IE to see them.

yup, works fine now.

thx :D
 
The Cajundome (Lafayette, LA) has opened its doors as a temporary shelter for evacuees. And a local CBS affiliate has a crew out in New Orleans; they just aired live footage of looting at a Winn Dixie and fires breaking out a few miles from the Superdome.
 
Inside the superdome--

-Surrounded by 3 feet of water.
-One man has already comitted suicide by jumping to his death off of one of the ramps to the Superdome.
-Toilets are overflowing.
 
In Gulfport, water washed over the CSX railroad tracks, a line old-timers say Camille did not cross.

That's a good 1/4 to 1/2f mile inland in some spots.

Here is a map of down the road from my inlaws, I would assume just about everything from the water to the RR tracks is gone.

Gulfport, MS

And to think my ditzy step-mother-in-law didn't want to leave because they forcasted that NO would get the worst of it......
 
Diablos said:
WHy would someone commit suicide in the superdome? Didn't they all survive?

Their team just lost to the Ravens... isn't that a good enough reason? <rimshot>
 
I just want to post a comment directed towards those complaining about the comparison of Katrina to the Tsunami.

Understand, that youre looking at this entire diaster in an objective way, from the comfort of your homes. YOU ARE NOT THERE!

The mayor of Mississippi, who is experciencing hell now, has to put in perspective the situation he is in. The damage is truely awsome. Most likely the only thing he can relate this kind of devastation to was the recently tragic Tsunami. For him, he is in that kind of situation. Entire major areas underwater.

For these people, the world around them was destroyed.
 
Just posted at WWL-TV:

Jeff[erson] 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.
 
These pictures from New Orleans are stunning...it looks like the floodwaters are still rising...is there still any hope to save the city?
 
here's some more from wwltv's blog:

1:30 P.M. - --The American Red Cross says it has thousands of volunteers mobilized for the hurricane. Spokesman Bradley Hague said it's the "largest single mobilization that we've done for any single natural disaster." The organization has set up operational headquarters in Baton Rouge.

--The Environmental Protection Agency dispatched emergency crews to Louisiana and Texas because of concern about oil and chemical spills.

--The Coast Guard closed ports and waterways along the Gulf Coast and positioned craft around the area to conduct post-hurricane search and rescue operations.

--The Agriculture Department said its Food and Nutrition Service would provide meals and other commodities, such as infant formula, distilled water for babies and emergency food stamps.

--The Defense Department dispatched emergency coordinators to Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi to provide communications equipment, search and rescue operations, medical teams and other emergency assistance.

--The Health and Human Services Department sent 38 doctors and nurses to Jackson, Mississippi, to be used where needed, and 30 pallets of medical supplies to the region, including first aid materials, sterile gloves and oxygen tanks.

Some six-thousand National Guard personnel from Louisiana and Mississippi who would otherwise be available to help deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina are in Iraq.

Even so, Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said the states have adequate National Guard units to handle the hurricane needs. He said about six-thousand-500 National Guard troops were available in Louisiana, about seven-thousand in Mississippi, nearly ten-thousand in Alabama and about eight-thousand-200 in Florida.

1:26 P.M. - Officials at LSU and local hospitals say they are triaging thousands of people being brought from outside the Baton Rouge area for medical care. The people are being bused in.

1:08 P.M. - "I'm very hopeful, with the devastation we've had, that the number (of deaths) will be much more reasonable than people think. There are not thousands of people floating around." -- Terry Ebbert, New Orleans' homeland security chief.
 
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