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

[David]

Originally Posted by GateandGarden

The stadium itself is below sea level. (Well, I guess that's obvious). I think it's six feet below sea level. But as for the highest levels, I'm not sure. I guess that was your actual question and I wasn't able to answer it.

Huh. No, I did not know that. I did not know that the stadium floor was necessarily below sea level. I just don't know the geography of New Orleans.

So essentially the entire area is below mean sea level? That's baaad.

If I were stuck in the city, I'd find a steel & concrete reinforced structure of at least two or three stories & get to the upper stories. It's been observed that strong concrete structures do well in tsunamis, & tsunami damage & effects are very similar to storm surge damage (like rapidly rising tides containing sizable inundation & dangerous rip currents). I would imagine that the concept of "vertical evacuation" could have some validity in this context, the obvious difference being high winds.

[Mad4stevie]

There are still bars open on Bourbon street, with people in there drinking the night away! WTF????

And why do people think it is safer to "ride it out" on boats? That does not make sense to me at all.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by sara1998

Sure it will flood. But will they be able to stay up high enough to stay away from the flood, and, will there be enough room for 12000+ people up there? And, bring enough food for 5 days??? Do they really think all this water will receed in 5 days??? From my understanding, NO has pumps to pump the water out of the city, but if the pumps are underwater, and there is no electricity, how are they going to work??

Yes, they can work without the public power supply. they are failrly sophisticated, but somewhat dated. The problem is they will be pumping water into already flooded areas whose sea walls will likely already be breached.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by sara1998

Isn't Iraq landlocked??

No. It isn't. Now without going to Google I'm going to guess that it is bordered on one side by the Persian Gulf. But it is a desert.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by Mad4stevie

There are still bars open on Bourbon street, with people in there drinking the night away! WTF????

And why do people think it is safer to "ride it out" on boats? That does not make sense to me at all.

They could not get out. Their flights were cancelled - at least some of them. Interestingly, most of the hotels have 200 mph + windows and vertical evacuation into them is standard operating procedure.

[GateandGarden]

Originally Posted by David

Huh. No, I did not know that. I did not know that the stadium floor was necessarily below sea level. I just don't know the geography of New Orleans.

So essentially the entire area is below mean sea level? That's baaad.

The whole city is below sea level, yeah. It's a curious thing. It's also essentially surrounded by water--the MS River and Lake Ponchartrain.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by GateandGarden

You're not ignorant--it is landlocked, and surrounded by five other countries, I believe. So, I don't know why those high water vehicles are there, really.

You're right. A tiny part of it touches water.

[GateandGarden]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

No. It isn't. Now without going to Google I'm going to guess that it is bordered on one side by the Persian Gulf. But it is a desert.

Really? I need to go look at a map again. I thought it was surrounded by five other countries, though it's near the coast because some of them are comparatively small.

[David]

Originally Posted by Mad4stevie

And why do people think it is safer to "ride it out" on boats?

That is extremely stupid. Small craft are not safe -- even in lower-grade hurricanes. In this monster, you're really just heading for an early death if you think you can climb into your 21-foot Boston whaler & "ride out" the hurricane. This ocean water inundating the coastlines is not going to be behaving like ordinary ocean water. It isn't just high surf. It's really potentially deadly to people caught in it.

[GateandGarden]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

You're right. A tiny part of it touches water.

Oh, okay. Thanks for clarifying.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by WelshWitchPMD

Same here! My Mom used to tell me all about it. All of the windows blew out of the house. They had no school for at least a week. Downtown Providence was totally flooded. There are a few buildings downtown that have a plaque to mark how high the water came up during the hurricane.

One of them used to be a department store, I think. I can't remember the name of it now.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by vermicious knid

Goodbye French Quarter, it was nice knowing you

I know this is a huge storm and certainly it is dangerous, but Miami withstood Andrew (which also hit around NOLA ) and NOLA survived as it will this one.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by David

Huh. No, I did not know that. I did not know that the stadium floor was necessarily below sea level. I just don't know the geography of New Orleans.

So essentially the entire area is below mean sea level? That's baaad.

If I were stuck in the city, I'd find a steel & concrete reinforced structure of at least two or three stories & get to the upper stories. It's been observed that strong concrete structures do well in tsunamis, & tsunami damage & effects are very similar to storm surge damage (like rapidly rising tides containing sizable inundation & dangerous rip currents). I would imagine that the concept of "vertical evacuation" could have some validity in this context, the obvious difference being high winds.

The hotels in NOLA are so built and also are built to withstand 200 + mph winds and vertcial evacuation is part of the plan, though evacuating the city is the best plan.

[amber]

Originally Posted by David

That is extremely stupid. Small craft are not safe -- even in lower-grade hurricanes. In this monster, you're really just heading for an early death if you think you can climb into your 21-foot Boston whaler & "ride out" the hurricane. This ocean water inundating the coastlines is not going to be behaving like ordinary ocean water. It isn't just high surf. It's really potentially deadly to people caught in it.

I can't believe anyone ever thought of doing that ever. That would be the exact last place on Earth my instincts would tell me to be. 160 mile an hour winds and enormous amounts of ocean water. Yeah, ride it out... I'm imagining boats flying through the air.

[GateandGarden]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I know this is a huge storm and certainly it is dangerous, but Miami withstood Andrew (which also hit around NOLA ) and NOLA survived as it will this one.

Did Miami take a direct hit from a Category 5? I didn't think there had ever been a hurricane with that strength coming straight toward such a large city. Also, is Miami that low? I didn't think it was. If you know more about this than I do (that's a given! ), then comfort me here, Jason. I do love that city.