Running Hurricane Ike thread

I can. I'd get the fuck out of Dodge.

 

No, last I heard.

 

While certainly we don't want a Cat 3 to hit anywhere, there's really not a whole hell of a lot of difference between an top-notch Cat 2 and a weak Cat 3.

Both will be bad either way in this situation.

 

I was in Dallas on a road trip when Rita came through. That thing looked amazing from my plane, but you're right, there was not a drop of rain at DFW.

Methinks Ike will not be as kind.

 

When officials made that announcement down New Orleans way before Katrina, people either shuddered or rolled their eyes. Then, the levees broke.

 

For as badly as New Orleans fucked up Katrina, it at least learned from it. When Gustav was churning, they got virtually everyone's asses out of town tout suite. The SE Texas coast seems to have not only not learned from the Rita evacuation, but to have regressed.

 

I repeat my earlier observation: Some of those people remind me of South Floridians before Andrew.

 

The wind made its presence felt here in Baton Rouge today, and I've lost power four times, but otherwise things haven't been too bad. I'm worried about my sister and her family and all my friends in Lake Charles and Cameron Parish, though ...

Hang in there, Texans. Keep us posted when you can.

 

This is the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans after Katrina:



I fear Houston's going to have a lot of that soon.

 

Crossthreading: A reporter from the Galveston County Daily News is tweeting.

http://twitter.com/leighjones

Also from the GCDN: one of their reporters is also an evacuee ... and now, an evictee. Seems the people running her evacuation shelter in Austin weren't happy about a reporter being there:

http://galvestondailynews.com/blog.lasso?blog=3c477047b740ed6a

 

Still have power here in Houston. Winds have been around 35-40 mph for the last hour, but that will change in a bit.

Those wondering why I'm here, it's simple: I'm kinda working.

 

Meanwhile, from WWL in New Orleans:

Temporary levees, used keep flood water from moving north in the town of Lafitte, have failed.

The levees, which were aqua levees and tubing, were set up by Jefferson Parish officials near the intersection of Canal Street and Hwy 45, close to where Town Hall sits. Around 8 p.m., the levee failure was reported.

South of the temporary levee, Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner said that hundreds of homes have already flooded.