R.I.P. - New Orleans, August 29, 2005??

Posted:
in AppleOutsider edited January 2014
Looks like Katrina is the real deal. If anyone here lives in the New Orleans area, I'd suggest you get out now. We were watching the Weather Channel before, they said the only recorded storm with a lower air pressure was Camile. A category 5 coming in from due south can easily wipe New Orleans off the map, there was a story about that in National Geographic once.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 268
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    Hopefully everyone down there are taking appropriate precautions. Let's hope it weakens or shifts track.
  • Reply 2 of 268
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    CNN Breaking News just said the mayor of N.O. just ordered a complete evacuation.
  • Reply 3 of 268
    Quote:

    Originally posted by CosmoNut

    CNN Breaking News just said the mayor of N.O. just ordered a complete evacuation.



    To paraphrase one of my favorite Radiators song titles, it's a TOTAL EVACUATION.



    Anyone and everyone in or around NOLA needs to get out now if they haven't already.
  • Reply 4 of 268
    regreg Posts: 832member
    My sister use to live in Harvey ( just across the river ) and any time they had a heavy rain the streets would flood. With Katrina coming in if the wind doesn't ruin most things the flooding will.



    reg
  • Reply 5 of 268
    pfflampfflam Posts: 5,053member
    I almost took ajob in NOrleans . . . . . it was a full time Tenure track job . . . . I didn't take it due to a temporary gig at a better school.



    I often kicked myself for that . . .



    but then again I merely have to remember why I didn't take the job: The city feels like you are in a toilet bowl!

    They have to literally pump water out of it, and over the levy ring that surrounds the city 24/7

    It an ugly miserable feeling town . . . . . High crime rate and rascism is still very present . . . and even with all that, its still extremely expensive . .

    and to top it off, I read recently that 0ver 60% of every masquito in Louisiana is carrying West Nile Virus . . .



    But really . . . . where will people from Farrgo go to party in the winter now?
  • Reply 6 of 268
    sammi josammi jo Posts: 4,634member
    At least Hurricane Katrina is at the strongest its going be (hopefully) right now. Statistically, its most unlikely that its 175mph winds will hold up right up until landfall... and if any drier air to the north gets entrained into the system, it could weaken some. water vapor loop The region of strongest winds are some 50 miles across...thats just like an F3 tornado 50 miles in diameter



    And hopefully, (for the sake for New Orleans), it will take its northward turn earlier than expected and pass to the east of the city, meaning that the strongest part of the system also avoids them, and the prevailing wind direction will be from the North, backing towards the West as the storm moves inland...ie offfshore, mitigating the effects of the surge. Wherever it hits is going to get severely damaged...lets hope its the least populated area along the Gulf Coast.



    I just watched a scary interview on ABC... there are some 100,000+ people who cannot afford, or dont have the means to get out of the New Orleans area, those parts of the city that are below sea-level. The worst case scenario is almost unimaginably horrific... lets just hope that N.O dodges this bullet.



  • Reply 7 of 268
    hardheadhardhead Posts: 644member
    All the above cons about Nahlens are true. Yet, despite all that, what a VIBRANT place. I lived in the Quarter for about three months in 1985. Wow, what an experience... Crawfish (suck those heads...) and soft shelled crab while listening to some sweet jazz in an open court, mmm.



    The place is a sitting duck for a storm based disaster. That's if the termites don't do permanent damage first...
  • Reply 8 of 268
    sammi josammi jo Posts: 4,634member
    I see the City of N.O. is planning to use the Superdome as an evacuation center... I wonder how a building like this would fare in 175 mph sustained winds (gusts to 210mph). If Katrina does hit the city with its current intensity (unlikely but not impossible)... who would venture a guess as to the risks of housing thousands of people in that one location. It's horrible thought, but if that building had a major structural failure during the storm....



    http://www.stadiumsofnfl.com/nfc/Superdome.htm



    ugh...
  • Reply 9 of 268
    e1618978e1618978 Posts: 6,075member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by iPoster

    Lthey said the only recorded storm with a lower air pressure was Camile.



    The biggest storm was typhoon tip (870 mb, 200+ mph winds), Camille was 905 mb (the lower the pressure, the bigger the storm).



    This one is 902mb, which seems pretty nasty to me, and is larger than Camille.



    GILBERT (1988 ) 888 mb

    UNNAMED (1935 ) 892 mb

    ALLEN (1980 ) 899 mb

    CAMILLE (1969 ) 905 mb

    MITCH (1988 ) 905 mb
  • Reply 10 of 268
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    I think the Superdome will be fine. The thing was probably built out of concrete and rebar, both of which could withstand some major winds. As for the roof, it might blow off, but I doubt officials will have anyone in the arena itself for that very reason. All in all, the building should make it even if it sustains major external damage from debris.
  • Reply 11 of 268
    The Superdome is rated for 200 MPH continuous winds.
  • Reply 12 of 268
    wrong robotwrong robot Posts: 3,907member
    This whole thing is intense. I am hoping for the best, but it really does look pretty grim.



    Well, Regardless of the ultimate severity, a lot of people's lives are about to be put through a blender, we can only hope they can recover...
  • Reply 13 of 268
    iposteriposter Posts: 1,560member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by FormerLurker

    The Superdome is rated for 200 MPH continuous winds.



    True, found the following online (wiki):



    Quote:

    The Superdome is a massive structure located on 52 acres (210,000 m²) of land; the dome has an interior space of 125,000,000 ft³ (3,500,000 m²), a height of 253 feet (82.3 meters), a dome diameter of 680 feet (210 meters), and a total floor area of 269,000 ft² (25,000 m²), making it the largest domed structure in the world.



    The Superdome is built to withstand catastrophes; the roof is built to stand up to 200 MPH wind and even deep flood water wouldn't reach the second level 35 feet from the ground. It has thus been used as an emergency shelter but is not designed for the task; in 1998 during Hurricane Georges problems included looting and supplying 14,000 people with necessities.



    One thing I didn't know about it is, the roof literally holds the whole thing together, it holds the exterior walls from falling down....



    Quote:

    Contractors building the Superdome also found that it required efforts and techniques that were a bit out of the ordinary, especially in the construction of its roof. For this building, the largest clear span steel structure in the world (as attested to by the new Guinness Book of World Records) is literally held together by its roof. In its flying - saucer-shaped design , the walls of the Superdome literally hang (for want of more descriptive term) from the roof, with the force vectors at foundation level pointing away from the center.



  • Reply 14 of 268
    e1618978e1618978 Posts: 6,075member
    A statement from the National Weather Service in Slidell, near New Orleans, Louisiana, warned that much of the affected area "will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer."



    Low-rise, wood-frame buildings will be destroyed, and concrete apartment buildings "will sustain major damage," it said.



    "High-rise office and apartment buildings will sway dangerously, a few to the point of total collapse," the warning read.



    "All windows will blow out. Airborne debris will be widespread, and may include heavy items such as household appliances and even light vehicles."



  • Reply 15 of 268
    Woo Boy...



    I am currently hunkered down in Biloxi, waiting for hell to break loose... It's usually a bad sign when Weather Channel's Jim Cantore is stationed in your city... ack!



    It already getting pretty stormy here.



    I hope that Nawlins fairs okay, but unfortunately, I think we are going to bear the major brunt of this storm.



    I am mostly concerned about our casinos here... as they are just not rated to withstand this kind of a storm... and they are extremely vital to our economy here.



    Will try and post some pics as soon as I can (assuming we have power.)
  • Reply 16 of 268
    pfflampfflam Posts: 5,053member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by SCARECROW

    Woo Boy...



    I am currently hunkered down in Biloxi, waiting for hell to break loose... It's usually a bad sign when Weather Channel's Jim Cantore is stationed in your city... ack!



    It already getting pretty stormy here.



    I hope that Nawlins fairs okay, but unfortunately, I think we are going to bear the major brunt of this storm.



    I am mostly concerned about our casinos here... as they are just not rated to withstand this kind of a storm... and they are extremely vital to our economy here.



    Will try and post some pics as soon as I can (assuming we have power.)




    good luck
  • Reply 17 of 268
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Katrina's path. I can't imagine what is about to happen.
  • Reply 18 of 268
    It's going to be Lake New Orleans tomorrow. Just look at this cross section:







  • Reply 19 of 268
    naplesxnaplesx Posts: 3,743member
    They are officially predicting 50-75 percent of NO underwater!



  • Reply 20 of 268
    midwintermidwinter Posts: 10,060member
    Dear god. Been on the phone with family in MS all day. Hunker down, folks. The only thing we can be sure of is that the entire gulf coast will be in the stone ages for a few weeks after tomorrow.



    Jesus, I'm going to miss NO.
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