The party's over in New Orleans!

[sachmo71]

At least for now. I never thought I would live to see people from New Orleans evacuating the city.



I'm sort of proud, though. If you live in a bowl, and there is a very real danger of that bowl filling with water, you should get out of the bowl. New Orleanieans have quite a reputation for ignoring the danger. Nice too see them taking heed for once.

[wade moore]

I am quite worried about New Orleans. It could really be damaged from this storm and I hope that EVERYONE is getting out.

[sachmo71]

I know my niece and exbrother-in-law are staying. Turns out he doesn't have insurance on the house, so apparently him being there is going to make some sort of magical difference.

[Huckleberry]

How old is the niece that your former BIL is making stay in New Orleans?

I have a good feeling that the authorities could step in and make him get her out of the city.

[Ben E Lou]

I just read this. Pretty scary. Let's hope that sucker doesn't go a little farther to the west.

Direct hit by Ivan could submerge New Orleans tree-top deep

NEW ORLEANS — The worst-case scenario for New Orleans — a direct strike by a full-strength Hurricane Ivan — could submerge much of this historic city treetop-deep in a stew of sewage, industrial chemicals and fire ants, and the inundation could last for weeks, experts say.

If the storm were strong enough, Ivan could drive water over the tops of the levees that protect the city from the Mississippi River and vast Lake Pontchartrain. And with the city sitting in a saucer-shaped depression that dips as much as 9 feet below sea level, there would be nowhere for all that water to drain.

Alex Brandon/Times-Picayune (ENLARGE)
Traffic on the Interstate10 is bumper to bumper as evacuees head away from New Orleans to escape Hurricane Ivan.
EMAIL THIS PRINT THIS MOST POPULAR

Even in the best of times, New Orleans depends on a network of canals and huge pumps to keep water from accumulating inside the basin.

"Those folks who remain, should the city flood, would be exposed to all kinds of nightmares from buildings falling apart to floating in the water having nowhere to go," Ivor van Heerden, director of Louisiana State University's Hurricane Public Health Center, said Tuesday.

LSU's hurricane experts have spent years developing computer models and taking surveys to predict what might happen.

The surveys predict that about 300,000 of the 1.6 million people living in the metropolitan area would risk staying.

The computer models show a hurricane with a wind speed of around 120 mph or more — hitting just west of New Orleans so its counterclockwise rotation could hurl the strongest surf and wind directly into the city — would push a storm surge from the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Pontchartrain over the city's levees. Ivan had sustained wind of 140 mph Tuesday.

New Orleans would be under about 20 feet of water, higher than the roofs of many of the city's homes.

Besides collecting standard household and business garbage and chemicals, the flood would flow through chemical plants in the area, "so there's the potential of pretty severe contamination," van Heerden said.

Severe flooding in area bayous also forces out wildlife, including poisonous snakes and stinging fire ants, which sometimes gather in floating balls carried by the current.

A rescue of people who stayed behind would be among the world's biggest since 1940, when Allied forces and civilian volunteers during World War II rescued mostly British soldiers from Dunkirk, France, and carried them across the English Channel, van Heerden predicted.

Much of the city would be under water for weeks. And even after the river and Lake Pontchartrain receded, the levees could trap water above sea level, meaning the Army Corps of Engineers would have to cut the levees to let the water out.

"The real big problem is the water from sea level on down because it will have to be pumped and restoring the pumps and getting them back into action could take a considerable amount of time," said John Hall, the Corps' spokesman in New Orleans.

Hall spoke from his home — 6 feet below sea level — as he prepared to flee the city himself. The Corps' local staff was being relocated 166 miles north to Vicksburg, Miss.

New Orleans was on the far western edge of the Gulf Coast region threatened by Ivan, and forecasters said Tuesday that the hurricane appeared to moving toward a track farther east, along the Mississippi coast.

If the eye came ashore east of the city, van Heerden said, New Orleans would be on the low side of the storm surge and would not likely have catastrophic flooding.

The worst storm in recent decades to hit New Orleans was Hurricane Betsy in 1965, which submerged parts of the city in water 7-feet deep and was blamed for 74 deaths in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. That storm was a Category 3, weaker than Ivan is expected to be.

Even if New Orleans escapes this time, van Heerden said, it will remain vulnerable until the federal and state governments act to restore the coastal wetlands that should act as a buffer against storms coming in from the Gulf.

Louisiana has lost about a half million acres of coast to erosion since 1930 because the Mississippi River is so corralled by levees that it can dump sediment only at its mouth, and that allows waves from the Gulf to chop away at the rest of the coastline.

"My fear is, if this storm passes (without a major disaster), everybody forgets about it until next year, when it could be even worse because we'll have even less wetlands," van Heerden said.

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry

How old is the niece that your former BIL is making stay in New Orleans?

I have a good feeling that the authorities could step in and make him get her out of the city.

In her 20's.

[Huckleberry]

Well, no dice. I guess at that age you are legally allowed to make stupid decisions for yourself.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by sachmo71

I know my niece and exbrother-in-law are staying. Turns out he doesn't have insurance on the house, so apparently him being there is going to make some sort of magical difference.

I would reccomend having your ex-brother-in-law invite Flasch over to his place. Flasch is good at avoiding hurricane damage. My man is 2 for 2!

[Raven Hawk]

No offense to anybody who lives in New Orleans, but that city could use a good spin cycle, especially the French Quarter. It's a fun place, but it needs a little cleaning. Just enough to knock down the burned out buildings and power wash the nice ones.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

I just read this. Pretty scary. Let's hope that sucker doesn't go a little farther to the west.

Direct hit by Ivan could submerge New Orleans tree-top deep

NEW ORLEANS — The worst-case scenario for New Orleans — a direct strike by a full-strength Hurricane Ivan — could submerge much of this historic city treetop-deep in a stew of sewage, industrial chemicals and fire ants, and the inundation could last for weeks, experts say.

If the storm were strong enough, Ivan could drive water over the tops of the levees that protect the city from the Mississippi River and vast Lake Pontchartrain. And with the city sitting in a saucer-shaped depression that dips as much as 9 feet below sea level, there would be nowhere for all that water to drain.

Even in the best of times, New Orleans depends on a network of canals and huge pumps to keep water from accumulating inside the basin.

"Those folks who remain, should the city flood, would be exposed to all kinds of nightmares from buildings falling apart to floating in the water having nowhere to go," Ivor van Heerden, director of Louisiana State University's Hurricane Public Health Center, said Tuesday.

LSU's hurricane experts have spent years developing computer models and taking surveys to predict what might happen.

The surveys predict that about 300,000 of the 1.6 million people living in the metropolitan area would risk staying.

The computer models show a hurricane with a wind speed of around 120 mph or more — hitting just west of New Orleans so its counterclockwise rotation could hurl the strongest surf and wind directly into the city — would push a storm surge from the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Pontchartrain over the city's levees. Ivan had sustained wind of 140 mph Tuesday.

New Orleans would be under about 20 feet of water, higher than the roofs of many of the city's homes.

Besides collecting standard household and business garbage and chemicals, the flood would flow through chemical plants in the area, "so there's the potential of pretty severe contamination," van Heerden said.

Severe flooding in area bayous also forces out wildlife, including poisonous snakes and stinging fire ants, which sometimes gather in floating balls carried by the current.

A rescue of people who stayed behind would be among the world's biggest since 1940, when Allied forces and civilian volunteers during World War II rescued mostly British soldiers from Dunkirk, France, and carried them across the English Channel, van Heerden predicted.

Much of the city would be under water for weeks. And even after the river and Lake Pontchartrain receded, the levees could trap water above sea level, meaning the Army Corps of Engineers would have to cut the levees to let the water out.

"The real big problem is the water from sea level on down because it will have to be pumped and restoring the pumps and getting them back into action could take a considerable amount of time," said John Hall, the Corps' spokesman in New Orleans.

Hall spoke from his home — 6 feet below sea level — as he prepared to flee the city himself. The Corps' local staff was being relocated 166 miles north to Vicksburg, Miss.

New Orleans was on the far western edge of the Gulf Coast region threatened by Ivan, and forecasters said Tuesday that the hurricane appeared to moving toward a track farther east, along the Mississippi coast.

If the eye came ashore east of the city, van Heerden said, New Orleans would be on the low side of the storm surge and would not likely have catastrophic flooding.

The worst storm in recent decades to hit New Orleans was Hurricane Betsy in 1965, which submerged parts of the city in water 7-feet deep and was blamed for 74 deaths in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. That storm was a Category 3, weaker than Ivan is expected to be.

Even if New Orleans escapes this time, van Heerden said, it will remain vulnerable until the federal and state governments act to restore the coastal wetlands that should act as a buffer against storms coming in from the Gulf.

Louisiana has lost about a half million acres of coast to erosion since 1930 because the Mississippi River is so corralled by levees that it can dump sediment only at its mouth, and that allows waves from the Gulf to chop away at the rest of the coastline.

"My fear is, if this storm passes (without a major disaster), everybody forgets about it until next year, when it could be even worse because we'll have even less wetlands," van Heerden said.

Wow. This is terrifying. Submerged for weeks?? Sewage? Chemicals? Floating balls of stining fire ants and poisonous snakes? Wow.

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by Raven Hawk

No offense to anybody who lives in New Orleans, but that city could use a good spin cycle, especially the French Quarter. It's a fun place, but it needs a little cleaning. Just enough to knock down the burned out buildings and power wash the nice ones.

The ones that most people like would probably be the first to crumble. They are quite old.

[Raven Hawk]

Originally Posted by sachmo71

The ones that most people like would probably be the first to crumble. They are quite old.

True. I was hoping that the hurricane could be selective. Are there going to be any problems with the cemeteries if this happens. If I recollect correctly most, if not all, burials in New Orleans are in mausoleums due to the high water table. Will the dead be rising or are the mausoleums sufficiently built to keep the bodies sunk?

[Hammer755]

Traffic coming from Louisiana on I-10 has been pretty heavy here in Houston this morning. The commute from that direction to downtown is one of the few managable ones in the city, usually taking less than half an hour, but I heard on the radio this morning that it was taking upwards of 2 hours today.

[wade moore]

I honestly don't see how anyone could be stupid enough to stay.

[wade moore]

SD:

Where did you get that original article?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by wade moore

SD:

Where did you get that original article?

Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Going to find link now...

[Huckleberry]

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ne...nG=Search+News

[Ben E Lou]

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news...nnorleans.html

[Buzzbee]

Originally Posted by Raven Hawk

True. I was hoping that the hurricane could be selective. Are there going to be any problems with the cemeteries if this happens. If I recollect correctly most, if not all, burials in New Orleans are in mausoleums due to the high water table. Will the dead be rising or are the mausoleums sufficiently built to keep the bodies sunk?

I'm fairly certain that all burials aren't in mausoleums, although a majority are. I would expect the "rising of the dead" would be just another headache to deal with. I mean, how would you return the body to it's grave when you don't know which body goes with which grave? Most would probably be creamated I imagine.

[sachmo71]

I'm not exactly sure if everyone is buried in above ground. I'm trying to remember the funerals that I served at, but can't recall. The problem is that the water table is only about a foot below the surface, so if you are buried underground, it better be on a hill, or the coffin would need to be watertight.

[Buzzbee]

Originally Posted by sachmo71

I'm not exactly sure if everyone is buried in above ground. I'm trying to remember the funerals that I served at, but can't recall. The problem is that the water table is only about a foot below the surface, so if you are buried underground, it better be on a hill, or the coffin would need to be watertight.

From what I can recall, it SEEMS like I remember cemetary plots being built up a little, like a foot or two. However, it's been a while since I lived there and my memory is a little fuzzy.

Also, the coffins being watertight is what causes them to float to the surface.

[QuikSand]

On a side note, you have to admire the industriousness of fire ants to ball up together to try to survive high water. I've never heard of that before... but it's damned impressive.

[SlapBone]

In Other news:

Texas is CLOSED!!!

[Buzzbee]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

On a side note, you have to admire the industriousness of fire ants to ball up together to try to survive high water. I've never heard of that before... but it's damned impressive.

Typical QS, always looking for the different angle.

[spleen1015]

Yikes.

[Raven Hawk]

Maybe Superman can fly around the eye of the storm counterclockwise really really fast and turn the hurricane back into a tropical storm.

Good luck to everbody! And for God's sakes, people, get the hell out of there! 300,000 people staying? Fools.

[Ben E Lou]

[Huckleberry]

I've seen a fire ant ball. It is indeed an awesome sight. That being said, f fire ants. I hate them with a passion hotter than a thousand suns.

[Ben E Lou]

[sachmo71]

That's one huge freaking storm.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Raven Hawk

True. I was hoping that the hurricane could be selective. Are there going to be any problems with the cemeteries if this happens. If I recollect correctly most, if not all, burials in New Orleans are in mausoleums due to the high water table. Will the dead be rising or are the mausoleums sufficiently built to keep the bodies sunk?

If the dead rise, I'd recommend a shotgun (lots of ammo) and a chainsaw when things start getting a little more... personal.

[CraigSca]

I remember seeing a special on hurricanes on one of those Discover channels a few years back. The worst case scenario they went over was a direct hit of New Orleans, complete with pre-Jurassic Park special effects. Basically they took a 3-d representation of New Orleans and threw 30 feet of water on top - all you saw was water.

That being said, it looks like Ivan is heading north as predicted and will hit somewhere to the east of New Orleans. Therefore, the winds will be coming off land for the most part, and the storm surge (though significant) will not be the doomsday scenario. A NW track today would be awful.

[Buzzbee]

[DaddyTorgo]

Best and prayers to everyone in the path of Ivan. Looks like he'll still be a beast.

[mauchow]

Yes, same as DT said...

You can't make storms like this... Could you? 3 in a month... Terrorists? Okay, I'll shut up.

[cthomer5000]

the fireants thing is really blowing my mind.

[Esquared1]

We have a salesperson here who is staying despite living 1.5 miles from Mobile Bay in AL. Ivan will be rolling right over him. Not good.

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

the fireants thing is really blowing my mind.

Let it go, man. They are smart little buggers.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry

I've seen a fire ant ball. It is indeed an awesome sight. That being said, f fire ants. I hate them with a passion hotter than a thousand suns.

Me, too. I'm allergic to them so I made a childhood of tormenting them and trying not to get bit. Those little bastards are, well, bastards. I've used everything from detergent soap to citric acid to plain old water on them. I was always leary of using explosives on them because I just didn't like the idea of those little bastards flying through the air, possibly at me.

SI

[sachmo71]

Anyone heard from Albionmoonlight and/or Pumpy Tudors?

[Ben E Lou]

albion was here this morning. Pumpy was last here yesterday afternoon. Didn't see where either had indicated evacuation or non-evacuation.

[Franklinnoble]

New Orleans is about to get pwn3d

[Huckleberry]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Me, too. I'm allergic to them so I made a childhood of tormenting them and trying not to get bit. Those little bastards are, well, bastards. I've used everything from detergent soap to citric acid to plain old water on them. I was always leary of using explosives on them because I just didn't like the idea of those little bastards flying through the air, possibly at me.

SI

Sometimes when I head out to poison the bastards, I stop to think about how I'm using chemical weapons of mass destruction on them. How they don't really have a chance and they visibly suffer for a few seconds before they die.

Then I laugh maniacally and get to work.

[Huckleberry]

http://www.cclockwood.com/stockimages/fireants.htm

[Raven Hawk]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

If the dead rise, I'd recommend a shotgun (lots of ammo) and a chainsaw when things start getting a little more... personal.

Shop smart, shop S-Mart.

[rkmsuf]

what about inside a sock? can they do this?

[Buzzbee]

Originally Posted by sachmo71

Anyone heard from Albionmoonlight and/or Pumpy Tudors?

I beleive Albion moved to the Carolinas a few weeks ago. Good timing if you ask me. I would imagine Pumpy has gone inland.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Raven Hawk

Shop smart, shop S-Mart.

WOO! Any time an AoD quote can make it onto the board, it's been a good thread

SI

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

albion was here this morning. Pumpy was last here yesterday afternoon. Didn't see where either had indicated evacuation or non-evacuation.

As I posted in the other thread, we started evacuating New Orleans around 1:45 PM yesterday afternoon (due to work considerations I could not leave earlier) and it took us over 15 hours to get to Houston (I've done the drive in just under 6 before) We took over 9 hours to go the first 75 or so miles. I've NEVER seen traffic like that before, despite living in Los Angeles for 4 years.

Anyway, I read about the threat of the city being submerged on Monday and that was what convinced me to get out of the city. I hope everyone made it out safely.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

WOO! Any time an AoD quote can make it onto the board, it's been a good thread

SI

Hail to the king, baby!