Wondering about Drince88

Drince88 · 08-29-2005, 06:48 PM

Hey everyone!
Yes, I'm here in Dallas, TX - a very fun trip! It took about 12 hours - but the first 100 miles or so were the toughest/longest. My cat was actually pretty good about it, though!

Right now, I have no clue if I'm homeless. I'm not even sure how I'm going to be able to find that out without going there. At this point, I'm in this hotel until AT LEAST Saturday morning - depending on what the news reports are, I'll make a call then. One of the reasons I evacuated to Dallas was because my company has an office here, so I'm going to go into there tomorrow and try to get some work done. BUT I'm safe, my cat is safe, and I have flood insurance.

If any of you are seeing some of the coverage - the Hyatt is very near the SuperDome, and my office literally looked out on the Dome. I haven't seen pictures of our office building, but if my window blew out - there's a bunch of papers on Poydras with my handwriting on them --- when I left the office Friday afternoon, we were barely in the cone of uncertainty (Friday morning we were outside of it). If we'd thought at that point we were going to be leaving, I would have at least cleared off my desk into the file cabinet. Oh, the Hyatt is the hotel they're showing that has 3 or 4 concave archs to it, and one entire arch has all the windows blown out.

The other pictures I saw that are actually quite irritating to see, is of I-10 near the cemeteries. The interstate goes under the railroad tracks, and they just last year finished installing a LARGE new pump station - and supposedly it has no generator backup. Though I did hear that on the radio, so maybe the generators are underwater. But if they don't have generators, that was VERY poor planning.

Sorry for the long post - some times you just have to let stuff out. Thanks for having me on your list Scrooge McSam -- and thanks to everyone else for the thoughts/etc.

SacTown Chronic · 08-29-2005, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drince88

One of the reasons I evacuated to Dallas was because my company has an office here, so I'm going to go into there tomorrow and try to get some work done.

Holy crap....you're incredible.

Scrooge McSam · 08-30-2005, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drince88

Thanks for having me on your list Scrooge McSam -- and thanks to everyone else for the thoughts/etc.

Well, of course! I HAVE to look out for my NOLA folks. Y'all are neighbors!

It looks very bad, Drince. I'm 200 miles from shore and we got clobbered. I can only imagine how bad NOLA took it... especially since our cable and power has been off since yesterday afternoon and will most likely be off for days. I'm messaging from the Corps of Engineers emergency ops center and trying to soak up all the news I can. It was the "not knowing" last night that was so terrible. Word we're getting this morning is that the Gulfport/Biloxi area was "totally devastated". Hwy 90 is GONE. I-10 is closed.

I'm glad you got out when you did. Don't try to get back just yet. They won't let you back into the area.

SacTown Chronic · 08-30-2005, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scrooge McSam

It was the "not knowing" last night that was so terrible. Word we're getting this morning is that the Gulfport/Biloxi area was "totally devastated". Hwy 90 is GONE. I-10 is closed.

I'm reading but not really comprehending. I cannot wrap my mind around it.

We're anxious to hear from you again, Sam.

Scrooge McSam · 08-31-2005, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SacTown Chronic

I'm reading but not really comprehending. I cannot wrap my mind around it.

We're anxious to hear from you again, Sam.

Ask and ye shall receive

Clean up continues here, but very slowly. Most all of our local resources have been directed to the coast. Scattered spots of town are just now beginning to get power back. I'm waiting to hear from the Corps now if I'll need to go to work today. Late yesterday, the emergency ops teams we were supporting were dispatched further south. The past 2 days we've been working off a generator which provides only enough power for lights and a few scattered computers. If any of you have lived through a hurricane, you know the skies are generally clear right after and it gets dreadfully hot which is what we've seen. But people are pulling together, checking on their neighbors and getting the older folks some relief from the heat. There's not a generator for sale within miles of here. We heard last night that WalMart had dispatched trucks with generators to the general area.

I was able to get some television news last night for the first time. They were talking about a total mandatory evacuation from the NO metro area. As chilling as that sounds, I think it's for the best. Health conditions in the NO area are only going to get worse. I still haven't been able to get word from my friend who was hospitalized at Tulane, but I did hear they were evacuating patients to facilities outside of the damaged areas. Hopefully, I'll hear something today. I still don't have any word on how levee repairs are going. Those of you with uninterruped television coverage probably know more about that than I do.

If you haven't already, please consider sending a contribution to the Red Cross. They're in the thick of things down there and need our support. If not money, give blood.

I'll post again when I can.

SacTown Chronic · 08-31-2005, 06:54 AM

Thanks for the update, Sam.

Red Cross

Ghoulish Delight · 08-31-2005, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SacTown Chronic

I'm reading but not really comprehending. I cannot wrap my mind around it.

Go to MSNBC.com, click on the slideshow at the right side of the page, look at the second image and you'll see what's left (or not left) of the 90. It's unfathomable.

Gulfport Mississippi: This appears to be a large 3 story building in the middle of a 4 lane road.

scaeagles · 08-31-2005, 08:36 AM

I just heard on the news that the sand bag plan is not working. Apparently, they dumped lots of them there already, but the bags are just disappearing. The theory is that it isn't just the levee, but that the tremendous flow of water coming through has eroded a gigantic hole under where the levee used to be. They are not going to be able to plug it until there is someway to assess how much erosion there has been.

I think what we are looking at is a modern day "Grapes of Wrath". It will be several months - if not a year or more - until New Orleans is inhabitable again.

The plan now, as I understand it, is to build a temporary dam inside the lake that broke through the levee. This will stop the flow of water so they can pump out the flooding. Then the levee will have to be repaired. This process alone will take a couple months. After being submerged for a couple months, there will not be one structure that is salvagable. This means massive rebuilding, again taking months.

This time period means that the people that lived there will have to go somewhere else. How can you put your life on hold for a year? Kids need to go to school. Families need income. Families need shelter.

So they will migrate in all directions and settle elsewhere. I see no other alternative for those that lived in NO, and perhaps the same will apply to other communities.

Mind boggling and sobering. I watched the same news story that Wendybeth mentioned and it is amazing.

Scrooge McSam · 08-31-2005, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Gulfport Mississippi: This appears to be a large 3 story building in the middle of a 4 lane road.

It's a law here that gambling establishments must be free floating. The casinos you hear about are built on large barges. All the supporting parking, lobby, meeting and hotel space is built landside, but all the gambling occurs on these barges, 4 or 5 stories tall. That building is a PIECE of one of those casinos. You'll see other pictures where the entire casino barge has been pushed to the other side of Hwy 90.

08-29-2005, 06:48 PM	#1
Drince88 Senior Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 481	Hey everyone! Yes, I'm here in Dallas, TX - a very fun trip! It took about 12 hours - but the first 100 miles or so were the toughest/longest. My cat was actually pretty good about it, though! Right now, I have no clue if I'm homeless. I'm not even sure how I'm going to be able to find that out without going there. At this point, I'm in this hotel until AT LEAST Saturday morning - depending on what the news reports are, I'll make a call then. One of the reasons I evacuated to Dallas was because my company has an office here, so I'm going to go into there tomorrow and try to get some work done. BUT I'm safe, my cat is safe, and I have flood insurance. If any of you are seeing some of the coverage - the Hyatt is very near the SuperDome, and my office literally looked out on the Dome. I haven't seen pictures of our office building, but if my window blew out - there's a bunch of papers on Poydras with my handwriting on them --- when I left the office Friday afternoon, we were barely in the cone of uncertainty (Friday morning we were outside of it). If we'd thought at that point we were going to be leaving, I would have at least cleared off my desk into the file cabinet. Oh, the Hyatt is the hotel they're showing that has 3 or 4 concave archs to it, and one entire arch has all the windows blown out. The other pictures I saw that are actually quite irritating to see, is of I-10 near the cemeteries. The interstate goes under the railroad tracks, and they just last year finished installing a LARGE new pump station - and supposedly it has no generator backup. Though I did hear that on the radio, so maybe the generators are underwater. But if they don't have generators, that was VERY poor planning. Sorry for the long post - some times you just have to let stuff out. Thanks for having me on your list Scrooge McSam -- and thanks to everyone else for the thoughts/etc.
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08-31-2005, 06:54 AM	#6
SacTown Chronic the myth of the dream Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 2,217	Thanks for the update, Sam. Red Cross __________________ Is it the fingers, or the brain that you're teaching a lesson?
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08-31-2005, 08:36 AM	#8
scaeagles I LIKE! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,819	I just heard on the news that the sand bag plan is not working. Apparently, they dumped lots of them there already, but the bags are just disappearing. The theory is that it isn't just the levee, but that the tremendous flow of water coming through has eroded a gigantic hole under where the levee used to be. They are not going to be able to plug it until there is someway to assess how much erosion there has been. I think what we are looking at is a modern day "Grapes of Wrath". It will be several months - if not a year or more - until New Orleans is inhabitable again. The plan now, as I understand it, is to build a temporary dam inside the lake that broke through the levee. This will stop the flow of water so they can pump out the flooding. Then the levee will have to be repaired. This process alone will take a couple months. After being submerged for a couple months, there will not be one structure that is salvagable. This means massive rebuilding, again taking months. This time period means that the people that lived there will have to go somewhere else. How can you put your life on hold for a year? Kids need to go to school. Families need income. Families need shelter. So they will migrate in all directions and settle elsewhere. I see no other alternative for those that lived in NO, and perhaps the same will apply to other communities. Mind boggling and sobering. I watched the same news story that Wendybeth mentioned and it is amazing.
	Submit to Quotes