New Orleans
Michelle Malkin has an excellent status report of New Orleans. She includes links to pictures and video.
- There is massive flooding
- Both airports underwater,
- The mayor estimates 80% of the city is underwater--some of it 20 feet deep,
- At least one major bridge was destroyed,
- Etc, etc.
The flooding is the result of major breaches in the levee system, including one major levee at the 17th St. Canal.
New Orleans mayor C. Ray Nagin says the city is devastated (via BayouBuzz.com):
In a most frightening interview with WWL TV, Mayor C. Ray Nagin gave the worse-case scenario of events that anyone could possibly imagine. In the beginning of the interview, he stated that New Orleans is devastated.
Of most importance is the breach of the levee between Jefferson and Orleans Parish.
“We probably have 80 percent of our city under water with some sections of our city the water is as deep as 20 feet”.
- Both airports are underwater
- The twin spans are destroyed.
- The Yacht club is burned and destroyed.
Mayor Nagin also stated he was not sure of the structural soundness of the highrise. He stated that it is possible that the highrise bridge in east New Orleans could be unstable.
The Mayor also stated that all of Slidell (a city [over] which he has no jurisdiction) is under water. Nagin also stated that there was no clear path in and out of New Orleans, that I-10 is underwater.
Nagin stated that FEMA is coming into town tomorrow and that New Orleans will need to obtain major federal help to rebuild the city of New Orleans.
As corroboration, a spokesperson from Tulane University said that they were about to move all of the patients from the hospital due to rising water at one inch every five minutes. She said white water was pouring down Canal Street (which would be from Lake Ponchatrain-related to the breach in the levee) from the canal separating the two parishes.
Video of Nagin's remarks here.
My family got to spend a day in Mobile, Alabama, and Biloxi, Mississippi two summers ago. I really enjoyed the city; not least of which was the excellent seafood we could get!
The Sun Herald reports that hurricane Katrina shattered high-water marks set by Camille back in 1969. Many thought that Camille was the most powerful hurricane to strike the North American continent. Barometer readings as low as 26.63 inches were reported, along with wind speeds as high as 210 miles per hour. Camille didn't have winds that strong, but the fact that the high-water marks of Camille were "shattered" by Katrina are significant indicators of the strength and devastation of this hurricane (since water damage can be more significant than wind damage).
The people along the Gulf Coast deserve our prayers and support during this time.
Update: I didn't have the data at my fingertips for comparing Katrina to other hurricanes. I should have known to check out the Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina#Historical_analysis
Historical analysis
Update #2: I've been asked about where to make donations. The clear choice is to the Red Cross.
https://www.redcross.org/donate/redir.asp?splashpagebutton