https://spacecityweather.com/tropical-system-organizing-and-it-may-go-east-of-houston/
Head's up, there's a tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico that has a 90% chance (NWS estimate) of turning into a powerful hurricane hitting somewhere along the Texas to Louisiana coasts. Keep in mind, a lot of the nation's chemical plants and refineries are in this area. If they shut down out of precaution or are actually hit and damaged, supply chain issues will get even worse.
-Blast
windy.com is my goto site these days for forecasts.
https://www.windy.com/pois?2021083006,29.973,-90.089,5,i:pressure
It defaults to the European model which shows fun this weekend for my AO.
What joy 😒
Just got a message from weather channel. Ida expected to make landfall as a cat 4
RAPTOR. I know you're busy getting ready for this storm, but when you get the chance in the next few days . Please check in with us. Godspeed
1. Hurricane and tropical storm conditions are ending over Cuba.
However, Ida will continue to bring periods of heavy rain across
western Cuba through today that may lead to flash flooding and
mudslides.
2. There is a danger of life-threatening storm surge inundation
Sunday along the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi within the
Storm Surge Warning area. Extremely life-threatening inundation of
10 to 15 feet above ground level is possible within the area from
Morgan City, Louisiana, to the Mouth of the Mississippi River.
Interests throughout the warning area should follow any advice given
by local officials.
3. Ida is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when
it reaches the coast of Louisiana. Hurricane-force winds are
expected Sunday in portions of the Hurricane Warning area along the
Louisiana coast, including metropolitan New Orleans, with
potentially catastrophic wind damage possible where the core of Ida
moves onshore. Actions to protect life and property should be rushed
to completion in the warning area.
4. Ida is likely to produce heavy rainfall later Sunday into Monday
across the central Gulf Coast from southeast Louisiana to coastal
Mississippi resulting in significant flash and riverine flooding
impacts. As Ida moves inland, flooding impacts are possible across
portions of the Lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys.
A sitrep from NOLA.
No mandatory evacuation of the city us planned. As long as Ida stays to the west of NOLA the storm surge is not likely to exceed 12 feet. That is manageable. Katrina had 20 to 25 feet.
I am staying in my house for this one. Though i am prepared to go if things change.
Ida is moving fast but the GOM is very warm and will fuel Ida. So that is the wild card.
I have not been to any stores or anyplace except my yard today. It is beutiful day clear, calm winds. The proverbial calm before the storm.
Yesterday I drove past Costco and Sams. They were packed as were gas stations. I filled up Thursday and need nothing in the way of supplies. I did the routine gasoline rotation 2 weeks ago and my spare gasoline is fresh. The generator has diesel and the NG generator was serviced in May so at least 1 should work.
The stocks of bottled water are flying off the shelves. Sorry a sore point with me there. There is no reason to need bottled water if you buy water jugs. For the same cost as a coubple of cases of bottled water you can buy an inexpensive 5 gallon water container that will hold more water and last years.
FYI the Saints game was not cancelled just played early today.
My biggest concerns for the city is a likely multiday power outage. Zeta had power out for about a week. That and the buffoons who run NOLA drainage system still cannot get the pumps to work when the utility supplies power. They are "working " on the back up generation plants but thier track record screams incompetence. So IMO street flooding is a significant risk.
Quote from: Raptor on August 28, 2021, 11:40:46 AM
A sitrep from NOLA.
No mandatory evacuation of the city us planned. As long as Ida stays to the west of NOLA the storm surge is not likely to exceed 12 feet. That is manageable. Katrina had 20 to 25 feet.
I am staying in my house for this one. Though i am prepared to go if things change.
Ida is moving fast but the GOM is very warm and will fuel Ida. So that is the wild card.
I have not been to any stores or anyplace except my yard today. It is beutiful day clear, calm winds. The proverbial calm before the storm.
Yesterday I drove past Costco and Sams. They were packed as were gas stations. I filled up Thursday and need nothing in the way of supplies. I did the routine gasoline rotation 2 weeks ago and my spare gasoline is fresh. The generator has diesel and the NG generator was serviced in May so at least 1 should work.
The stocks of bottled water are flying off the shelves. Sorry a sore point with me there. There is no reason to need bottled water if you buy water jugs. For the same cost as a coubple of cases of bottled water you can buy an inexpensive 5 gallon water container that will hold more water and last years.
FYI the Saints game was not cancelled just played early today.
My biggest concerns for the city is a likely multiday power outage. Zeta had power out for about a week. That and the buffoons who run NOLA drainage system still cannot get the pumps to work when the utility supplies power. They are "working " on the back up generation plants but thier track record screams incompetence. So IMO street flooding is a significant risk.
Family staying with you or did you send them somplace out of the path of IDA ?
As per usual, the Interstate 10 deluge....
(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/08/28/16/47211753-9935571-image-a-90_1630166240662.jpg)
Quote from: RickOShea on August 28, 2021, 02:36:47 PM
As per usual, the Interstate 10 deluge....
(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/08/28/16/47211753-9935571-image-a-90_1630166240662.jpg)
That picture is not NOLA. Does it say where thar is?
A quick check of Google maps traffic shows I-10 moving slow to the East between NOLA and Slidell and in parts of Baton Rouge but othereise traffic is moderate.
If i want to leave I would head north if I was going by car.
I still have an option on my regular "Last flight out" with a local charter company. But I think it will be ok.
As for my family my kids are grown so only my wife my oets and me. My wife knows i love HVAC,crushed ice and coffee. All of which need power so she buttoned up the farm and came here.
Quote from: RickOShea on August 28, 2021, 02:36:47 PM
As per usual, the Interstate 10 deluge....
(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/08/28/16/47211753-9935571-image-a-90_1630166240662.jpg)
That picture is not NOLA. Does it say where thar is?
A quick check of Google maps traffic shows I-10 moving slow to the East between NOLA and Slidell and in parts of Baton Rouge but othereise traffic is moderate.
If i want to leave I would head north if I was going by car.
I still have an option on my regular "Last flight out" with a local charter company. But I think it will be ok.
As for my family my kids are grown so only my wife my pets and me. My wife knows i love HVAC,crushed ice and coffee. All of which need power so she buttoned up the farm and came here. She does not play well with generators.
Quote from: Raptor on August 28, 2021, 02:57:54 PM
That picture is not NOLA. Does it say where thar is?
LOL. Upon closer inspection I believe its the 405 Freeway.
I was watching the WWL TV livestream on Youtube a while ago and they were showing the I-10 back-up around NOLA. When I did a GIS search for "I-10 New Orleans", this tweet/picture popped-up.
My bad. :clownshoes:
Well stay safe. Hopefully you do not have to start another thread that begins with Ida experiences Note this is very long.
Holy smokes I fear the present administration is not up to the task for a Katrina level event
https://youtu.be/yDhRFKNprKE
I'm a Red Cross shelter manager and have been activated for the Orange County Expo shelter. I'm doing the night shift (8pm-8am) for client registrations, signing people in. Hopefully I won't be too busy.
-Blast
I'll be working at the Red Cross shelter set up at the Orange County Expo, Sun-Tues, signing in evacuees 8pm-8am. If possible, I'll report what I see.
-Blast
Quote from: Blast on August 28, 2021, 05:39:45 PM
I'll be working at the Red Cross shelter set up at the Orange County Expo, Sun-Tues, signing in evacuees 8pm-8am. If possible, I'll report what I see.
-Blast
Good luck
000
WTNT64 KNHC 291057
TCUAT4
Hurricane Ida Tropical Cyclone Update
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL092021
600 AM CDT Sun Aug 29 2021
...NOAA PLANE FINDS IDA STRONGER...
...EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE IDA EXPECTED TO MAKE
LANDFALL IN SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA LATER TODAY...
Reports from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum
sustained winds have increased to near 150 mph (240 km/h) with
higher gusts. The latest minimum central pressure estimated from
reconnaissance aircraft data is 935 mb (27.61 in).
An elevated NOAA C-MAN station at Pilot's Station East near
Southwest Pass, Louisiana, recently reported a sustained wind of 82
mph (131 km/h) and a gust to 107 mph (172 km/h). Another NOAA
elevated C-MAN station at Southwest Pass recently reported a
sustained wind of 77 mph (124 km/h) and a wind gust of 93 mph (150
km/h).
SUMMARY OF 600 AM CDT...1100 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...28.3N 89.4W
ABOUT 75 MI...120 KM SSE OF GRAND ISLE LOUISIANA
ABOUT 60 MI...95 KM SSW OF THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...150 MPH...240 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 315 DEGREES AT 15 MPH...24 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...935 MB...27.61 INCHES
$$
Forecaster Brown/Brennan
Plus, that photo seems equally backed up in both directions...are they doing contraflow at this point?
They are saying Ida can still strengthen before landfall. Only 7 MPH more and it's a cat 5
Hope all of you in the path of this had time to prepare sufficiently.
The aftermath of Katrina had a large affect on me regarding preparedness, and now that I live near the Gulf in FL I have a much more personal understanding of what resources are needed. Not sure how much can be done about a monster like this shy of running.
Quote from: CG on August 29, 2021, 08:28:32 AMPlus, that photo seems equally backed up in both directions...are they doing contraflow at this point?
I would think so....it's time to go.
You, Chimp, & boskone are all inland, yeah?
Quote from: MPMalloy on August 29, 2021, 09:40:16 AM
Quote from: CG on August 29, 2021, 08:28:32 AMPlus, that photo seems equally backed up in both directions...are they doing contraflow at this point?
I would think so....it's time to go.
You, Chimp, & boskone are all inland, yeah?
CG and I are in the western part of the state (closer to New Mexico than Louisiana) and I believe Boskone is near Houston.
He's mentioned Central Texas a couple times, but I think that's where his parents live.
I'm far enough away that I can only watch and hope for the best.
What local media would you recommend following? WFAA was mentiones in the general hurricanes thread, and there's WAFB:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0DyWX3BtbM
For print media I'm only really aware of the Times-Picayune's https://www.nola.com/
Is there anyone else local I should be following? (I know the big-name national broadcasters all have their own coverage but I'd rather hear from locals.)
000
WTNT64 KNHC 291653
TCUAT4
Hurricane Ida Tropical Cyclone Update
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL092021
1155 AM CDT Sun Aug 29 2021
...EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE IDA MAKES LANDFALL NEAR
PORT FOURCHON LOUISIANA...
NOAA Doppler radar imagery indicates that the eye of Ida made
landfall along the southeastern coast of Louisiana near Port
Fourchon around 1155 AM CDT (1655 UTC). Data from an Air Force
Reserve reconnaissance aircraft and Doppler radar data indicate that
Ida's maximum sustained winds at landfall were estimated to be 150
mph (240 km/h). The latest minimum central pressure estimated from
reconnaissance aircraft data is 930 mb (27.46 in).
Within the past hour, sustained winds of 43 mph (69 km/h) and a
gust to 67 mph (107 km/h) were reported at Lakefront Airport in New
Orleans.
A NOAA National Ocean Service tide gauge in Shell Beach, Louisiana,
recently reported a water level of 6.4 feet above mean higher high
water, which is an approximation of inundation in that area.
A NOAA National Ocean Service tide gauge at Bay Waveland Yacht Club,
Mississippi, recently reported a water level of 5.5 feet above mean
higher high water, which is an approximation of inundation in that
area.
SUMMARY OF 1155 AM CDT...1655 UTC...INFORMATION
-----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...29.1N 90.2W
ABOUT 15 MI...25 KM SW OF GRAND ISLE LOUISIANA
ABOUT 45 MI...75 KM SE OF HOUMA LOUISIANA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...150 MPH...240 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 320 DEGREES AT 13 MPH...20 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...930 MB...27.46 INCHES
$$
Forecaster Brown/Brennan
Quote from: CG on August 29, 2021, 08:28:32 AM
Plus, that photo seems equally backed up in both directions...are they doing contraflow at this point?
Nope, no contraflow. The Gub'mint said there wasn't enough time to implement it.
https://www.wdsu.com/article/it-wont-work-new-orleans-mayor-on-advice-she-got-on-contraflow-for-ida/37423644 (https://www.wdsu.com/article/it-wont-work-new-orleans-mayor-on-advice-she-got-on-contraflow-for-ida/37423644)
nola.com which is also theadvocate.com is garbage it is full is half truths. It is for official announcements but it is not the information source it was for katrina.
wwltv.com is better but not much.
Kind of funny but i rely on out of town sources for most local data.
good alternate sources:
entergy.com outage map shows pretty accurate
real time power outages.
google traffic is good for road closures due to flooding.
Most of the folks who evacuated from NOLA seemed to have gone to FL.
The folks in Lafayette to Lake Chuck seem to be going to TX. Note not fact just based upn a few discussions and looking at Google traffic flow.
Thanks Raptor!
WWLTV have a live stream here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D7pQxnOIjI
We've had four tornado warnings so far today in my county....luckily, most of these hurricane related tornados are short-lived.
(https://i.postimg.cc/MGH0Xvpc/tornado.jpg)
https://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KNEW.html
This is a link to NOLA lakefront airport knew.
It is a very exposed airport and these are fairly accurate real time readings since it has an ils approach.
Rick , how close are you to Enterprise ? I have family there /
Quote from: flybynight on August 29, 2021, 02:22:02 PM
Rick , how close are you to Enterprise ? I have family there /
Enterprise is about 125 miles ENE of me.....but I went to college near there, and I have witnessed the magnificence of the Boll Weevil monument.
That storm chaser guy, Reed Timmer, is livestreaming from the Houma area....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99S7tMwoHtQ
Quote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on August 29, 2021, 10:33:24 AM
Quote from: MPMalloy on August 29, 2021, 09:40:16 AM
Quote from: CG on August 29, 2021, 08:28:32 AMPlus, that photo seems equally backed up in both directions...are they doing contraflow at this point?
I would think so....it's time to go.
You, Chimp, & boskone are all inland, yeah?
CG and I are in the western part of the state (closer to New Mexico than Louisiana) and I believe Boskone is near Houston.
He's mentioned Central Texas a couple times, but I think that's where his parents live.
I was thinking College Station, but that might be Phil. Merri is Houston-ish.
If Chimp and I ever get a hurricane out here, pretty certain that means that Houston, San Antonio, and Austin are all under water.
Quote from: CG on August 29, 2021, 03:50:38 PM
Quote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on August 29, 2021, 10:33:24 AM
Quote from: MPMalloy on August 29, 2021, 09:40:16 AM
Quote from: CG on August 29, 2021, 08:28:32 AMPlus, that photo seems equally backed up in both directions...are they doing contraflow at this point?
I would think so....it's time to go.
You, Chimp, & boskone are all inland, yeah?
CG and I are in the western part of the state (closer to New Mexico than Louisiana) and I believe Boskone is near Houston.
He's mentioned Central Texas a couple times, but I think that's where his parents live.
I was thinking College Station, but that might be Phil. Merri is Houston-ish.
If Chimp and I ever get a hurricane out here, pretty certain that means that Houston, San Antonio, and Austin are all under water.
Phil is either College Station or Bryan. I'm not 100 percent on that one.
DFW, if anyone remembers him, was in Austin the last I heard from him. Barr is near there as well.
He wasn't on the old boards, but I've got a brother in Bridge City and if they get an evacuation order (which I doubt they will, but anything's possible at this point) he and his wife may be heading out here to get away from any storm activity.
I got a text from raptor saying "no power, no internet, otherwise all ok".
Quote from: RickOShea on August 29, 2021, 03:17:54 PM
That storm chaser guy, Reed Timmer, is livestreaming from the Houma area....
I was watching that stream when it dropped out. I was worried that the masonry building he was sheltering behind had fallen on him.
Turns out he wasn't dead after all :D and came back with this video which is almost as crazy as those Canadians-driving-through-a-wildfire ones were a couple of years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNeylnSNw3c
I don;t know what cell network he's using for the stream but full marks to them for keeping it operational.
security CAM FOOTAGE. before/AFTER
https://youtu.be/VgSHpfZIBSg
So Last evening. About six thirty . We are watching a a live stream by a chaser in NOLA. Our time is the same as New Orleans And the Sun is still up and it's bright outside. The Livestream shows NOLA as pitch black with a thin strip of brightness on the horizon
https://streetwise.nola.gov/
Quote from: MPMalloy on August 29, 2021, 07:28:34 PM
I got a text from raptor saying "no power, no internet, otherwise all ok".
Pretty much all of New Orleans and surrounding areas look to be without power at the moment. Entergy has 800k+ customers without power. I'm slightly surprised to find that cellphone service is still up.
Daybreak will be fairly soon? We'll start getting pictures from the affected areas once there's enough light for the news crews and other folk on the ground.
Quote from: sheddi on August 30, 2021, 06:05:06 AM
Quote from: MPMalloy on August 29, 2021, 07:28:34 PM
I got a text from raptor saying "no power, no internet, otherwise all ok".
Pretty much all of New Orleans and surrounding areas look to be without power at the moment. Entergy has 800k+ customers without power. I'm slightly surprised to find that cellphone service is still up.
Daybreak will be fairly soon? We'll start getting pictures from the affected areas once there's enough light for the news crews and other folk on the ground.
In the US, cell phone service has been pretty independent of gird function. My bet is the cell towers have batteries or generators and once those die, then cell service dies.
Local news is reporting the electric transmission lines leading to the city are damaged
https://streetwise.nola.gov/
street closures by flooding or debris
Quote from: sheddi on August 30, 2021, 03:59:55 AM
Quote from: RickOShea on August 29, 2021, 03:17:54 PM
That storm chaser guy, Reed Timmer, is livestreaming from the Houma area....
I was watching that stream when it dropped out. I was worried that the masonry building he was sheltering behind had fallen on him.
Turns out he wasn't dead after all :D and came back with this video which is almost as crazy as those Canadians-driving-through-a-wildfire ones were a couple of years ago:
Yeah, I was switching back-and-forth between Timmer's and Aaron Jayjack's streams. They were both sitting in the same parking lot in Houma, waiting for the eye to pass over. But then Ida made a big jog to the east, and that's when they both had to haul arse about 15 miles to the north east to get back to the eye.
---------------------------------------
https://www.facebook.com/ColleenMarieWX/posts/241037191359459
https://youtu.be/QBMMTA22l8o
This just in from raptor:
QuoteAll ok nota Katrina i listened to the news reports and what you will hear ia not what i see in nola. At&t is out and internet down. No flooding just a bunch of pita wind damage.
Hopefully this turns out to be the last major storm of the season.
https://youtu.be/UJR3VVO08A0
Near as I can see on their web page. Only four waffle house locations closed in New Orleans region
From what I can see from WWLTV there's a lot of wind damage but less flooding than feared.
OTOH they're reporting that power could be out for three weeks :eek1: so Raptor's generators are going to get a good work-out!
Per raptor @ 1005 hrs:
QuoteAll ok comms are black hole
Quote from: MPMalloy on August 31, 2021, 05:44:22 PM
Per raptor @ 1005 hrs: QuoteAll ok comms are black hole
Ask him if there's anything we can do for him.
Quote from: flybynight on August 31, 2021, 06:58:35 PMQuote from: MPMalloy on August 31, 2021, 05:44:22 PMPer raptor @ 1005 hrs: QuoteAll ok comms are black hole
Ask him if there's anything we can do for him.
Will do; how are you?
A bunch of my guys were supposed to leave this morning for Washington-St. Tammany Electric, the same utility we worked at for hurricane Katrina....but right at the last minute our crews were told to "stand-by".
I'm not sure what the situation is. For Katrina we were there for six weeks, with crews rotating out every two weeks. Maybe WSTE already has all they can handle right now, and our guys will go in the second wave.
raptor decamp'd for his farm. He has grid power, no gas to be had, & he stated he check in here when he can.
FBN: I passed your traffic.
Quote from: MPMalloy on August 31, 2021, 09:26:53 PM
Quote from: flybynight on August 31, 2021, 06:58:35 PMQuote from: MPMalloy on August 31, 2021, 05:44:22 PMPer raptor @ 1005 hrs: QuoteAll ok comms are black hole
Ask him if there's anything we can do for him.
Will do; how are you?
Hurricane free. ( makes sense,Kansas ya know :awesome:) Tired of the heat.
Quote from: MPMalloy on September 01, 2021, 12:38:01 PM
raptor decamp'd for his farm. He has grid power, no gas to be had, & he stated he check in here when he can.
FBN: I passed your traffic.
Good to hear Raptor is ok.
Anyone heard from Blast or Boskone ?
Quote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on September 01, 2021, 05:04:12 PM
Quote from: MPMalloy on September 01, 2021, 12:38:01 PM
raptor decamp'd for his farm. He has grid power, no gas to be had, & he stated he check in here when he can.
FBN: I passed your traffic.
Good to hear Raptor is ok.
Anyone heard from Blast or Boskone ?
Blast is tired from working the shelter, but back home.
Quote from: CG on September 01, 2021, 06:00:13 PMQuote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on September 01, 2021, 05:04:12 PMQuote from: MPMalloy on September 01, 2021, 12:38:01 PMraptor decamp'd for his farm. He has grid power, no gas to be had, & he stated he check in here when he can.
FBN: I passed your traffic.
Good to hear Raptor is ok. Anyone heard from Blast or Boskone?
Blast is tired from working the shelter, but back home.
I can only imagine how draining that work can be, on a few (or more) levels.
But also rewarding :)
Quote from: CG on September 01, 2021, 06:00:13 PM
Quote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on September 01, 2021, 05:04:12 PM
Quote from: MPMalloy on September 01, 2021, 12:38:01 PM
raptor decamp'd for his farm. He has grid power, no gas to be had, & he stated he check in here when he can.
FBN: I passed your traffic.
Good to hear Raptor is ok.
Anyone heard from Blast or Boskone ?
Blast is tired from working the shelter, but back home.
Good to hear.
I wonder how Boskone fared. If I remember correctly, he's somewhere near Blast's AO.
Raptor's AAR thread is here:
https://ufozs.com/smf/index.php?topic=431.0
Hurricane Ida AAR:
I worked a shelter in Orange, TX from Sunday afternoon until Tuesday morning. This was an overflow shelter, meaning when people arrived at another shelter that was full the people were brought to us. This shelter was located approximately 150 miles east of the storm zone and so there was no storm damage at this location.
The shelter was just off I-10, the main interstate between Houston and New Orleans. The gas station there was out of fuel by about 10pm Sunday evening but did seem to get regular fuel shipments in the following days. It became a staging area for a lot of convoys heading to the storm zone.
As an overflow shelter, the volunteers weren't local. Most were flown in from other locations. Orange, TX is two hours from Houston and I was the only TX resident working there. The other volunteers were from Oregon, Chicago, Arizona, and Washington D.C.
Clients started arriving Monday morning, coming in with nothing. Most came from areas where their entire neighborhood was flattened. We give everyone a toiletries bag (soap, shampoo, kleenix, deodorant, feminine protection, razor, comb, toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss), a towel (one towel for entire stay), two blankets, and a cot.
Pets aren't allowed in Red Cross shelters, only service animals specifically train to perform a physical feat the owner can't do. "Emotional support" animals don't meet this requirement. One family ended up having to drive an hour to deliver their cat to an animal shelter that could care for it while the owners were in the shelter.
Insurance companies book up entire hotels in the region to put up their customers who lost their homes. Remaining rooms are taken by assorted repair crews. If you needed a hotel room it was probably going to be 200 miles away from the impacted zone. Red Cross volunteers either slept in our vehicles or on cots with the rest of the clients.
Cell phone access was impacted even in Orange, TX. Most likely, since the shelter was in a fairly rural area, the nearby phone towers were being overloaded by people on I-10.
The Red Cross's goal is no one stays in a shelter more than two days. We'll work with you to find alternative lodging with a friend, family, or even a hotel somewhere. The shelters are absolutely bare bones and most people want to get out ASAP. However, there are some people that for whatever reason don't have the ability to go anywhere else. These end up making the largest percentage of clients over time.
The Red Cross is mainly an organizing organization. They supply the cots, blankets, and care kits but contract out food delivers and any other consumables. Depending on the contract with the actual owner of the shelter facility, we may or may not have full access to everything in the shelter. Where I was we had access to several large rooms, bathrooms & showers, and a cafeteria area's tables and one fridge...but no coffee pots or microwaves. No...coffee...for...three...days.
Anti-Covid rules were in place, requiring everyone to be masked and constantly wiping everything down with bleach. Normally, every Red Cross shelter has at least an RN available on-site 24/7. For whatever reason, we did not have any sort of nurse, EMTs, or other medical personal beyond my level of training.
I did bring my ham radio equipment along but only used a 5-watt, handheld unit inside the shelter. I had programed it with the repeaters in range of the location, but there was very little chatter. I made one contact Monday night and that was it. I was hoping to find the Cajun Navy radio operators but was unsuccessful.
People are people, even more so in an extreme situation.
This was my 4th deployment but my first away from my regular shelter. It really opened my eyes to how well run and organized my "home" shelter is compared to the one I was at. It may just be another side effect of Covid's impact on society as a whole, though. That being said, I still love serving like this. The other volunteers were retried and just spend their days being moved from disaster to disaster by the Red Cross. They were a great bunch of people and I could see doing this someday.
Any questions?
-Blast
What was the damage, if any, like in Orange and the surrounding areas?
I've got a brother that lives over in Bridge City and he's yet to call or contact us over here in West Texas. I figure he's probably busy with work or helping his neighbors and hasn't had time to check in yet.
Quote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on September 02, 2021, 03:07:37 PM
What was the damage, if any, like in Orange and the surrounding areas?
No damage whatsoever in/around Orange, TX. Storm damage didn't really begin until about another 150 miles east of Orange, deep into Louisiana.
-Blast
Quote from: Blast on September 02, 2021, 05:02:20 PM
Quote from: 12_Gauge_Chimp on September 02, 2021, 03:07:37 PM
What was the damage, if any, like in Orange and the surrounding areas?
No damage whatsoever in/around Orange, TX. Storm damage didn't really begin until about another 150 miles east of Orange, deep into Louisiana.
-Blast
Thanks for the info, Blast.
I'm pleased to see more patches of green on the Entergy outage map this morning (UK time), although it's still a sea of red.
https://www.etrviewoutage.com/map?state=NOLA
Raptor's office building is in the green bit near the middle of the screenshot.
Quote from: sheddi on September 03, 2021, 02:32:27 AM
I'm pleased to see more patches of green on the Entergy outage map this morning (UK time), although it's still a sea of red.
https://www.etrviewoutage.com/map?state=NOLA
Raptor's office building is in the green bit near the middle of the screenshot.
If you zoom into areas of Metairie and Kenner you will find green spots. Those are the major power substations. They are not generation plants so that means the main transmission plants are getting power to those isolated substations...that is a good thing. That means the power restoration delay is due to the neighborhood lines and will progressively get going rapidly. As more lines fixed then more resources for the unfixed lines.
The hurricane in 2012 that hit Baton Rouge took down 4 main feeder lines which took 10 days to fix. That does not seem to be the case here.
I'm paying close attention to Metairie as the kids who bugged out to NC are set on returning Wednesday.
Entergy said my house in metairie had power. The map lied. I drove in and no joy. I did see significant progress but the power in parts of metaire is at least 5 days away. The areas with a lot of trees have a lot of power line infrastructure damage.
How does the city look?
It really does not look bad. There are still some power or cabe tv wires askew, but over all it does not look bad. The debris is nothing like Katrina. Zeta in October had as many branches down. Many of the yards still have debris. The issue is the number of power poles down.
The areas with the newer steel power poles faired much better than the areas with the 40 year old wooden poles...like my neighborhood.
Entergy claims that more power poles were down thanh Katrina and Zeta combined.
The gas situation is still tight in whole city. In rural MS no issue and no limits on gas.
Many folks are out of the area until Tuesday for Labor Day. I am staying on my farm until the power has been restored 24 hours.
Our son and family returned to Metairie today. Power is on. He stated that a bunch of the gas pumps in southern Miss and into the NOLA area are still bagged off. (I forgot to ask what route the took.) Rouses on Veteran's has food but choices are limited. I can post more of their experiences but it is probably of limited value to most.
Please do post about their experiences! I think all would interested.
BTW I too relocated back to Metairie today. The commute was getting silly.
Food and gas options are slowly improving.
He, although born in NOLA but was not raised there, has admitted he did not want to seem like a wuss for leaving when the other natives thought that riding it out would be like every other big storm. They had a big party the night before and thought it would all be good. Then the winds came and he could hear the damage being done to his roof and, as he, his wife and son we're huddled under their table/mattress shelter, he confessed he thought that this is how it ends. They couldn't wait to get out of there. Secured the house the best they could and headed out to his brother's in NC. 10 or so days later the power is on so they go home. Everyone is freaked out being back where they experienced this. Grandson not sleeping. Son says they're considering moving to somewhere else. Helping the neighbors get houses in order but is obviously shaken.
It really messes with your head when you think, "I've got this!" but you really don't. Good prep lesson in many ways.