Prayers Please...

It was barely a week ago my sister (who lives in Central Flordia) and I were making fun of, Tropical Storm Katrina and the bad punny headlines that would come from that storm: "Katrina and the Waves - Walking on the Sunshine State." Now, to say it's a bit more serious than that would be a dire understatement.

Hurricane Katrina is hitting my hometown. Our families have evacuated to various safe havens far away from New Orleans. We haven't heard from any of then since early Sunday morning. The cell phone network is completely tied up. And, we have no idea if my father-in-law evacuated or not. Your prayers for my family's safety and well-being would greatly be appreciated.

Looking at the storm track and applying a little bit of Hurricane history/knowledge, I feel ok about my hometown of Thibodaux's chances of surviving the storm. My parent's home will be hit with high winds and lots of rain, but should pull out of it ust fine. They recently cut down big old trees to lessen the chances of one of them falling on the house. I get the feeling Thibodaux will be mostly fine.

My wife's family lives in New Orleans, where the worst part of the storm is expected to hit. Sure, the worst winds (presently clocked at 155mph, sustained... Gusts are higher) and the most heavy rains will do the city much harm. But, it's the storm surge that will fuck the city. Every news report I have seen about New Orleans says the city is a bowl. That's true, New Orleans is below sea level and the levee system it has set up can keep (I believe) 13' of water out of the city. Plus, the pump system can handle a little more than an inch of rain an hour. Trouble is the storm surge is expected to be 20-25', about 10 feet more than the levees. Add to that the possibility of 4-12" of rain an hour and New Orleans is going to be very soggy for a while.

I'll update you on our families as soon as we hear anything from them. In the mean time, please pray for their safety and for the well-being of everyone in SE Louisiana and SW Mississipi. Thank you.