Cold Spaghetti

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1. Fluorescences | 27-Aug-05 at 8:41 am | Permalink

   Some advice from a weather buff who’s following this closely.

   If your house takes a hit from a strong Cat 4 or Cat 5 storm, it won’t be intact enough for you to worry about flooding. You won’t have a roof and maybe not even walls.

   Here’s some scientific perspective:

   — The prediction for Katrina is for it to possibly be as strong as Hurricane Andrew, which means sustained winds could exceed 160 mph, with gusts to near 200 mph.

   — Winds in a Cat 5 storm are equivalent to those in an F3 tornado over several hours.

   It’s still early based on the guidance … but if I were you, I’d start making and executing evacuation plans. Sorry to be alarmist, but that’s the science. I’m concerned from all I’ve read online in the press is that the Big Easy is taking it a little too easy. The mayor doesn’t seem to understand the danger. This is a very intense storm that killed 7 people when it was only a Cat 1 storm, which is high for a storm that was supposedly only that week. At this point, it’s going to be historic wherever it makes landfall.

2. Holly | 27-Aug-05 at 8:55 am | Permalink

   You are completely correct and I couldn’t agree more. Paul is currently securing the house as best as possible and starting to pack up. I’ve secured maps of all the back roads in and out of the city (last time we evacuated, it took 8 hours to go 28 miles for what ended up to be a non-event) and I’m about to leave to pick him up as soon as the printing is done.

   So far, the word is that several of our neighbors are staying (the locals have seen so many “cry wolf” incidents that they don’t leave anymore — and yes, you are right, it gets downplayed locally). If there is a positive to that, it is that we should be able to get updates on how our house will fare. And believe me, we’ve had discussions about the possibility of losing the roof. We will get some protection from the wind with houses so close together, but we do worry about flying debris at the front of the house. Thank goodness there is no more construction debris nextdoor!

   Thanks for your thought and concern, it means more than I can say.

3. Fluorescences | 27-Aug-05 at 9:14 am | Permalink

   Good deal. I do hope your neighbors are right, and that all goes well once more in “Na-yins.” It’s not cool when bad things happen. But boy, if they’re wrong … it’s Camille all over again.

   At least if you’re out of harm’s way, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that no matter what happens, your family is safe, and that’s what matters. Evacuating stinks, especially if nothing happens, but wishing you *had* evacuated when it’s too late to do so just flat out smells.

4. Gwen | 27-Aug-05 at 4:03 pm | Permalink

   Holly Anna:

   We’re here on SSI thinking of y’all down there. Dad’s got the TV set on weather so we’ve been following Katrina and we actually dragged the computer over to the King and Prince to see your blog and updates…

   Good luck going to rescue Paul today! Keep updating…our thoughts are with you!

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