Katrina

Hurricane Katrina has certainly put my plans for world domination on hold.


The skyline of New Orleans as Katrina continues to move north into the United States.


Saturday. August 27th, 2005

My parents flew from New Orleans to New York City to spend a week with my brother, who lives in New Jersey, early Saturday morning on August 27th. I was prepared to spend the week alone, in peace and quiet, going to work, working on little projects and hobbies, and taking care of the pets. During the day, I was made aware of the large category 3 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico southeast of Louisiana, apparently on the path directly towards us. I have been through a few rather large hurricanes, including hurricane Andrew, when I was younger so besides making a few stops at grocery stores for supplies I was prepared for being without electricity or water for several days.
Plans for the day included Chad's nieces birthday party and an evening at Annagelle's, a co-worker of Chad's. We ended up leaving early (around 10:30 pm) because I was not feeling well, I needed to go home and take care of the dog, and I needed to get my supplies and a few other things.
A late night stop at Wal-mart that evening on my way home from Chad's, proved that I was not the only one getting prepared. The stores shelves were stripped of anything that might become of use to anyone during a storm. I gathered the few things that I needed and walked my buggy to the checkout. It was there, while waiting in the insanely long line, I decided to try to call Chad to let him know I was taking longer than anticipated. My phone was gone. So I spent 30 minutes frantically retracing my steps to try and find it. It was miraculously still in the middle of the aisle by the electronics.
When I got home, it was after 1 am. I started to bring my groceries into the house from the car. I was almost done when I heard a man screaming at me from the woods behind my house. I didn't stop to investigate. I dropped everything and ran inside and quickly locked the doors. I grabbed the phone and called Chad... there was no answer. His phone wasn't getting a signal. So after a few attempts, I called my neighbors, who came over to make sure I was okay and to run away whoever was there. I tried calling Chad's sister, who lives in the same apartment complex as him, but there was no answer. While my neighbors were still there, I decided to try and leave and go to spend the night at Chad's apartment. I got in the car and the phone rang. It was Chad's sister calling back. So she went over and woke him up and told him to call me. I explained everything to him, he came over with his pistol and sat outside for a while... then locked everything up and we went to sleep.


Arial Views of New Orleans and the Central Business District


Satellite Imagery of the Greater New Orleans area.














30,000+ refugees prepare to leave the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana for Houston, Texas. The Astrodome is holding over 11,000 of those displaced people.


Sunday. August 28th, 2005

We woke up, went outside and picked up EVERYTHING that could have been considered a flying weapon or could have been destroyed by high-powered winds. Chad left to take care of things similarly at his apartment and at his brothers new home. I was alone for most of the day. So I worked on a model car and began to prepare things around the house, kerosene lamps, candles, packing the freezer with ice to keep things cold as long as possible without electricity, filling the bathtubs and jugs with water in case the water pressure died, pulled out flashlights and batteries, testing and charging everything including my iPod and laptops. I was PREPARED as much as possible.
Meanwhile, people were evacuating the entire southeast region of Louisiana. Most was mandatory. The interstates were bumper to bumper from New Orleans to the Louisiana/Texas state line and on into Houston. There were no more available hotels rooms as far as Dallas. Flights were being canceled and commerce stopped. People, not able to evacuate, for whatever reason were being taken to shelters such as the Superdome and here in Baton Rouge, the river center and LSU's sports complexes. The influx of people was unbelievable. Counterflo was in effect and everything was being directed away from Louisiana's toe. I had a few friends who put everything they could into one vehicle and got out of town. Elderly people were dying already from the evacuation from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. Could you imagine being responsible for moving every patient out of every hospital in the lower half of an entire state? The only medical personel that were allowed to stay were those in charge of the neo-natal wards... tiny babies too fragile to make a trip... desperately praying they would survive with generators being their only way to keep alive.
My parents called me regularly with different things they were remembering that I should do and to make sure that I was going to be okay. They were more nervous as I was. I was keeping an eye on Katrina online and watching the news as much as possible. I knew when I woke up the next morning I would more than likely be cut off from the rest of the world. Katrina had grown to a CAT 4 during the day and was still on the path directly to us. I convinced Chad to stay with me during the night. This was too big for me to handle being alone.



Monday. August 29th, 2005

I woke up the next morning when the electricity went out and several things in my room turned off. I turned on the battery operated radio. Hurricane Katrina took a turn to the east during the night. It had also grown larger and stronger, becoming a CAT 5. I live in Greenwell Springs Louisiana, which is slightly more north and east of Baton Rouge and considerably, in the country. I knew that turn would give us a break from mass destruction, but not New Orleans. The winds were fierce and the rain hard, it wasn't long before there were limbs down in the front and back yard. Chad received a call later on from his sister to tell him that the parking awnings in front of his apartment were getting blown away. His had taken the brick column with it and slammed it through his roof. He had to leave to take care of that, which made me nervous, but I understood that he had to leave.
Alone, I listened to audiobooks on my iPod and snacked on cookies... watched the weather from the back patio... and slept a long time. It was comforting to know that it wouldn't get much worse for me unless a tree fell. Before that day, damage to the house had been what I was most worried about, especially since I was alone and my parents were all the way across the country. The worst part was not knowing what was going on in the rest of my state.
After taking care of the situation at his apartment, Chad came back here, I was guzzling as much of the milk as possible. We didn't know how long we were going to be without power so it was important to eat and drink the things that may go bad first. He put together the tiny portable propane grill I bought for tailgating and grilled chicken and... unsuccessfully tried to cook macaroni and cheese... but cooking macaroni and cheese on a bbq grill... only results in soggy pasta. Under the circumstances... the candlelight dinner wasn't as romantic.


Broken Levees and Flooded Streets


Bourbon Street... as you have never seen it before.


Several breaks in levees built to protect the city are the cause behind the majority of the damage caused by flood waters in New Orleans.


Attempts to stop the flooding have failed, the water level rising a foot an hour, filling the city like a giant soup bowl.


Raised sections of interstate have become dry but deserted islands for refugees.


Boats floating down highways and roads were left stranded when waters receded.


Tuesday. August 30th, 2005

Our electricity, surprisingly, came on during that night. In fact, during the worst of the storm, only our electricity and cable went out. Our landline phones remained intact and our cell phones only lost service for a day at most. I was able to listen to the radio and call whomever I needed. I made sure some family members and close friends were okay, reported the power outage, and called my parents. I obviously wasn't planning on going to work, but I was dying to know what was going on elsewhere. I tried to find my rabbit ears but came up empty. So I drove to wal-mart, hopeful they were open, and bought a pair. Then I stopped at Chad's and surveyed the damage. I went home and turned on the tv, to which I was glued for the remainder of the day. The devastation of my home state and even other states was overwhelming...
Overwhelmed... that's the best state of emotion that I can express. Everything is overwhelming... the loss of life, the destruction and damage of a city that I've grown to love to visit. I was just there in July... we went to see the beautiful zoo and aquarium and walked around the historic French Quarter, where I officially got the most drunk I have ever been in my life. Knowing that this will never be the same... at least not for a long, long time.
The effect of hurricane Katrina in the immediate area around me was very apparent. I was the only person I knew in my area for electricity... and as I write this... still am. The course of action for state officials at this time was to save lives. Forget property... all resources went to search and rescue, of which there was a lot to do. As I watched footage of flooding New Orleans, of a tattered Superdome holding some 30,000 refugees, of burning buildings and stranded people everywhere. I cried...


The People...


The mandatory evacuation of the entire Southeast region of Louisiana has left many instantly homeless and desperate to get back to their homes. Those who do not turn back around are camping and waiting... for a very long time.


This is a common scene in Baton Rouge, people just walking along the interstate with one or two pieces of luggage... because they have no where to go.


Those who did not survive have to be left. Saving lives is the priority.


Thousands of people have been rescued from their rooftops. Many who had no other option but to stay at home, cut holes in their roofs from the attic to be rescued.


Not even the dead were unaffected by hurricane Katrina. New Orleans is a city known for having to bury their dead above ground.


Looting has become a very blatant crime. With no way to stop them, the police are forced to stand by and wait for reinforcements. They are keeping their focus on saving the lives of the individuals who are stranded and want to be saved.


Wednesday. August 31th, 2005

I attempted normalcy. I went to get my prescription filled. At that moment, I realized it wouldn't be back to normal, even though the hurricane had not hit my home hard. I waited for 2 and half hours for my prescription. The store was flooded with people buying more supplies and generators, because they still did not have power and most had extra people. After the madness there, I went to work... but there was madness everywhere. The streets of Baton Rouge were jam packed with what seemed like millions of extra cars. Everything was a four way stop because the traffic lights were still out and there were more accidents than I ever care to see in my entire life because no one apparently knows how a four way stop works.
When I FINALLY got to work, I was able to go online and read news reports and see the latest images. It became more overwhelming as the impact that this would have on our daily living here in Baton Rouge became more and more apparent. Overnight it had become the largest city in the state with the infrastructure stretched beyond capacity. People were living with family members in their homes. If there was a student at LSU, there was now entire families in that tiny dorm room.
The roads, the stores, the supply line all had to compensate for thousands of thousands of new citizens and it simply couldn't. Baton Rouge is the largest and closest metropolitan area to the disaster area, making it the dwelling place of all those desperate people waiting to be let back home. And they won't be, for a long time... which gets longer with every news report I read. People are trying to drive back only to have to turn back around or camp down as close as they can get. There are people just walking along the roads and the interstate in whatever condition with one or two pieces of luggage or a bagful of belongings.
Crime has risen here instantaneously... not only with the different kind of people... but with how desperate they are. How incredibly horrible the living conditions are although its the best that can be done at the moment. There are long lines for gas and the basic necessities every where you go. It's the first time I've ever been scared to be in my beloved city of Baton Rouge... its quiet neighborhoods and peaceful, beautiful landscape. People who lived here before are terrified. Gun sales have risen because cars have been stolen and stores have been robbed.
It doesn't even begin to compare with what is going on down in New Orleans. I find the actions of those looting to be despicable. It is not often that I talk of anyone in racial terms... but this disaster has brought out the white trash and the niggers... it has made me that mad to watch the film of these scum of human beings take advantage of a national catastrophe... so they can have a new pair of jeans. If I were in command... forget marshal law... they had their warnings and their way to get out and act like decent people. Shoot on sight.
Meanwhile, the news of heartfelt support of the entire country has reached my ears. The donations to the Red Cross and other support groups means so much to those who don't know where the food and diapers for their babies and children are going to come from. Things are being taken care of in as best and efficient way possible. People are opening their wallets... not only at the gas pump because they have to... but writing the check they know they can't afford to write... because they know it will go to help someone in need.
Things such as this certainly bring out the worst and the best in people.

Scenes of Destruction from Mississippi and Alabama


Casinos, a immense source of revenue for the state of Mississippi, were destroyed by massive waves and high winds from hurricane Katrina.








Thursday. September 1st, 2005

So what now brown cow? Just how exactly will this affect how we live. Well, as of right now... there are no kids in school. Dare I say that half our state will be set back an entire school year while their homes, schools, playgrounds get rebuilt. What about all the people in college? Where are the Saints going to play? The Hornets? The Green Weenies? What happens to people's sources of income, the state's economy, commerce? What happens when over 2 or 3 million people have to start over with nothing? There are so many questions... and no answers as of yet.
Right now, I can't even get my bank account balance... Hibernia was based out of New Orleans. While this is a temporary inconvenience, I have friends who lost businesses, jobs, vehicles, everything they own. No one from the highest executive to the lowest janitor was exempt from this disaster. They have all been made equal. For some, this was bittersweet... while one friend just recently accepted a rather nice job in New Orleans and barely there one month, therefore, loosing everything he owned, another friend, who was planning to open an art gallery in the riverwalk, is having to look elsewhere... but for him at least this happened prior to a grand opening and even more hard work went down the drain.
The surprising question I failed to ask at first... but obviously because humans are more important. What happened to the animals at the zoo... and the aquarium? After some research and emailing the local news group for information, I found out that none of the animals were evacuated. Employees stayed behind to feed and run generators. There is little communication, but the employees at the aquarium had to be pulled out because of the increasing violence. At the Audubon Zoo, first reports were that there were no deaths except for... several flamingos. All other zoos in surrounding areas reported sustained damage but no deaths. You can check www.aza.org for updates. If anyone wants to volunteer to round me up a penguin... please call me and let me know ;)



Friday, September 2nd, 2005
Today is my brother's 25th birthday... and thus, this is the last I write for the time being on hurricane Katrina... at least on this post. Although I know it will be a long long time until things get back to normal, I will try to make it as normal as it can be. I will probably be very frustrated with how slowly things fall back into place. Of course, I have my own thoughts and opinions on what to do... but there is too much to voice... too much to think about. I have to let my brain finally rest. My dog is safe, my turtle is safe, everyone I love is safe... and that's is what is important
Right now, I am working from home... I will go back to work on Tuesday with the hope that things will have settled down a little bit. Hopefully, the 311 & Papa Roach concert won't be canceled... it would be nice to go and forget about things for a while. Life around here will be different with so many new people, everyone scrambling to find a place to live temporarily and temporary jobs and places to put their kids in school. LSU will resume classes as normal next week. I can't wait for football to begin, although, for my two favorite teams it will be considerably delayed or relocated. Sports always manages to bring back a sense of spirit, and the residents of Louisiana will need it.
My parents were able to beg and get a refund on their tickets from NYC to New Orleans... and were able to get the last two seats on a plane to Baton Rouge. They will be home Sunday... and I won't be alone anymore. I am the sole member of my family to weather hurricane Katrina and all its fury. I pray the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama can recover as soon as possible.