The Lair

It’s called Katrina. And no, this isn’t the sharp nosed harridan who dislikes Pound Puppies either. The weather warning from the link above reads like an apocalyptic disaster movie. Only, this is real life and not special effects.

THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED [ ... ] HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY…A FEW POSSIBLY TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE [ ... ] AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD…AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES [ ... ] POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS [ ... ] 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

That’s not some sensationalist news broadcaster, that’s the freakin’ NOAA. Wow. And in case the news broadcasts have passed you by, the entire city of New Orleans has been evacuated, this is termed as a once in a lifetime event and things look extremely bleak. And unlike some other natural disasters, this is one that people can see heading their way, but are powerless to stop.

Satellite images. Most of the webcam sites are overloaded, for obvious reasons. Some are already out of service. The city of New Orleans has more than a million people. Even if … say 90% got out in time, that leaves an awful lot of people in the path of a Category 5 (is it 4 now ?) storm. I don’t know why, but this has lots of stark reminders (for me) of the aftermath of December 26th 2004.