Mandatory Evacuation

Mandatory evacuation starts tomorrow. Buses will be available for those who have no transportation or need help. Bags are covering gas pumps-not a good sign. People are boarding their windows. There's such an eerie feeling already.

Mayors in Calcasieu Parish--the largest parish in Louisiana--are giving us encouragement and instruction as I type this.

Don't forget to take your pets! There are no public shelters for pets.

Ron LeLeux, poet/mayor of Sulphur, has spoken to Bayou Writers Group about poetry and inspiration.

Mayor Randy Roach, the son of my very good writer friend/critique partner Lena Roach, opened our BWG conference with encouraging words.

Our Calcasieu Parish leaders--our mayors, our police chief, our sheriff--are exceptional. They learned from Katrina and Rita. As efficient and prepared as they were three years ago, I'm glad to see that they seem even more prepared this go-around.

For anyone in the Calcacieu parish area, please sign up with http://www.calcashout.com/ for emergency information from parish officials. There's a place for several phone numbers and text messages.

The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness(GOHSEP) has activated a toll-free number citizens may call to get the latest information regarding Hurricane Gustav. Dial 1-866-288-2484 to listen to a recorded message with the most up-to-date information state officials have on the storm. Gustav is expected to impact Louisiana as early as Monday. Those with internet access can also visit this site for the latest information.

Take a tip from me, it's wise to clean out your 'frig before you leave town because if you come back home to a disaster. . . peeeeeeeeeee-U.

We've been told that southernly winds can cause us an 18 feet storm surge. Okay, I'm off to pick up everything I can and put it high. Don't know what that will accomplish, but at least I'll feel like I'm doing something.

Helpless--what a yucky feeling.

Happy Anniversary!

Here we go again. Packing up to pull out. Three years ago, when Rita ran us out of town, I vowed to organize my family pictures and genealogy so that all I'd have to do is grab and toss in the car. I started...but never finished. So when we roll out of the drive on Saturday evening or Sunday morning, my mind's eye will be visualizing favorite photos and mementos I'm leaving behind.

But many people lost more--much more than family pictures.

FACTS:

Monday, August 29, 2005 - Hurricane Katrina was a Category 5 Storm with winds up to 175 miles an hour, but weakened to a Category 4 before making landfall below New Orleans in Plaquemines and Saint Bernard Parishes. The storm weakened the levee system which broke in several places [one place - the Industrial Canal - was weakened by a barge which rammed into it.] and over 90% of New Orleans was flooded. Katrina also devastated the Mississippi Gulf Coast and caused damage on the Alabama Gulf Coast. The official death toll is 1697; however, Columbia geo-physicist and earth scientist John Mutter believes that the number is "well in excess of 2000"

September 17-24, 2005 - Hurricane Rita hit South Florida and the Florida Keys as a Category 2 storm on September 20. As it moved away from Florida, Rita became Category 5. After weakening, Rita came ashore as a Category 3 between Sabine Pass, Texas and Johnson Bayou, Louisiana at 2:30 a.m. CDT.

On September 23, 2005, the outer bands of the storm caused a breach in the Industrial Canal levee in New Orleans in the lower ninth ward causing re-flooding of the area. The largest evacuation in Texas history was undertaken on September 22, 2005. The traffic was backed up for 100 miles on IH-45; and, 24 elderly persons died on the morning of September 23, 2005 ten miles south of Dallas when a bus exploded from oxygen tanks ignited by sparks from the brakes.


Can you believe three years have passed since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans?
Can you believe there are still many people living in FEMA trailers?
Can you believe there are still areas in New Orleans that look like Katrina hit yesterday?
Can you believe today is Katrina's three-year anniversary and Gustav is on his way?

Weather guys say we could have two hurricanes--Gustav and Hanna--in the Gulf of Mexico within seven days. At this point, no one knows where Gustav will hit.

All prayers welcome--for everyone along the Gulf Coast.