# Katrina **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 27, 2005, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837 "2005-08-27T04:44:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/121 "2005-08-29T02:19:01Z")
Are folks on the freeways running out of gas? Overheating? Having to ditch their vehicles and hitch a ride? How about gas stations along the clogged routes? Regarding pets, I did see coverage of an organization helping to take care of pets that couldn’t be taken or otherwise left behind. One of the more disturbing accounts I heard was from one of the organizers of this group. She said her volunteers had encountered some dog owners who decided the best thing to do with their two dogs was to lock them into airline crates, put them on top of the washer and dryer (so they’d stay above any high water) and then leave them there. Yep. Some people should not be allowed to have pets, let alone children, let alone be allowed in public without handlers of their own. Yeah, I know that tensions are high and emergency situations don’t allow for much coherent thought sometimes, but that idiocy is the kind of pet stewardship akin to taking a gun and shooting them, without the quick and painless death part. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/122 "2005-08-29T02:28:04Z")
Another Baton Rouge doper checking in. We’re in Hundred Oaks Park. I have my mom and sisters (and my sister’s dog) here with us. If the levees break in New Orleans, they’ll be here with us for the foreseeable future. Pray for me… the hurricane I can handle. My mom living in my house for weeks, I cannot. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BabaBooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@BabaBooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BabaBooey)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/123 "2005-08-29T02:29:35Z")
A relative of mine heading westbound on I-10 said he saw quite a few people with pets roaming on the side of the road in the gridlocked areas, so I think a large majority did take their pets with them. Also interesting, people are going to the restroom pretty freely on the interstate. Guess there’s no other option and hopefully the 5.0 is being lenient about the matter. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/124 "2005-08-29T02:29:55Z")
> [@Vevila](#): > > My dear deluded father is staying at home. At least he won’t be alone- there are three other idiots staying with him. I’ll pray for you father’s well-being. Or, if need be, for his soul. ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/125 "2005-08-29T03:28:00Z")
Okay, I talked to my sister. The dogs are in Baton Rouge with her friends. Yay! 🙂 -Lil ---
**Author:** ![exastris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b38774/32.png) [@exastris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/exastris)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/126 "2005-08-29T03:46:49Z")
> [@percypercy](#): > > Okay, I talked to my sister. The dogs are in Baton Rouge with her friends. Yay! 🙂 > -Lil Best news I’ve heard about this storm! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrattiAtti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@BrattiAtti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrattiAtti)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/127 "2005-08-29T04:23:09Z")
I’m concerned for all of you in this storm’s path. I want to offer to help, even though it’s premature at this very moment. Still, if you end up needing anything (blankets, clothes, dog food, cash), email me at brattiatti @ gmail dot com and I’ll swing something. BrattiAtti, who lives in the desert where last year’s “storm of the century” produced two inches of snow :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/128 "2005-08-29T04:27:09Z")
I just read this on [cnn.com](http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/28/katrina.doomsday/index.html): > [@](#): > > In New Orleans, which lies below sea level, gas and diesel tanks are all located above ground for the same reason that bodies are buried above ground. In the event of a flood, “those tanks will start to float, shear their couplings, and we’ll have the release of these rather volatile compounds,” van Heerden added. > > Because gasoline floats on water, “we could end up with some pretty severe and large – area-wise – fires.” > > “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.” Holy shit. I hope this is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/129 "2005-08-29T04:32:28Z")
This is scary. I am still hoping to here from my BIL & SIL. We don’t know if they evacuated. My Brother-In-Law is a Resident, are medical personnel being evacuated also or are they being asked to stay? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/130 "2005-08-29T05:32:34Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > This is scary. I am still hoping to here from my BIL & SIL. We don’t know if they evacuated. My Brother-In-Law is a Resident, are medical personnel being evacuated also or are they being asked to stay? Most law enforcement, medical and civil defense people have been ordered to stay. That’s not to say that any given individual hasn’t been ordered to evacuate, but it’s likely that a medical resident would be on the “stay” list. Best wishes to your family. The worst I expect here in East Alabama is that the power will go out. Every power truck that isn’t already in Miami will be heading for New Orleans, so there’s no telling when we might get our repairs done. I’ve got a generator and the gas cans are filled, water comes from a well that the generator can power, so we’ll be all right. Hurricane Opal in 1995 was the worst here. We went 24 days before electricity was restored. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/131 "2005-08-29T05:47:40Z")
I attempted to go to New Orleans on Saturday to move my daughter into University. As we were preparing to leave Jackson Miss that a.m, my sister, who lives in NO, called to advise me that we should fill up our gas tanks on the way in at Hammond because lines were already forming at stations in NO on account of people who wanted to get out. That’s probably the best advice I’ve ever gotten, because by the time we wanted to leave NO the lines at the stations were incredible; some stations had run out of gas. She had checked the Uni’s web page and no sign of cancelling _moving-in_ day. Here’s a snippet of what I wrote my family about the trip: > [@](#): > > We went down there, as you know, to install Aurora in the dorm. Only, by the time we got there (1 pm) they were telling students to be OUT of the dorm by 6 pm. The University will be closed until further notice. So we ended up putting her stuff in the room, getting her student ID and going to sister’s for a quick supper. > > We left out at about 6:30. By the time we left, I 10 had been “contra-flowed” into westbound only, both sides. When we got to I 55, it ws like normal. We were ok until Manchac, when traffic slowed to about 30 or 45 mph. Then at Hammond they “contra-flowed” 55 both ways running north until somewhere between McComb and Brookhaven. Buddy, you ain’t LIVED until you’ve driven the wrong way on the Interstate for about a hunnert miles. All the reflectors are shining the wrong way. 😛 And forget about trying to read the road signs. > > Cops were at every exit, it was so impressive to see all the _law_ out there working the “contra-flow” concept. It works great. > > We made it home in about 4 hours, which isn’t really so bad. Aurora decided to drive back home in her car, with us instead of leaving her car there, which is a good thing due to possible flooding/looting/car stealing. > > We saw many many people leaving in beat-up old junk cars … I know they were thinking “just get me to Baton Rouge” … Some with generations of families stuffed in an old Toyota, some were bunches of what looked like young guys and their girlfriends scrunched up toghether in a Kia. We also passed many “trains” of three or four cars stopped on the side of the road together, one car with its hood up … ☹ We saw one such bunch south of Hammond, then a few miles up the road two worn-out looking guys walking back that way with bags from AutoZone. God hep 'em. You can almost hear the screaming babies can’t you? My sis left NO at 10 am on Sunday. She made it to Jackson by 7 pm. :eek: A trip of three hours, normally, took nine. I shudder to think of what she will go home to - probably _not_ any kind of home, just their lot there with ten tons of nasty debris laying all around. I got very emotional today, fielding calls from my sis in New York and my brother in Memphis, even my crotchety old ex-husband, wanting to know if my sis and her family, and my dad & his lady friend had made it out. I’m very glad to have her here safe and sound, and my dad-n-them made it to North Miss without a scratch. BUT. Tomorrow the forecast calls for tropical storm winds here, with a probability of 85%. ☹ We can expect high winds and torrential rainfall. I went to the grocery at about 2 pm and their gas station was already out of gas. The store was a complete zoo with mobs of people grabbing what they could. My baby sis lives here in a house trailer, so in the a.m. I’m going to go collect her and her young son to come hang out here until the worst is over. My hubby works for the City so he will likely be working for the next 24 to 48 hours on the damage from the storm, flooding, and tornadoes. The devastating part is waiting for my NO sister and her husband to realize that it might be weeks, months until they can return home. ☹ Everything that they have worked for all these years is fixing to be tossed into the Gulf. I don’t think words can express how I feel about that. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/132 "2005-08-29T05:52:50Z")
Like lots of others in the thread, I’m also in Baton Rouge. It’s very difficult to believe that there’s a storm headed this way. There was some rainfall this evening, but it stopped hours ago. Beyond that, there wasn’t much else. It’s pretty calm now. I can’t imagine that experts are supposedly predicting that New Orleans will become the next Atlantis or what have you. I guess we’ll see who’s right tomorrow. I do have the next two days off school and work, so that’s nice. I stocked up on books and movies from the library and Hollywood Video before they closed early today. 😃 I’m at my mom’s right now, but I’m a bit sad that I didn’t have a chance to go to my dorm room and secure everything, but I’m hoping that won’t be necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/133 "2005-08-29T06:40:22Z")
Finally got an email from a N’wallins friend earlier tonight; he took his girlfriend and his Siamese kitties and holed up with family in Baton Rouge as of yesterday evening. Whew. Aaron Brown on CNN earlier, paraphrased: “Not to be confessional, but we in the media occasionally indulge in exaggeration, making things sound worse than they are. This time? Not so much.” That’s… a significant statement. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/134 "2005-08-29T07:26:01Z")
Here is a report on the structural performance of buildings in the hurricane path. [http://www.stormtrack.org/library/damage/andrew.htm](http://www.stormtrack.org/library/damage/andrew.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/135 "2005-08-29T09:16:22Z")
When I visited NO, one of the things that I really remember most is that there are a lot of really really poor areas. I am really worried about those people - people who don’t have cars, or money, to evacuate. And what are they all going to do when their neighborhoods are gone? So sad ☹ ---
**Author:** ![BabaBooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@BabaBooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BabaBooey)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/136 "2005-08-29T09:21:03Z")
I’ve been talking to a friend that is literally two blocks off of Bourbon St. that says things aren’t going too badly yet. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/137 "2005-08-29T10:16:28Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > The superdome is the largest dome in the world. I have read that it was built to withstand winds of 200 mph. I have no idea what 30 feet of water will do to it. It seems like it could take it. I can picture the whole city of New Orleans underwater with the Superdome, housing thousands of people, sitting there like a fishing bobber with no way for anyone to get out. My guess is that the stucture is built to withstand 200mph winds, not the building envelope. I have never seen a stadium that could be made airtight. I suspect that some windows or doors will break and the pressure will at least partially blow the roof off. There may be a few deaths, but it’s still the safest place for most people to be. There’s no safer place to put 40,000 people. All of the glass in the skyscrapers will be blown out before the eye hits and there’s no other place to get above the water, and even if they were able to completely evacuate the city, there would be just that many more people stuck on the ground on a freeway in South Louisiana. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/138 "2005-08-29T10:33:01Z")
Parents woke me up before 5am, wanting to know how I was doing. Some rain, some winds, nothing as bad as other thunderstorms I’ve been through (and hurricanes). I have two days off, which I don’t want to have, since I’m in vet school. _Sigh_ This means they won’t “forget” those days… we’ll make them up by staying in school later. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/139 "2005-08-29T11:29:01Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > Parents woke me up before 5am, wanting to know how I was doing. Some rain, some winds, nothing as bad as other thunderstorms I’ve been through (and hurricanes). Looking relatively OK so far in Baton Rouge as of 6:25 a.m., as Karl reports. A bud in Uptown New Orleans was able to post to another board as of about 2 hours ago. Think their power is out now. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2005, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837/140 "2005-08-29T11:56:07Z")
**Percypercy** YAY for the doggies! Why is it that reporters have to stand out in the middle of everything and report how bad it is? Is it Darwin waiting to happen? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina/318837.md?page=8)