All day Sunday, the cable news networks were predicting the end of civilization for New Orleans because Katrina was a category 5 hurricane and it would simply “wipe out” the city. However, by the end of the day Monday it was apparent that the Cresent City had survived, although definately worse for the wear. Today, however, we learn that Katrina’s full wrath has yet to be unleased upon the Big Easy, as damage continues to accumulate.
In New Orleans, water began rising in the streets Tuesday morning, apparently because of a break on a levee along a canal leading to Lake Pontchartrain. New Orleans lies mostly below sea level and is protected by a network of pumps, canals and levees. Many of the pumps were not working Tuesday morning.
Water was knee-deep around the Superdome and lapped at the edge of the French Quarter. Canal Street was literally a canal. Little islands of red ants floated in the gasoline-fouled waters through downtown. The Hyatt Hotel and other high-rise buildings around the Superdome had rows and rows of shattered windows. The city considered bringing in barges to provide electricity.
Reports state that the break in the levey is about 200 feet wide, and that water is pouring in unfettered. Radio reports have revealed that the water may not stop until it is as high as the lake’s water level.
As bad as New Orleans is, it seems that Gulf Port and Biloxi got hit harder. The death toll for Mississippi is estimated to be as high 80 people, most of which were killed when a single apartment complex was destroyed.
The biggest known cluster of deaths was at the Quiet Water Beach apartments in Biloxi, a red-brick beachfront complex of about 100 units. Harrison County, Miss., emergency operations center spokesman Jim Pollard said about 30 people died there.
As horrible as all of this is, I’m glad that it wasn’t nearly as bad as the folks on the cable news channels and at the National Weather Service were predicting:
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. MANY 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 POSSIBLY TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. MANY 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 MAY LAST FOR WEEKS…AS MANY 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.
The fact that a lot of these predictions did not come true are no doubt due to the weakening of Katrina prior to landfall.
August 30th, 2005 at 8:59 pm
I’m from New Orleans (now live in FL). The destruction is Biblical. I have trouble typing thinking that 90% of the homes are damaged. Same thing for buildings.