To those in Katrina's path...GET OUT! (Cat. 5 HURRICANE!!!!) - Page 12

sodascouts · #**166** 08-29-2005, 08:27 AM

I know everyone is praying and sending good thoughts out to the people in New Orleans. My fellow concert-goer Kristin (gypsyrhiannon) lives there. She has evacuated safely, and our greatest concern is for those whose lives are in danger, but let's hope the majority of her things are salvageable (indeed for everyone whose home is in its path).

AliceLover · #**167** 08-29-2005, 09:34 AM

Did the hurricane hit yet? Any news?

GypsySorcerer · #**168** 08-29-2005, 09:42 AM

According to CNN, the worst has passed New Orleans. It looks like the levee will hold and those in the Superdome are safe. The pump system is failing, though, and obviously there has been major structural damage.

EDIT - CNN reporting a breach in the levee.

GypsySorcerer · #**169** 08-29-2005, 10:16 AM

NEW ORLEANS - Hurricane Katrina ripped two holes in the curved roof of the Louisiana Superdome, letting in rain as thousands of storm refugees huddled inside Monday.

Superdome and government emergency officials stressed that they did not expect the huge roof to fail because of the relatively small breaches, each about 15 to 20 feet long and 4 to 5 feet wide.

The holes were in an area of vents some 19 stories above the arena floor.

"We think the wind somehow got into the vents and got between the roof's (waterproof) membrane and the aluminum ceiling tiles," said Doug Thornton, regional manager of the company that manages the huge arena.

The dome was filled with the sound of metal rattling, which Thornton said was produced by the metal ceiling tiles.

"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."

In addition to the two holes, water was leaking in through many other areas, including elevators and stairwells, as the wind forced water in through any small opening.

Refugees sitting below the tears in the roof were moved across the arena. "We wanted to keep them dry and we also wanted to make sure nothing fell on them," Thornton said.

Aside from the tear in the huge roof, the 77,000-seat steel-framework stadium, home of the NFL's New Orleans Saints, provided few comforts but at least had bathrooms and food donated by charities.

The wind that howled around the dome during the night was not heard in the interior of the building where the refugees were kept.

"Everybody slept last night. They didn't seem to have any problems," said Dr. Kevin Stephens Sr., in charge of the medical shelter in the Superdome. "They slept all over the place."

Power failed in the Superdome around 5 a.m. Monday, triggering groans from the crowd. Emergency generators kicked in, but the backup power runs only reduced lighting, not the air conditioning.

The inside of the Superdome quickly became very hot and muggy, and some floors became wet and very slippery.

"It's not very comfortable now and it's going to get more uncomfortable, but it is safe," Thornton said.

The Superdome opened its doors at noon Sunday, and New Orleans' most frail residents got priority. The stadium is by far the most solid of the Big Easy's 10 refuges for the estimated 100,000 city residents who don't have the means, or strength, to join a mandatory evacuation.

"They hadn't opened up and let us in here, there'd have been a lot of people floating down river tomorrow," said Merrill Rice, 64. "If it's as bad as they say, I know my old house won't stand it."

Residents lined up for blocks, clutching meager belongings and crying children as National Guardsman searched them for guns, knives and drugs.

Then Katrina's rain began, drenching hundreds of people still outside, along with their bags of food and clothing. Eventually, the searches were moved inside to the Superdome floor, where some people wrapped themselves in blankets and tried to sleep.

It was almost 10:30 p.m. before the last person was searched and allowed in. Thornton estimated 8,000 to 9,000 were inside when the doors closed for the 11 p.m. curfew.

More than 600 people with medical needs were inside. "And we sent another 400 to hospitals," said Gen. Ralph Lupin, who commands the 550 National Guard troops in the Dome.

"We've got sick babies, sick old people and everything in between," Stephens said. "We're seen strokes, chest pain, diabetes patients passing out, seizures, people without medicine, people with the wrong medicine. It's been busy."

Thornton worried about how everyone would fare over the next few days.

"We're expecting to be here for the long haul," he said. "We can make things very nice for 75,000 people for four hours. But we aren't set up to really accommodate 8,000 for four days."

Morris Bivens, 53, a painter, came to the dome with his wife, daughter and five granddaughters ranging in age from 1 to 9.

"I had to come," he said. "Not for me. I ride these out all the time. But I knew I couldn't save those children in this one if something happened."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050829/...rina_superdome

AliceLover · #**170** 08-29-2005, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GypsySorcerer

NEW ORLEANS - Hurricane Katrina ripped two holes in the curved roof of the Louisiana Superdome, letting in rain as thousands of storm refugees huddled inside Monday.

Superdome and government emergency officials stressed that they did not expect the huge roof to fail because of the relatively small breaches, each about 15 to 20 feet long and 4 to 5 feet wide.

The holes were in an area of vents some 19 stories above the arena floor.

"We think the wind somehow got into the vents and got between the roof's (waterproof) membrane and the aluminum ceiling tiles," said Doug Thornton, regional manager of the company that manages the huge arena.

The dome was filled with the sound of metal rattling, which Thornton said was produced by the metal ceiling tiles.

"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."

In addition to the two holes, water was leaking in through many other areas, including elevators and stairwells, as the wind forced water in through any small opening.

Refugees sitting below the tears in the roof were moved across the arena. "We wanted to keep them dry and we also wanted to make sure nothing fell on them," Thornton said.

Aside from the tear in the huge roof, the 77,000-seat steel-framework stadium, home of the NFL's New Orleans Saints, provided few comforts but at least had bathrooms and food donated by charities.

The wind that howled around the dome during the night was not heard in the interior of the building where the refugees were kept.

"Everybody slept last night. They didn't seem to have any problems," said Dr. Kevin Stephens Sr., in charge of the medical shelter in the Superdome. "They slept all over the place."

Power failed in the Superdome around 5 a.m. Monday, triggering groans from the crowd. Emergency generators kicked in, but the backup power runs only reduced lighting, not the air conditioning.

The inside of the Superdome quickly became very hot and muggy, and some floors became wet and very slippery.

"It's not very comfortable now and it's going to get more uncomfortable, but it is safe," Thornton said.

The Superdome opened its doors at noon Sunday, and New Orleans' most frail residents got priority. The stadium is by far the most solid of the Big Easy's 10 refuges for the estimated 100,000 city residents who don't have the means, or strength, to join a mandatory evacuation.

"They hadn't opened up and let us in here, there'd have been a lot of people floating down river tomorrow," said Merrill Rice, 64. "If it's as bad as they say, I know my old house won't stand it."

Residents lined up for blocks, clutching meager belongings and crying children as National Guardsman searched them for guns, knives and drugs.

Then Katrina's rain began, drenching hundreds of people still outside, along with their bags of food and clothing. Eventually, the searches were moved inside to the Superdome floor, where some people wrapped themselves in blankets and tried to sleep.

It was almost 10:30 p.m. before the last person was searched and allowed in. Thornton estimated 8,000 to 9,000 were inside when the doors closed for the 11 p.m. curfew.

More than 600 people with medical needs were inside. "And we sent another 400 to hospitals," said Gen. Ralph Lupin, who commands the 550 National Guard troops in the Dome.

"We've got sick babies, sick old people and everything in between," Stephens said. "We're seen strokes, chest pain, diabetes patients passing out, seizures, people without medicine, people with the wrong medicine. It's been busy."

Thornton worried about how everyone would fare over the next few days.

"We're expecting to be here for the long haul," he said. "We can make things very nice for 75,000 people for four hours. But we aren't set up to really accommodate 8,000 for four days."

Morris Bivens, 53, a painter, came to the dome with his wife, daughter and five granddaughters ranging in age from 1 to 9.

"I had to come," he said. "Not for me. I ride these out all the time. But I knew I couldn't save those children in this one if something happened."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050829/...rina_superdome

Only 9,000 people out of 100,000 went to the shelter?? Thats crazy!!!! Where the F**k is everyone else?

strandinthewind · #**171** 08-29-2005, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AliceLover

Only 9,000 people out of 100,000 went to the shelter?? Thats crazy!!!! Where the F**k is everyone else?

The police actually search for people on the streets and provide them a means to get to the dome. However, they cannot find everyone and people actually hide in their houses - foolishly so IMO.

On a good note, it appeara NOLA was mostly spared in a realtive sense. It would have ben worse if the storm had hit so that the Eastern seawall, which is the worst, would have hit NOLA instead of Biloxi. NOLA has gotten flodding, which is nothing really new there, and some buildings have collapsed, though those appear from what I have seen to be few.

Now, let's hope it does not become tornadoe alley like it did after Andrew.

gldstwmn · #**172** 08-29-2005, 01:21 PM

DavidMn · #**173** 08-29-2005, 01:47 PM

Looks like maybe New Orleans missed some of it, hopefully the Levee's hold

DavidMn · #**174** 08-29-2005, 02:22 PM

And the thing is, I was just driving through that area like a month ago on the Stevie tour. Sad

GateandGarden · #**175** 08-29-2005, 04:14 PM

Hey y'all. We just got our power back. That was a bitch, but I have no room to complain, considering how it is for people in Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and other parishes. I'm glad Nancy let us know that Kristin evacuated. I'm still concerned about some people I know who live in and around New Orleans. It could have been worse, but it certainly isn't good.

GypsySorcerer · #**176** 08-29-2005, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GateandGarden

Hey y'all. We just got our power back. That was a bitch, but I have no room to complain, considering how it is for people in Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and other parishes. I'm glad Nancy let us know that Kristin evacuated. I'm still concerned about some people I know who live in and around New Orleans. It could have been worse, but it certainly isn't good.

Thanks for checking in and letting us know you're okay. I've been watching the news all day.

All of you living in that area, please be careful.

DavidMn · #**177** 08-29-2005, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GateandGarden

Hey y'all. We just got our power back. That was a bitch, but I have no room to complain, considering how it is for people in Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and other parishes. I'm glad Nancy let us know that Kristin evacuated. I'm still concerned about some people I know who live in and around New Orleans. It could have been worse, but it certainly isn't good.

I'm real glad you made it through ok. Good to hear

GateandGarden · #**178** 08-29-2005, 04:46 PM

Thanks y'all.

Mad4stevie · #**179** 08-29-2005, 05:28 PM

I just found out that my boyfriend, through his job at Penn State University, got emergency funding to go down and study the crisis management aspect of this hurricane (his Ph.D. dissertation was in hurricane crisis management). So it appears that I might hear some interesting information from "the inside".

It certainly looks bad, especially the picture of the superdome! I had no idea that the roof had blown off that much.

amber · #**180** 08-29-2005, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad4stevie

I just found out that my boyfriend, through his job at Penn State University, got emergency funding to go down and study the crisis management aspect of this hurricane (his Ph.D. dissertation was in hurricane crisis management). So it appears that I might hear some interesting information from "the inside".

It certainly looks bad, especially the picture of the superdome! I had no idea that the roof had blown off that much.

That will be really cool, heather!!!

I just watched a pet rescue thing, it said this one place rescued over 1000 pets. It showed videos of all these dogs and cats swimming around, and a pic of a cat balancing on someone's chimney - broke my heart to think how many didn't make it...