Immense Hurricane Roars Toward New Orleans

[ericsp23]

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

NEW ORLEANS - A monstrous Hurricane Katrina barreled toward New Orleans on Sunday with 160-mph wind and a threat of a 28-foot storm surge, forcing a mandatory evacuation of the below-sea-level city and prayers for those who remained to face a doomsday scenario. "Have God on your side, definitely have God on your side," Nancy Noble said as she sat with her puppy and three friends in six lanes of one-way traffic on gridlocked Interstate 10. "It's very frightening." Katrina intensified into a Category 5 giant over the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico, reaching top winds of 175 mph before weakening slightly on a path to hit New Orleans around sunrise Monday. That would make it the city's first direct hit in 40 years and the most powerful storm ever to slam the city. ... "It's capable of causing catastrophic damage," Mayfield said. "Even well-built structures will have tremendous damage. Of course, what we're really worried about is the loss of lives. "New Orleans may never be the same."

It looks like this is going to be BAD.

[Mr.Vicchio]

It WILL be bad, this is one MOTHER of a storm. The Gulf of Mexico is a powder keg for Hurricanes, and there is no upper level shearing tearing this bad boy up. I have looked at all the models, upper air data, the whole shabang... New Orleans is gonna get wacked like we've never seen. This isn't the usual "OH NO BIG STORM!!!" by the media, this is the real deal.

[belverron]

I heard that if it makes a direct hit, New Orleans just won't be there afterward.

[Mr.Vicchio]

IT certainly won't be the same, and it's looking to make a dead on hit. Reports of 65ft waves in the path of the storm are coming in as well.

The storm surge is going to wack that city like nothing you've ever seen.

[Chris]

Katrina may be 'our Asian tsunami'

(CNN) -- Flooding expected from Hurricane Katrina could wreak catastrophe on New Orleans, overwhelming its water and sewage systems, damaging its structures and leaving survivors in a bowl of toxic soup, a top hurricane expert said Sunday.

Where I am its been raining like a mofo for 2 days. A big tree fell in my front yard. It may cause flooding not just in LA but all over "Da south"

[YourTokah]

I'm five hours away from Nawlins in the panhandle of florida. Right now we have winds whipping through here strong enough to snap branches off of trees and send them flying through the air like some angry nature-missiles. I can't imagine how bad it is over there.

We've weathered several bad storms here. The last strong cat 4 to come through here turned the beach into a ghost town. The entire first mile inland was leveld, covered with sand and water. The roads were completely washed away or covered. I can't imagine what those people are going to have to go through in the rebuilding process.

If anyone from Nawlins needs a cheap place to stay, I can get you a hotel room for 30 bucks a night over ehre, and it's not a dirty shit hole. It's military :)

[The Dunedan]

This is a great Grandmother of a storm. If New Orleans takes the direct it ( which it seems to be doing ) the potential is that the city could functionally cease to exist. Not only have they got the storm-surge from the Gulf side of the city, but flooding from Lake Ponchartrain is going to be a HUGE problem as well; Lake P. is 27 miles across. If the Northern levees break, everything from the souther short of Lake P. will be flooded several meters deep; New Orleans, Metarie, Fat City, you name it. Storm surges from two sides, plus flooding from the Crescent of the Mississippi, combined with the fact that it's 8-15 feet below sea-level...this is gonna be ugly. Combine all of THAT with the spongy soil and wooden buildings, and this has "Disaster" written all over it. Reports are coming in now that the Hyatt Hotel on Canal Street is badly damaged and getting worse, the Superdome has several sizeable holes in its' roof, part of the Riverwalk Mall Atrium may be in danger of collapse, and at least one cargo ship in the Channel appears to have risen up and collided with a riverside building.

Pray for New Orleans, folks.

[Nono]

And remember, Dan, there's no truth to the notion that fossil fuels are causing our climate to warm and thus are increasing the power of storms like this. :)

[ericsp23]

From what I am hearing, it isn't as bad as it could have been, but it is still going to be very bad. The storm surge was only about half as big as they were saying it could be, and the storm weakened some overnight, but it is still a monster storm at category 4 with sustained winds of 135 mph. I believe thats enough to blow most houses off of their foundations. I'm also hearing that at least one of the levies has failed, which is all it will take to put the entire city of New Orleans underwater. If that is the case, the city will be under several feet of water, sewage and chemicals. The city will likely be uninhabitable for weeks, if not months. The water will have to be pumped out and the equipment in place to do that is decades out of date.
Hopefully most people were smart and either evacuated or saught suitable shelter. There always seems to be a certain percentage of people who think they can stick it out in their homes. I have a bad feeling that the survival rate among those people is going to be low.

[tinybear]

Funny thing. I've experienced many hurricanes (called 'typhoons' in Asia) scoring a direct hit on Hong Kong and Hong Kong has always managed to recover almost immediately afterwards by and large unscathed. Why can't American cities? Is there something wrong about how American homes are built?

[Pooeypants]

Quote by: tinybear Funny thing. I've experienced many hurricanes (called 'typhoons' in Asia) scoring a direct hit on Hong Kong and Hong Kong has always managed to recover almost immediately afterwards by and large unscathed. Why can't American cities? Is there something wrong about how American homes are built?

Well, HK's buildings are made of sturdy concrete and mostly reinforced with steel support thingies. What are most of those American houses made of?

[tinybear]

See, that's the problem with American homes situated in areas which are often hit by hurricanes. Why can't homes in such areas be built the same way as Hong Kong homes? Isn't that just plain common sense?

[jose]

Quote by: tinybear See, that's the problem with American homes situated in areas which are often hit by hurricanes. Why can't homes in such areas be built the same way as Hong Kong homes? Isn't that just plain common sense?

most of these homes are poor peoples homes

[The Dunedan]

Another part of the problem is that Typhoons usually only rate a Cat-1-3 on the US ratings scale ( Mr. V, got any data for this one? Just something I remembered from a class. ) Katrina was a Cat-5 when it made landfall.

As for Global Warming; warming can increase such things, and warming is occurring. What I dispute is the alleged antropogenic nature of the warming which is occurring. Also, if warming is such a problem, where did all those Cat-3-5 storms pre-1960 come from? The un-named storm that killed nearly 10,000 people on the Texas coast for example, or Hurricane Hazel?

[Chris]

Quote by: tinybear See, that's the problem with American homes situated in areas which are often hit by hurricanes. Why can't homes in such areas be built the same way as Hong Kong homes? Isn't that just plain common sense?

Yeah but you are talking about the bloody city. Thats like asking why can't these shitty houses withstand these winds? NYC can (would) be able to.

Be realistic.

[tinybear]

Well, look at it this way; if Hong Kong can do it, why can't we? Surely our builders are no worse than the guys in Hong Kong.

[tinybear]

Quote by: jose most of these homes are poor peoples homes

There are many many poor people's homes in Hong Kong too, ya know.

[Chris]

But look at the sustained wind speed. Also the frequency of hurricanes hitting the US as of late. (due to increased water temps in the Atlantic).

[Nono]

Quote by: Dunedan What I dispute is the alleged antropogenic nature of the warming which is occurring.

Why on earth would you do that? It's like disputing the "alleged" anthropogenic nature of grain plants or something. Yes, they occur naturally, but in much greater numbers with Man roaming the planet.

If warming is such a problem, where did all those Cat-3-5 storms pre-1960 come from?

From the same place they've always come from: Chaosville. The relevant question is frequency and force. If that's growing, it's only reasonable to look for a cause.

Even if there is a natural warming trend out there, what are the chances that we aren't aggravating it? The denial you cling to is a total mystery to me.

[Chris]

Quote by: The Dunedan Also, if warming is such a problem, where did all those Cat-3-5 storms pre-1960 come from?

Hurricanes some from warm water in the ocean. You don't think they had warm water in the 1960s?

The current TREND of numerous, very strong hurricanes is a good reflection of warming seas.