So, New Orleans is about to get levelled by one of the most powerful hurricanes in the history of the world. Katrina, which already killed 7 in Florida, skipped over land and buzzsawed through the Gulf of Mexico, gaining strength from a tropical storm right up to a Category 5 (Catastrophic) hurricane with winds of 175 MPH and gusts of up to 215 MPH. Its central pressure is down to 902 MB, which means the storm has the potential to strengthen even more. Hurricane-force winds will extend from the center of the hurricane 200 miles in all directions. For a sense of how powerful this is, imagine an F3 tornado coming ashore... an F3 tornado with a radius of 200 miles.
Hurricane Andrew has got nothing on this one, folks. All of New Orleans is below sea level and protected by flimsy levees, so a direct hit by Katrina will most likely flood the city for days or even weeks, and the winds will level any old buildings and severely damage everything else. New Orleans' shelter of last resort, the Superdome, is built only to sustain winds of up to 200 MPH. In short, this hurricane has the potential to wipe the city off the map, and it looks like it probably will.
So in conclusion, I am a loser weather nerd and please pray for the people of New Orleans, especially Erin who has been evacuated with the rest of Loyola New Orleans to Baton Rouge.
Here is the NOAA's hurricane report as of this afternoon:
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005
...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED...
.HURRICANE KATRINA...A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969.
MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.
THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.
HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.
AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.
POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BEKILLED.
AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE CERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.
ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE!
11 comments:
Damn, that sounds almost like almost like a doomsday scenario.
Yeah, pretty much anyone still in the city is dead when this thing hits.
they are keeping a bunch of people in the city who can't leave. They are all staying in this dome shaped thing that can supposedly withstand the hurricane but they don't know if they will have enough back up power or food for everyone.
That's the Superdome. It is designed to withstand winds up to 200 MPH. Katrina is gusting to 207, and the infield of the Superdome is expected to flood so people are only allowed in the stands. Apparently it has the potential to become "structurally compromised"
News: it's down to 160 MPH and it's finished its northern turn. New Orleans is fucked. It's still gusting over 200.
I talked to Erin and she was able to get a ride with someone to northern louisiana. I believe all the students were able to evacuate.
Fuck yeah and because of it I have found my life's calling: building storm-proof housing and shelters. I figure if you model a home after an airplane wing you might have something going for you. Yay aerodynamics!
I am a nerd.
PS Update: Katrina took a veer eastward before making landfall, making the most destructive winds acutally strike far to the east of New Orleans. This means the city has sustained much less damage than anticipated. Parts of the levees did break, but not as badly as anticipated.
here is the most recent article:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050829-0935-hurricanekatrina.html
Not as bad as expected,. but Katrina sure caused enough damage.
Portland would never be able to withstand something like that, not like we are going to have a category 5 hurricane come all the way into the Valley. Something to think about.
Any other disasters outside the US that has yet to reach me? A im counting on you.
Model a home after an airplane wing and in a hurricane you'd have a flying home...that'd be pretty cool.
Unless you just meant use the same materiels. Which would, most likely, work. But then you've got an ugly-ass house to deal with. Its always a trade-off between functionality, safety, style, and price. Planning for "acts of God" tends to get shafted most of the time. Human nature and all.
-JB
So last night at 2 or 3 a levee broke in downtown New Orleans, allowing water to get into the city through a roughly 2-block-sized hole. More levees broke, adding to the flooding. 80% of the city is now engulfed in up to 20 feet of water right now and there is expected to be a large toll in human life. This is also expected to be the costliest natural disaster in US history.
This really sucks, for lack of a better euphamisim.
Hmmm. Sounds like maybe New Orleans wasn't the best place to put a city, no? It's definitely tragic, but I thought people have known for years and years that this would happen eventually... if an area can't support human life, maybe human life should consider living somewhere else, I think. Still sucks for the people living there though.
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