Hurricane Katrina is now a category 5 storm, packing sustained winds of near 175 mph, with higher gusts. I'm rather nervous for New Orleans, which seems to be directly in the cross-hairs of this killer. The National Hurricane Center is calling this storm "potentially catastrophic," which is pretty serious language. The mayor ordered a mandatory evacuation, and I-10 is supposedly grid-locked... and this is with traffic headed outbound in all lanes. Over 400,000 people are supposed to leave, and most of them will do so, and this is all within in a 24-36 hour period.
The biggest problem for the Big Easy is the fact that it's 6 feet below sea level. Even on normal days huge pumps keep water out of the city, which is shaped like a bowl. The 25+ foot storm surge is expected to top the city's levee system and worst-case scenarios envision the city under up to 15 feet of water, without power, fresh water, or sewage for six months. If this comes to pass, it could take months (up to four, from one account I read) to drain the city of the water, since the pump themselves would be submerged in that case. New Orleans would be completely devastated. Property damage would reach the tens of millions, many would lose their lives, more would lose everything they own, and countless cultural and historical buildings and structures would be damaged or destroyed.
If N'awlins survives this alright I'm going to plan a trip there as soon as I can afford it. Between hurricanes, erosion, and potential rising coastal waters (if you're into the whole global warming/polar ice-caps melting scenario), NOLA probably only has so much time left before it becomes impractical to keep the water out. Eventually the Gulf and Mississippi Delta will claim New Orleans, and that cosmopolitan city which gave birth so so much vital American culture will have to be abandoned.
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Considering the damage that is expected, I'm pretty thankful that we made it there a few years ago. I'm hoping that some of our favorite spots there (Cafe Du Monde, old French Quarter, and the Garden District) aren't damaged too seriously, but that's only from a nostalgia standpoint. At least I'll be able to tell my friend's kids that we got engaged there before the city fell prey to the Gulf of Mexico. Of course the same is true for the Victorian Gardens in Halifax (see Hurricane Juan).
Yeah, the Weather Channel says that the pressure is 902 mb, which is lower than Hurricane Andrew! Jim Cantore, everyone's favorite severe weather coverage guy, is expressing concern that the inhabitants of Biloxi are dragging their heels and haven't left town yet. Yikes. It could get very dicey down there, and my thoughts are with all fo them!
I'll be seriously disappointed if we can't ever have breakfast at Brennan's! Not to mention all the other places our parents keep telling us we HAVE to go.
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