Originally Posted By SuperDry I live in Houston. Slim chance of major problems in Houston with Gustov, but I'm the designated hurricane evacuee at work so I have to go to the "undisclosed location" (which I've already said is in Denver ) whenever there's any chance of problems in Houston, just in case. There's little chance of problems at home, but thanks for the kind words. I saw thousands of Katrina evacuees come to town three years ago and I wouldn't want to wish that on anyone.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom I am at work today. And on my way into work I passed several staging areas for Hurricane Gustav relief. I saw several oil tankers ready to head south as well as a convoy of Ford F250 quad cab trucks pulling enclosed trailers ready to go ( they must be repair crews for some company ). Last week I saw a convoy of Eletric Company trucks pulling personel vehicles heading down Hwy 75 on their way to Florida for Tropical Storm Fay damage. So, I would imagine there are already Electric Company personnel and equipment down there ready to head over to the Gulf Coast areas. On the news today they announced that Georgia already had our first Lousianna evacuee death overnight. Some driving from Lousianna fell asleep at the wheel and crashed. I found this very surprising since here in Georgia every Visitors Center is running 24 hours and serving free coffee, etc for anyone on the highway ( I guess they do that routinely on Labor Day Weekend so its not really associated with hurricane Gustav relief ).
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom It was also accounced on the morning news that several looters have already been arrested in New Orleans despite the fact that NO is completely evacuated except for military personnel and weather reporters.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***It was also accounced on the morning news that several looters have already been arrested in New Orleans*** Disgusting. Sad that there will always be a dirtbag class of people who will stop at nothing to take advantage of unfortunate situations. Fortunately, it sounds as though Gustav has lost some power thanks to unusually dry air in the area...here's hoping that continues to weaken the storm!
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< On the news today they announced that Georgia already had our first Lousianna evacuee death overnight. Some driving from Lousianna fell asleep at the wheel and crashed. I found this very surprising since here in Georgia every Visitors Center is running 24 hours and serving free coffee, etc for anyone on the highway ( I guess they do that routinely on Labor Day Weekend so its not really associated with hurricane Gustav relief ). >>> That's always sad to hear that happen. I think that people in general underestimate how dangerous driving while tired can be. And it would not surprise me at all to find out that many people passed by the free coffee and a break to stretch their legs and get fresh air for the notion of getting to their destination quicker (in some cases precisely because they were tired!). Drive safely, everyone.
Originally Posted By ecdc Well fortunately Hurricane Gustav has turned out not to be the "mother of all storms." Indeed, a quick flick through the news channels and they're showing old video of Katrina and going over that story, instead of covering Gustav. I anxiously await for Bush and Cheney to be rescheduled at the RNC meetings. Any day now we'll hear about it. Any day.
Originally Posted By kennect OH the RNC, I am sure they are all very dissapointed that the storm, fortunately, wasn't as horrible as it could have been....It is just amazing to me how this whole political thing is working out this year... Tom, I to read the story about the animals hitting the Atlanta Humane Society from the New Orleans area...I was really touched and hope that they all find great homes here in our city...Sadly this house is full at the moment so I am trying to put the whole story out of my mind....As far as your friends are concerned...Why on earth did they even bother to go down knowing the potential of the storm and the idea that New Orleans obviously would shut down this go round considering Katrina...They were extremely foolish in my book regardless of anything they were told by some hotel chain....Like they care?
Originally Posted By DAR Thinking about the name of Gustav does anyone realize that one day tropical storms and hurricanes will one day have names like Ashley, Carter, Brianna and Kyle.
Originally Posted By mawnck ... or even Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig. (Sorry. Couldn't resist.)
Originally Posted By Mr X Ouch. I feel for those kids, I really do..especially the boys..on the other hand, I never knew there were so many "Levi's" around til I did a myspace search trying to find that guys page (they took it down)..guess it's an Alaska thing.
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey Hello everyone from very wet Little Rock, AR. It seems Gustav was following our family from our home in Metairie (10 minutes outside of New Orleans) to Little Rock. It's absolutely foul out here right now. I read the first post in this topic and it made me really angry. As someone who lived through Katrina and returned to the city and its surrounding area two and a half weeks following the storm, I find it very hard to believe that anyone would even consider taking a chance flying to New Orleans when a major hurricane was heading towards the city in three days, ESPECIALLY after Katrina. How can anyone say the city overreacted when 1500 people DIED in the last major storm that hit the city? Please remember, they didn't die because of the storm, they died because the levees broke and flooded the city the day AFTER the storm passed. I was holding my breath (and am still holding my breath) even after Gustav passed. This storm was nothing to trifle with. Nagin called for the city to shut down on Saturday. 90-95% of the city's population evacauted, either on their own or with the help of the government. He and the state wanted people out because they didn't know if the levees would hold. Would the people mentioned in the first post have liked to have been stranded in the Ritz with no water, no electricity and no food, and with no chance of obtaining those things because there was nothing but water surrounding them? How stupid can you be to get angry because your party weekend was disrupted when people, including myself, were having panic attacks over the fear of losing their city yet again? One friend of mine just moved back into her home six months ago after the damage done by Katrina. Another had to have hers demolished and is just finishing up rebuilding her home - she's not supposed to move in until next month. Can you imagine being without your home for THREE YEARS? Can you imagine losing all of your possessions overnight? Most of my friends had the clothes on their back and a suitcase, and that was it. If you were in this area after Katrina or you don't know people who rode out the storm as first responders, you have NO IDEA what you're talking about when you get angry about being sent home from your party weekend because of a storm in the Gulf. During Katrina, some of the surgery residents I worked with stayed at Charity Hospital to take care of the sick. Once the levees broke, they had no food, no air conditioning, and no fresh water. One of the residents took a boat out in search of supplies and was shot at! You have NO IDEA what life was like after the storm, and to say Gustav was "no big deal" is just idiocy and is insulting to those of us who live here and lived through it. Had Gustav hit 20 miles further east, New Orleans would've had a Katrina repeat, without a doubt. Kennesaw Tom, I'm not addressing my anger at you, because you're just posting what your friends said. They had me really mad right now, though. If they were stupid enough to fly into the city three days before a storm hit, regardless of what the hotel said, they have a lot of nerve getting mad because the city didn't make any plans to get them out. You got yourself here, get yourself out. And you can tell them I said that. We may be leaving to return home tomorrow - the city is open, but some poeple still don't hav epower. We will see.
Originally Posted By mawnck >> Please remember, they didn't die because of the storm, they died because the levees broke and flooded the city the day AFTER the storm passed.<< I distinctly remember this. For half a day or so right after Katrina the MSM were talking about how New Orleans "dodged a bullet." That was in my mind all day yesterday. Best of luck, Nikki. Glad you're safe.
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey Thanks, mawnck! We probably won't be going home tomorrow. My mom has power at her house, but the sewerage system is still messed up. Only 20% of the sewerage lift stations are working so they're asking people not to bathe, wash clothes or dishes, flush the toilets or pour any water down the drains in fear of the sewer system backing up. I think we're going to stick around here at my brother's house in Little Rock at least one more day. All of the schools in the area start back on Monday, so we have to be back by this weekend so I can go back to work. The sewerage system in my parish (or county for most of you folks) is a mess, but the system in Orleans Parish and the city proper, where I work, is fine. I don't want to go to work on Monday smelling funky - I'd never hear the end of it from my kids. One more thing to tell your friends, Kennesaw Tom. The reason they got people out over the weekend was that even though the eye of the storm wasn't expected to hit until roughly noon on Monday, conditions become dangerous HOURS before that. If your friends, or anyone else, were to drive around after the first bands of the storm arrived on land, BEFORE the eye hit (from Sunday night onwards), they would have put themselves in SERIOUS danger. Any midly educated adult should realize that, instead of getting angry that they had to spend their vacation in D.C. while myself and thousands of others aren't even sure when we'll be able to go home, much less flush the toilet at home. I would love to know why the government is responsible for getting people out who were stupid enough to fly in when a storm is approaching when they are already evacuating 30,000 people who live there and cannot afford to get out on their own. I can't believe the audacity and stupidity of some people.
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Originally Posted By Ursula Oh, I see. Nevermind. (we had a troll and they were taken care of) Nikki, I hope you are able to go home soon. Best of luck to you and yours!
Originally Posted By dshyates Toad was here. I can smell her. "Smells like old people.........and soap".
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey <<So you didn't hear Michael Moore's comments on Olbermann on Friday? I asked DH not to watch that part before he came on, but he let it start. Then MM said something about how the timing of the RNC and Gustav proves that there is a God in heaven.>> BTW, if anyone ever sees Michael Moore, please let me know so I can punch that ignorant idiot in the mouth. I'll gladly go to jail for it. The one problem I have with freedom of speech is that I have to listen to that drivel.
