South Florida & Hurricane Katrina

[Russ Smith]

I hope this morning finds everyone safe and sound and the only inconvenience you face is the possible loss of electricity.

Let us know how you are. I know with 1.5 million people without power it maybe awhile but the Cafe family as always is concerned.

Russ

 

[AFS]

Well, At home we're still without power. My mother's friend rode out the storm with us, but she has power back now so we're at her place. Dialup until her cable is restored, but after that I should have high speed internet.
More than a few downed branches, and one tree half down in our backyard, which is pulling on the electrical lines (yikes!). Father's house has about 1/2 the damage to the trees that the cat. 5 Hurricane Andrew caused..... No flooding into the house itself thankfully.
Today was his birthday, this is the 6th time he's had it ruined by a hurricane.
Well, apart from all that, the humidity and lack of air movement and stuff was murder on my lungs. I've been borderline asthmatic since earlier this year...but i'm really bad right now. The air conditioning is wonderrrrrful!
I was online high speed for a little while earlier at my mother's office...wish I had that connection right now
I did a pretty big amout of shooting between yesterday and today. Today was the 'after' pictures. The upscale Coral Gables area is devastated.....It is full of trees and vegetation, but now many of the trees are down. Some fell on houses, others blocked roads....We live right across the street from the Gables, and going along the main road that runs past it, it was hard to find one street that wasn't blocked.
I'll post my work on a gallery once i've got high speed again.
They say that between Dade and Broward, 90% of customers without power should have it back by tuesday.....

 

[Tomerrifc]

Hi Harrison,

Just a little note to send along thoughts and prayers from up here in Northern Illinois for you, your family and all of the folks down there dealing with this devastation.

Hope things simmer down for you guys real soon.

 

[Removed User 1]

Two Collections

The eye passed over me. Here are some images during the height of it. Look carefully for flying objects.

http://www.pbase.com/lautermilch/katrina

The day after at Hollywood Beach
http://www.pbase.com/lautermilch/katrina2

The real damage is when this thing hits again as a catagory 3 or greater. It could go to a 5 with all the time and warm water it has to cover.

 

[PhotoByMark]

Florida is sure getting its fair share of these storms.

My brother lives in Pensacola and says he cannot believe another one is coming.

Hope everyone out there is safe and seeks the proper shelter.

I do wish we could just get a little of that rain over here in Texas. Expecting triple digits this weekend and no hint of rain at all in the near future. Bummer.

 

[greyflash]

I was just watching the news this evening and the storm is up to a category 3 and they expect it to get to a category 4 before it hits land again. Those folks down that way are in for a lashing. I hope it all works out OK and not too much damage happens.

 

[Removed User 1]

Florida is sure getting its fair share of these storms.

My brother lives in Pensacola and says he cannot believe another one is coming.

Hope everyone out there is safe and seeks the proper shelter.

I do wish we could just get a little of that rain over here in Texas. Expecting triple digits this weekend and no hint of rain at all in the near future. Bummer.

I'm a mortgage broker and I know that Monday we will be unable to close loans as the insurance industry will have a 'hold' on Florida as they do after each major storm. This time could see a lot more companies refushing to write polices.

 

[drueter]

Greetings from Hurricane refugee central!! Our 2 daughters, their fiancee and boyfriend, 2 dogs and 2 cats have joined us (and our 3 dogs) to get away from New Orleans where they reside. It's total chaos with 6 adults and 7 dogs/cats in the house, but I'm glad they're here and out of harm's way for now.

We lived in New Orleans for several years, so I know that the current projected path for Katrina is very close to the worst case scenario for New Orleans. If they get a direct hit from a Cat 4 or higher hurricane and the levees get overtopped or breached, it could take weeks to pump out all the water. Remember that most of the city is below sea level.

Let's hope that it loses some strength or veers to a less populated (and above sea level) landfall area.

I'll try to post some photos of all the refugees over the next few days.

 

[Gale]

Don,

Yes this THING heading for LA ia horrible. Devistation and flooding will be a nightmare.

Bless you, kids and animals and so glad they have a place to be safe.

This one is now projected to go in even at a cat 5.

Terrible thing.

 

[PhotoByMark]

Yep-Just watched the weather. They are saying cat 5. And very warm waters right by New Orleans. This storm they say could be one of the worst natural diasasters in the US for years. Any Cat 5 Hurricane can be devastating. Of course, the big deal with New Orleans is that most of the town is below sea level with levies (sp?) protecting most of the city. But, I fear the storm surge of 18+ feet will be no match for the levies. This is just not good at all.

This is a large community (NikonCafe) and I am sure some of you out there have some friends/relatives in this area. I hope at least they can evacuate and be safely out of the storm's path.

 

[Phil K]

O dear, Cat 5 now. One of my best friends is in Lafayette, LA. I'm praying for him, and everyone who may be affected.

 

[Russ Smith]

175MPH sustained winds gusting to 215MPH.

This is beyond dangerous. I hope everyone heeds the warning to evacuate. Please do not hesitate.

We all will be hoping for the best.

I worked the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in a LE capacity for 3 1/2 months. I was stunned at the devastation I saw. Katrina is potentially much worse.

Russ

 

[Bob the Spiderman]

I heard about 3 hours ago that it has been upgraded to Catagory 5. Isn't this the highest catagory one can go? Well lets hope that the people in New Orleans are either safe and sound in bunkers or out of the area.

Best wishes. Bob F

 

[Russ Smith]

Bob

A cat 5 is the highest category. The threshold are winds of 156MPH and greater.

This link gives you an idea of what kind of damage can be expected for each category.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml

Russ

 

[Steve S]

Holy Smokes, this is BAD, here's some images

Take cover all y'all in N.O.!

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

View attachment 14443
View attachment 14444

 

[PhotoByMark]

That thing is just beyond huge. And one heck of an eye tooo!

Yikes.

 

[drueter]

Yes, this is VERY BAD for New Orleans, Gulfport/Biloxi, and surrounding areas. As I indicated in my earlier post, I lived in the New Orleans area for several years and just moved away 2 years ago. My 2 daughters have safely evacuated (they're here with us), but, of course we're worried about all those who can't evacuate and the possibility of extensive property damage.

For those not familiar with New Orleans, it is completely surrounded by levees and flood walls, with much of the city below sea level. The highest point is "Monkey Hill" at the zoo which, I think, is about 10 ft above sea level (and it's manmade). There is no natural drainage from New Orleans -- all rain water must be pumped out over the levees. The pumps can keep up with about 1 inch of rain per hour, but this storm will easily surpass that rate. And, if any levees are breached or overtopped (most are 25-30 ft high), then we could be seeing serious flooding. When I lived there and worked for the electric utility company, I saw scenarios from various govt agencies that showed as much as 25-30 feet of flood water on Bourbon Street from a Category 4 storm hit.

So, let's all keep hoping for some weakening, even though that's not likely as it continues to move over water that's 90+F.

 

[icetraxx]

Everyone is scavaging like crazy today and there has been a nice breeze today. I live about 20 miles east of Baton Rouge. It's been several years since the New Orleans to Baton Rouge area has been hit directly or semi directly. I am hopeing our sake that it stays to the east of N.O. I do wish the best of luck and my prayers go out to the Mississippi/Alabama area. They have been on the receiving end for several years. They are even evacuating several parts of my parish that are prone to flooding.


I did think that it was a little funny though that on my way to my parents house I must have seen at least 10 people cutting their grass. I will be a little pissed if it blows down my 6ft fence that I finished nailing up this morning.

Larry