dimanche 28 août 2005

Gawd.

(WWL TV has a good internet feed, for those wanting ongoing updates on Katrina.)

Meanwhile, NOAA, which Rick Santorum doesn't want to be able to give you weather information when Accu-Weather, which is headquartered in his state, can charge you for it, doesn't mince words:

THE FLOOD WATCH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA...
ASCENSION...ASSUMPTION...EAST BATON ROUGE...IBERVILLE...JEFFERSON...
LAFOURCHE...LIVINGSTON...ORLEANS...PLAQUEMINES...ST. BERNARD...ST.
CHARLES...ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST...ST. HELENA...ST. JAMES...ST.
TAMMANY...TANGIPAHOA...TERREBONNE...WASHINGTON...WEST BATON ROUGE

IN SOUTH MISSISSIPPI...
HANCOCK...HARRISON...JACKSON...PEARL RIVER...PIKE AND WALTHALL.

HURRICANE KATRINA...A LARGE AND MAJOR HURRICANE...IS EXPECTED TO MOVE
ACROSS SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI TONIGHT AND MONDAY.
IN ADDITION TO EXTREMELY DAMAGING WINDS AND STORM SURGE FLOODING...
BANDS OF VERY HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE ONSHORE THIS EVENING
AND SPREAD NORTH ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA LATE TONIGHT AND MONDAY.
RAINFALL TOTALS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES...WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF
15 INCHES...ARE POSSIBLE ALONG THE PATH OF KATRINA...MAINLY SOUTHEAST
OF A LINE FROM MCCOMB TO THE BATON ROUGE METROPOLITAN AREA.

INTENSE RAINFALL WILL LIKELY CAUSE FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS.
FLOODING WILL BE AGGREGATED IN AREAS OF HIGH TIDES...STORM SURGE...
AND EVENTUALLY RIVERS NEAR BANK-FULL.

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS RAPIDLY RISING WATER OR FLOODING IS
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA. IF YOU ARE IN THE WATCH AREA...CHECK
PREPAREDNESS REQUIREMENTS...KEEP INFORMED...AND BE READY FOR QUICK
ACTION IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED OR IF A WARNING IS ISSUED.


And here's what can be expected:

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 BE
KILLED.

AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WATCH IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR
HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS.

LAZ038-040-050-056>070-MSZ080>082-290300-
ASSUMPTION-HANCOCK-HARRISON-JACKSON-LIVINGSTON-LOWER JEFFERSON-
LOWER LAFOURCHE-LOWER PLAQUEMINES-LOWER ST. BERNARD-LOWER TERREBONNE-
ORLEANS-ST. CHARLES-ST. JAMES-ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST-ST. TAMMANY-
TANGIPAHOA-UPPER JEFFERSON-UPPER LAFOURCHE-UPPER PLAQUEMINES-
UPPER ST. BERNARD-UPPER TERREBONNE-
413 PM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005


We're quite possibly looking at the end of New Orleans...and we won't be able to blame either Al Qaeda OR Clinton's penis.

We may, however, want to think about global warming and then look at the SUVs on your street...perhaps in your own driveway.

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