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“Got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home”

It now appears that the levees protecting The City that Care Forgot are in extreme danger of breaking upon the arrival of Category 5 Hurricane Katrina. People in New Orleans have always joked about how the city’s end would come about not from war, but instead from the inability of humankind to defend against God’s wraith. Indeed, since 1971 the perfect ending track for any New Orleans-themed mix tape has been Zeppelin’s ‘When the Levee Breaks.’ But what was once in the distant, unforseen future now appears to be quite real and immediate. This storm appears to be The Real Thing. Winds are sustaining around 165 (down from 175,) but more importantly gusts are well over 200 and the barometric pressure within the eye of the storm (902mb) is nearly equal to that of Camille, which caused massive damage yet didn’t even hit the city directly. It appears extremely likely that there will be quite a bit of flooding, even if the most conservative damage estimates are true.

Anyways, I apologize for the LiveJournalesque posting, but most of my extended family lives in the New Orleans area. I’ve been unable to contact them today thanks to filled cell-phone circuits and the fact that thankfully they all appear to be away from their land lines. I know that part of my family is staying in the downtown Hilton, others in Texas, but most I’m unsure about. Hopefully my calls will go through sometime tonight.

Enough rambling. Here are some random links for those of you interested in following this terrible storm:
WWL TV Feed (local CBS station, good news coverage)
Weather.com Vulnerable Cities: New Orleans
Weather.com Animated Radar Map
Weather.com Katrina Projected Path
Weather.com Local NOLA Weather
FLHurricane.com
The Times-Picayune (website working sporadically at best)

UPDATE: New Orleans Mayor Nagin is on WWL and is saying that if there’s a direct hit it will likely take two weeks to drain the city of all of the flood water. God only knows what sort of problems that could cause. Additionally, 25-30% of all domestic oil production flows through New Orleans, so oil prices throughout the country will likely skyrocket if things get bad. This is a national emergency. Also, this SOB storm is filling up over half of the gulf:
top.kat.animate.0945.gif

Update by Michael G.: Quick links to useful information:

  1. Ian says:

    At least Nancy Grace is remaining focused on what’s important.

  2. Michael G. says:

    Well, thought I’d post a quick update and then go fill the car up before prices change in the morning.

  3. Ian says:

    It appears, upon further inspection, that I have an obsession with the word “appears.”

    Also, I hate Geraldo.

  4. Danimal says:

    It’s damned scary. I hope your family is safe. Personally, I’d go to Chicago. Go to Chicago. Sorry but I can’t take you along.

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