You know it’s really really bad when three feet is MINIMAL flooding.
And what gave me more chills than anything else? There’s so little communication in the city that the ONLY media available locally is ONE radio station, WWL, that is broadcasting on all bands.
The mayor has announced that there will be no power for at least two months, no school for at least two months. There’s no drinkable water, no sewage service, not a single business open (legally, that is, not counting those being looted). There’s no medical care; they’re having to evacuate all the hospitals. There’s almost no transportation, only one highway out of town even drivable (Crescent City Connection to the Westbank and out west via 90). I hope the train lines will be able to run soon, but that may depend on whether the Huey P. Long bridge can still function – I haven’t heard a word about any damage to it, and it’s the major freight train crossing route on the southern Mississippi.
It’s going to take two weeks to pump out the water, assuming (a) that they get the levee breaches plugged and (b) they can get power to the pumping system. (See comments on power above.) So that means that it may be a minimum of 2.5 to 3 months to get the water out.
The southern tip of Plaquemines Parish is apparently gone. Back to the ocean.
I even heard a rumor via a newspaper friend that Mardi Gras 2006 will be canceled. Which, I hasten to add, is only a rumor. But that’s a HUGE economic boost; it’s not just a drunken blast, it’s big bucks coming in to the city.
Most hotels are uninhabitable, and who knows what the convention center is like, so it may be next year before they can start bringing tourist and convention business back.
So New Orleans is going to be shut down for months, it looks like. At a minimum.
Now I know how New Yorkers felt on 9/11. That’s the only thing I can compare it to.
MSNBC has some mind-boggling footage of barges and casinos tossed around, one in the middle of a highway.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/ Click on Video: Destruction. It was the first one that showed, but at the moment it’s NOT listed below. There’s another one labeled “Gulfport, Miss damage” which is dramatic, but not as dramatic as the first one. Keep watching and your jaw gets closer and closer to the floor.
When the first one ended, another one started. I clicked around to see what the ohters were like. I couldn’t get back to that original one, which starts with the young female anchor (I think she used to be on MTV) introducing the footage from WLBT-TV. I closed the video window and clicked on “Video: Destruction” again and it showed. Someone needs to fix their site.
Holy crap. Just . . . wow. What a mess.
I was wondering earlier why the city didn’t mobilize the city bus fleet to help evacuate those who are homeless, don’t have a car, or were otherwise unable to evacuate. Or maybe they did, but it didn’t make the news? It just seems like a good way to get a lot of people out who would be stuck in the city otherwise, and at the same time save the bus fleet. Admittedly, finding a place to put the people is another question.
I take that back. The picture of the casino flung on top of the Holiday Inn is jaw-dropping.
That was my thought exactly when I read that. 3 feet is a pretty major flood…and it’s the little section. When I saw the CNN banner saying that a 2-block levy had been breached, my heart sunk. Perhaps I was one of the few that saw the delayed breakdown of the levies. Could be worse too, once the runoff from the 8+ inches of rain getting dumped all over the tennessee and Ohio valleys drains into the Mississippi and makes it’s way to N.O.
The city bus fleet was mobilized to bring people to the Superdome who had no way to get out of town. But far too many people didn’t take advantage of the free ride downtown, and those are the ones having to be rescued from rooftops now.
Why they didn’t just use the buses to help everyone leave town, I have no idea either.
The MSNBC video refuses to play for me (insisting on IE), so here’s another video.
Looks like the tsunami aftermath.
People have seen a gang of about a hundred men going around in stolen limousines and hearses going around and loading them up with stolen guns, knives, and electronics.
Haven’t heard from dad yet. I suspect he’s all right, as it looks like the French Quarter didn’t get hurt too badly (yes, I know it’s flooding now), but I still wish he could get to a phone and call.
keeps scanning news reports and trying to call the Red Cross
I certainly didn’t see it. I thought New Orleans had dodged the bullet until I turned on the TV about 10 minutes ago. Just horrible.
Why, when they are going to have to evacuate the Superdome shortly, are they still taking helicopter rescues there? Is it simply the best bad choice?
From what I’ve heard, the area around the Superdome is flooded, so they have to use helicopters.
I also saw footage of a prison near downtown with inmates on the roof, waiting to be rescued.
Did anyone else see that heartbreaking footage on CNN about Harvey Jackson, the one whose house split in half? As his wife was pulled away by the surge, she told him to look after the kids and grandkids. 
The reporter was crying, and asked for his name and her name so they could try and find out what happened to her. The poor guy looked completely tharn, and when she asked him where he was going to be, he said he didn’t know, that he had nowhere to go.
They haven’t been able to find him again. Unfortunately, I’m afraid his story is going to be typical.
Please, if you can, donate to the Red Cross.
Well, we can only hope they get a horrible dose of dysentery and cholera from wading through that water. Bastards.
And rats! Don’t forget about the rats.
And West Nile! And fire ants! And water moccasins!
It’s really going to be ugly, real soon, unless something drastic happens.
The good news is that the airport is functional – the runways weren’t damaged, and they’re able to fly C-5s in with military helicopters and search and rescue teams. And, shortly, supplies, one would assume. (Learned from www.nola.com, as reported by an airport official.)
Holy shit!! It looks like a war zone.
:eek: :eek: :eek:
From NOLA.com’s forums, it looks like most of Jefferson, particularly Harrahan and Elmwood, are dry. Supposedly from the mouth of Brother Dardis, Jesuit has got about 13 feet of water.
And gators!
God, how filthy that water must be. And how long before someone gets desperate enough to drink it?
Anyone know the impact on Slidell? A member of my office just transferred to New Orleans a couple of months ago, and bought his first house in Slidell. I don’t imagine we’ll be hearing from him anytime soon.
Screw that. Martial law has been declared, the National Guard has been mobilized. I bet the La National Guard has at least some units that have returned from combat in Iraq. IF there is actually a gang specifically looting gun stores, they should turn the soldiers lose on them with full combat loads and an understanding that taking prisoners is not a priority.