Katrina (1 Viewer)

[Sidewinder]

omg...the twinspan is just done. not repaiirable. MAJOR RAMIFICATIONS for the entire economy & escapability of the city now. only 2 other ways out now essentially.

This is getting worse & worse by the minute.

I heard that this morning, but haven't seen any photos. No idea about how comparable the damage was/is, but FL DOT was able to get the Escambia Bay bridge/I-10 back in business within a month. Can't imagine the Twin Spans being much worse, but who knows.

 

[shining path]

omg...the twinspan is just done. not repaiirable. MAJOR RAMIFICATIONS for the entire economy & escapability of the city now. only 2 other ways out now essentially.

This is getting worse & worse by the minute.

Any word on the GNO?

 

[B-Deep]

How on earth do they keep out groundwater if they're below sea level? I'm still not getting that part.

Constantly pumping out water.

Okay, but what about back before there were motorized pumps? Did the first people come along and say "this would be a great place for a city, too bad it's under 8 feet of water. Oh well, everybody grab a bucket and start bailing!"Seriously. Or has the city sunk lower since it was first founded?

I asked a friend this exact question earlier. I did not get an answer.

 

[Sidewinder]

Good lord... I go out to do some work and it seems like Armageddon when I get back. To all the New Orleans residents, my heart goes out to you. I might be in the area this weekend although it doesn't sound like they'll be letting people over there, so I guess I'll be in Biloxi most likely.

...

Friend, from all I've seen and heard, there is not much left to Biloxi either. :(

 

[beefcake]

20th century

Much of the city is located below sea level between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, so the city is surrounded by levees. Until the early 20th century, construction was largely limited to the slightly higher ground along old natural river levees and bayous, since much of the rest of the land was swampy and subject to frequent flooding. This gave the 19th century city the shape of a crescent along a bend of the Mississippi, the origin of the nickname The Crescent City. In the 1910s engineer and inventor A. Baldwin Wood enacted his ambitious plan to drain the city, including large pumps of his own design which are still used. All rain water must be pumped up to the canals which drain into Lake Pontchartrain. Wood's pumps and drainage allowed the city to expand greatly in area. However, pumping of groundwater from underneath the city has resulted in subsidence, which has greatly increased the flood risk, should the levees be breached or precipitation is in excess of pumping capacity, as could happen during a hurricane. A major hurricane could create a lake in the central city as much as 30 feet deep, which could take months to pump dry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans

 

[Sidewinder]

omg...the twinspan is just done.  not repaiirable.  MAJOR RAMIFICATIONS for the entire economy & escapability of the city now.  only 2 other ways out now essentially.

This is getting worse & worse by the minute.

Any word on the GNO?

It's fine. In fact, the only way to go west right now. I-10 at the RR overpass still has 10+ ft of water.

 

[WampusCat43]

Again, to reaffirm the coolness of Mayor Nagin, I just saw an interview on wwltv with.  In reference to the city of New Orleans, He busted out with "It's time for our A game."  You da man Nagin.

LOL Time to "bring the pain", baby.

I think Katrina just did that.I saw that video of the mayor. The man's in shock.

 

[B-Deep]

20th century

Much of the city is located below sea level between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, so the city is surrounded by levees. Until the early 20th century, construction was largely limited to the slightly higher ground along old natural river levees and bayous, since much of the rest of the land was swampy and subject to frequent flooding. This gave the 19th century city the shape of a crescent along a bend of the Mississippi, the origin of the nickname The Crescent City. In the 1910s engineer and inventor A. Baldwin Wood enacted his ambitious plan to drain the city, including large pumps of his own design which are still used. All rain water must be pumped up to the canals which drain into Lake Pontchartrain. Wood's pumps and drainage allowed the city to expand greatly in area. However, pumping of groundwater from underneath the city has resulted in subsidence, which has greatly increased the flood risk, should the levees be breached or precipitation is in excess of pumping capacity, as could happen during a hurricane. A major hurricane could create a lake in the central city as much as 30 feet deep, which could take months to pump dry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans

Thanks for the answer!

 

[Senor Schmutzig]

omg...the twinspan is just done. not repaiirable. MAJOR RAMIFICATIONS for the entire economy & escapability of the city now. only 2 other ways out now essentially.

This is getting worse & worse by the minute.

Which bridge is the twinspan?

Is it the one that the oil platform ran into? That's crazy.

 

[Fiddles.]

How on earth do they keep out groundwater if they're below sea level?  I'm still not getting that part.

The beaver is surprisingly ignorant of things having to do with water flow and dam building. Beginning to question his credentials as a real beaver......

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

omg...the twinspan is just done.  not repaiirable.  MAJOR RAMIFICATIONS for the entire economy & escapability of the city now.  only 2 other ways out now essentially.

This is getting worse & worse by the minute.

Which bridge is the twinspan?

Is it the one that the oil platform ran into? That's crazy.

I think the oil platform was in Mobile, unless there was more than one

 

[jplvr]

Good lord... I go out to do some work and it seems like Armageddon when I get back.  To all the New Orleans residents, my heart goes out to you.  I might be in the area this weekend although it doesn't sound like they'll be letting people over there, so I guess I'll be in Biloxi most likely.

...

Friend, from all I've seen and heard, there is not much left to Biloxi either. :(

I'm not sure, but I know my friend's neighborhood and his parent's are both fine besides some wind damage. Nothing quite like New Orleans. I haven't heard anything, but I'd bet my own house they start letting people back in there before New Orleans.

 

[Smoo]

How on earth do they keep out groundwater if they're below sea level? I'm still not getting that part.

The beaver is surprisingly ignorant of things having to do with water flow and dam building. Beginning to question his credentials as a real beaver......

I don't know anything about water flow and dam building. However, I'm surprisingly knowledgeable about hockey and English grammar, so call it a wash.

 

[jplvr]

Metarie? I think I read something about it a few pages back, but my other friend with his gf's family in NO just asked me about it. I'm assuming that's where they live.I'll start digging back through the thread as well.

 

[beefcake]

I don't know anything about water flow and dam building. However, I'm surprisingly knowledgeable about hockey and English grammar, so call it a wash.

actually beavers are pretty smart.they will find a narrow point in a stream to block.they cut and haul trees from far away to do so.they use a lumberjack cut (angular, both sides of tree) to gnaw down trees.and they'll turn a stream into a big forking flood plain for birds and other wetlands animals.and thems good eats!!

 

[Drifter]

omg...the twinspan is just done.  not repaiirable.  MAJOR RAMIFICATIONS for the entire economy & escapability of the city now.  only 2 other ways out now essentially.

This is getting worse & worse by the minute.

Which bridge is the twinspan?

Is it the one that the oil platform ran into? That's crazy.

I think the oil platform was in Mobile, unless there was more than one

I read this morning that two platforms were adrift. No mention of where they were exactly.

 

[beefcake]

Foxnews reported that the oil rig, actually the living area of the oil rig, was in drydock for regular maintenance, so that it did not float all the way in from the ocean... it broke loose from dock.

 

[SofaKings.]

This past spring rabidfireweasel moved to Gulfport, MS to take a teaching job. He, his wife and his baby are safe at relatives in GA but it appears that he may have lost everything at his new home.Please keep him in your thoughts also.

 

[Senor Schmutzig]

From the WWLTV.com blog:

2:01 P.M. - Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard says there is no plumbing and the sanitary situation is getting nasty. He told WAFB-TV that he is carrying around a bag for his own human waste. :X

 

[jplvr]

There are multiple oil rigs adrift in the Gulf. This was posted on another forum I frequent w/out a link, so take it for what it's worth.I see that the Ponch canal leak flooed a large portion of Metarie, so I have my answer there.

 

[WampusCat43]

Last post (yesterday) on a friend of mine's board in Metairie:"I hear they're doing scuba night instead of member night at Laser Tag." God, I hope those guys are OK.

 

[Blue_Devil_31]

omg...the twinspan is just done.  not repaiirable.  MAJOR RAMIFICATIONS for the entire economy & escapability of the city now.  only 2 other ways out now essentially.

This is getting worse & worse by the minute.

Which bridge is the twinspan?

Is it the one that the oil platform ran into? That's crazy.

I think the oil platform was in Mobile, unless there was more than one

I read this morning that two platforms were adrift. No mention of where they were exactly.

taken from a caption of the pic on yahoo..."An oil rig that broke loose during Hurricane Katrina is wedged under the Cochrane Bridge in Mobile, Alabama."

 

[2112]

From the WWLTV.com blog:

from that same blog:3:25 P.M. - With conditions in the hurricane-ravaged city of New Orleans rapidly deteriorating, Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Tuesday that people now huddled in the Superdome and other rescue centers need to be evacuated.

"The situation is untenable," Blanco said during a news conference. "It's just heartbreaking."

:(

 

[Sidewinder]

Foxnews reported that the oil rig, actually the living area of the oil rig, was in drydock for regular maintenance, so that it did not float all the way in from the ocean... it broke loose from dock.

The rig was on the Mobile River. Broke lose and floated into the Cochrane/Africatown Bridge (not making that up). They are trying to determine if the structural integrity of the bridge was compromised. It's a critical bridge, as all hazardous shipments have to use it around Mobile (instead of the I-10 tunnel through Mobile).

 

[The_Man]

http://www.wlbt.com/

Unbelievable chopper footage of the Miss. coast. Click the link at the top. There are casino boats in the middle of downtown Gulfport. Huge containers (that look like railcars) from the shipyards tossed all over residential areas.

Looks like something from an apocalyptic movie.

 

[regularguy]

This past spring rabidfireweasel moved to Gulfport, MS to take a teaching job. He, his wife and his baby are safe at relatives in GA but it appears that he may have lost everything at his new home.

Please keep him in your thoughts also.

Glad to hear they're safe at least.

 

[Brock Middlebrook]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1473615/poststhis thread ^ has some good linksrather than having me replicate te work, just click on the link above. Below, is the type of info that is linked.

Links to various news and local government websites:WLOX TV Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagula has link to locate family and friends (very slow load) 2theAdvocate - Baton Rouge Includes Slidell, St. John Parish, St. Bernard Parish updates, and other locations. NOLA.comInside Houma Today needing boats, volunteers, lists gas station openings, water, etc. WALA Channel 4 Mobile, AL Includes links to distribution centers, Emergency Ops, etc. Sun-Herald Gulfport MS Includes link to town by town reports Gulfport News via Topix.netWAFB Baton RougeMobile Register via al.comMississippi updates via Jackson LedgerLafayette LA Daily AdvertiserPensacola News JournalSt Bernard Local GovernmentStreaming Video:WWL-TV (via KHOU/Houston): http://www.wwltv.com/cgi-bin/bi/video/make...t_khou&live=yesWKRG/Mobile: mms://wmbcast.mgeneral.speedera.net/wmbcast.mgeneral/wmbcast_mgeneral_aug262005_1435_95518WDSU/New Orleans via WAPL/Jackson: mms://a842.l1291238841.c12912.g.lm.akamaistream.net/D/842/12912/v0001/reflector:38841

 

[Drifter]

http://www.wlbt.com/

Unbelievable chopper footage of the Miss. coast. Click the link at the top. There are casino boats in the middle of downtown Gulfport. Huge containers (that look like railcars) from the shipyards tossed all over residential areas.

Looks like something from an apocalyptic movie.

WowFYI those shipping containers are 40' long and weigh about 10,000 lbs empty.

 

[Philly Sports Dude]

http://www.wlbt.com/

Unbelievable chopper footage of the Miss. coast. Click the link at the top. There are casino boats in the middle of downtown Gulfport. Huge containers (that look like railcars) from the shipyards tossed all over residential areas.

Looks like something from an apocalyptic movie.

WowFYI those shipping containers are 40' long and weigh about 10,000 lbs empty.

 

[wadegarrett]

Louisiana governor says all of New Orleans must be evacuated.Wow.

 

[shining path]

omg...the twinspan is just done.  not repaiirable.  MAJOR RAMIFICATIONS for the entire economy & escapability of the city now.  only 2 other ways out now essentially.

This is getting worse & worse by the minute.

Which bridge is the twinspan?

Is it the one that the oil platform ran into? That's crazy.

The twinspan is the section of I-10 east of new orleans that crosses a narrow segment of the lake. It leads into southern Miss and Alabama.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

This hurricane was the most over-rated in history.

Category 5 my ###. The weathermen just wanted their day in the sun.

Care to take this back now?

 

[Brock Middlebrook]

This hurricane was the most over-rated in history.

Category 5 my ###.  The weathermen just wanted their day in the sun.

Care to take this back now?

KG, people like these are asses. I'd leave them to wallow in their stupidity

 

[Bottomfeeder Sports]

:(

 

[Fiddles.]

http://www.wlbt.com/

Unbelievable chopper footage of the Miss. coast. Click the link at the top. There are casino boats in the middle of downtown Gulfport. Huge containers (that look like railcars) from the shipyards tossed all over residential areas.

Looks like something from an apocalyptic movie.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

This hurricane was the most over-rated in history.

Category 5 my ###.  The weathermen just wanted their day in the sun.

Care to take this back now?

KG, people like these are asses. I'd leave them to wallow in their stupidity

Nice edit, but I didn't think you were calling me an ### I just brought this back from yesterday to show how jumping to conclusions and being insensitive can make you look pretty stupid.

 

[Joe Bryant]

:bummed:J

 

[Mrs. BSR]

Finally got word about my friend's family. They're all fine. Mother's house on the back bay, fine. Step-dad's parent's house across the street from Grand Magic, gone, but that was expected.

Glad to hear they're ok. Sorry to hear about the house though.

Thanks. I was getting a little worried after watching a little CNN. Seemed to me like they had the most morbid coverage of any channel... like they were just writing off anyone that stayed in Biloxi/Gulfport.Just catching up... heard from your client yet?

Not yet. I'm sure we are the last ones on her list to contact so it will be a fews days at least before we hear from her.

 

[Statorama]

Watching the live feed right now, they're running a story about a police officer that was shot in the back of the head by looters...this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

Edit to add: Live feed (courtesy of Brock Middlebrook)

Streaming Video:

WWL-TV (via KHOU/Houston): http://www.wwltv.com/cgi-bin/bi/video/make...t_khou&live=yes

 

[rolyaTy]

Watching the live feed right now, they're running a story about a police officer that was shot in the back of the head by looters...this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

Edit to add: Live feed (courtesy of Brock Middlebrook)

Streaming Video:

WWL-TV (via KHOU/Houston): http://www.wwltv.com/cgi-bin/bi/video/make...t_khou&live=yes

 

[whoknew]

On WWL, they said the Nat'l Guard estimated 60K people in the Superdome who need to be evacuated.

 

[dickey moe]

This has probably been mentioned already, and if so, I'd reiterate to encourage FBGs to contribute something monetarily to the disaster relief effort if you can afford it. American Red Cross is always a good place to start.

 

[Ditka is God]

http://www.wlbt.com/

Unbelievable chopper footage of the Miss. coast. Click the link at the top. There are casino boats in the middle of downtown Gulfport. Huge containers (that look like railcars) from the shipyards tossed all over residential areas.

Looks like something from an apocalyptic movie.

Simply mind-boggling.

 

[jplvr]

http://www.wlbt.com/

Unbelievable chopper footage of the Miss. coast. Click the link at the top. There are casino boats in the middle of downtown Gulfport. Huge containers (that look like railcars) from the shipyards tossed all over residential areas.

Looks like something from an apocalyptic movie.

Around the 15:30 mark... that's where I think my friend's step-father's parent's lived. Where the Grand Casino (as reported by the chopper pilot) now sits.

 

[Charpy]

As of 3:30 CDT some local update:City of Slidell: Lake waters are beginning to recede. Water is still standing from Fremaux Avenue southward. The City of Slidell Police Department and the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s office are using boats to rescue citizens stranded by flood water. The City experienced major flooding from Gause Boulevard south. STAY OUT OF THE PARISH. There is major tree and power-line damage city-wide. All major arterial roads are impassable. City of Mandeville: Flood waters reached to Monroe Street. There are no utilities in the City. There is NO ACCESS south of Hwy 190. The City is in the clearing process. Town of Folsom: Trees down, all utilities out. No flooding reported at this time. Town of Abita Springs: Trees down, all utilities out. No flooding reported at this time. Town of Madisonville: Trees down, all utilities out. Majority of building had some flooding.

 

[jplvr]

Finally got word about my friend's family.  They're all fine.  Mother's house on the back bay, fine.  Step-dad's parent's house across the street from Grand Magic, gone, but that was expected.

Glad to hear they're ok. Sorry to hear about the house though.

Thanks. I was getting a little worried after watching a little CNN. Seemed to me like they had the most morbid coverage of any channel... like they were just writing off anyone that stayed in Biloxi/Gulfport.Just catching up... heard from your client yet?

Not yet. I'm sure we are the last ones on her list to contact so it will be a fews days at least before we hear from her.

I'm sure it'll happen. I remember seeing Pass Rd a little while back and I think that's far enough off the water to have been reasonably safe.

 

[American Idle]

In the category of morbid fascination...Try to visualize the forthcoming process of sorting through the floating dead and figuring out who was previously buried. I'd imagine that attire will be a factor. Furthermore, how to determine the identities of such individuals, that they may be returned to their state of rest?Horrible.

 

[Worm]

http://www.wlbt.com/

Unbelievable chopper footage of the Miss. coast. Click the link at the top. There are casino boats in the middle of downtown Gulfport. Huge containers (that look like railcars) from the shipyards tossed all over residential areas.

Looks like something from an apocalyptic movie.

Wow.

 

[Charpy]

River Parishes escape most of Katrina's wrath

While scores of trees, power lines and fences collapsed throughout St. John the Baptist and St. Charles parishes because of Hurricane Katrina’s 160 mph winds, both parishes appear to have escaped the widespread destruction officials feared from the Category Five storm.

We need boats!

Tuesday, 4:30 p.m.

Officials have issued a call for anyone with a flatboat to help rescue people stranded by the flood. Anyone with a boat, especially a flatboat, who can safely make it to the intersection of Cleary and Airline Drive in Metairie is asked to go there.

Uptown Waters Rising

The Uptown area, once dry earlier on Tuesday, had encroaching water levels to 3ft. around the Marengo area, roughly 5 blocks from St Charles Ave.

News blackout from hard-hit storm areas

Tuesday, 4:31 p.m.

All afternoon, WWL radio was seeking news from St. Tammany Parish, particularly Slidell, to no avail. News from St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, like Slidell, absolutely slammed by the hurricane, was also scarce.

IF YOU HAVE EVACUATED ST. TAMMANY PARISH, DO NOT RETURN UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. THE PARISH IS CLOSED.

 

[rolyaTy]

http://www.wlbt.com/

Unbelievable chopper footage of the Miss. coast. Click the link at the top. There are casino boats in the middle of downtown Gulfport. Huge containers (that look like railcars) from the shipyards tossed all over residential areas.

Looks like something from an apocalyptic movie.

Wow. What does one do to rebuild after such devastation?