Oh No, New Orleans, not again....

jym626 · July 12

So the streets are already flooding and the Mississippi is already at its high. At least the winds shouldn't be as bad with TS Barry as with previous hurricanes, but they will be getting a few more days of rain.. So sorry NOLA and residents. Hang tight if you haven't yet evacuated. https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/07/new-orleans-area-put-under-tropical-storm-warning-braces-for-severe-flooding.html

https://www.nola.com/news/hurricane/article_1ee9c8d6-a4b4-11e9-a6f3-cf3759d41a85.html

Winds have increased to 65 mph, according to data from the Hurricane Hunters. Additional strengthening is expected, and forecasters said Barry could be a category 1 hurricane when it makes landfall Saturday on the central Louisiana coast. Category 1 storms have winds of at least 74 mph.

threebeans · July 12

I'm watching this closely as we just bought a place for my son to live in while he's in school there. Ground floor but not in the flood zone. I know a few other students whose apartments already flooded 10+ inches this week!

sushiritto · July 12

Because of its elevation (below sea level), location, eroding coast line and climate change, flooding in NOLA is going to happen again and again and again.

socaldad2002 · July 12

This is my concern if D20 applies to Tulane. What are the odds some tropical storm / hurricane hits over 4 years of attendance?

milee30 · July 12

This is my concern if D20 applies to Tulane. What are the odds some tropical storm / hurricane hits over 4 years of attendance?

The odds a student a Tulane will be impacted in some way by a tropical storm or hurricane are no higher than the odds that a student at any other of the hundreds of students at colleges all along the Gulf and lower Atlantic coast will be impacted. Heck in the last two years alone, storms have hit areas containing colleges like Rice in Texas to College of Charleston in South Carolina. Less frequently, but even places as far north as NY (remember Sandy?), Virginia, etc are hit.
Or she can stay in Southern CA and see if her college gets shaken up in the next earthquake.
Few areas are immune to disaster. At least hurricanes give some warning. NOLA and the whole Gulf Coast has known about this last one for a week now.

jym626 · July 12

DS#2 had 2 “hurrications” as they call it when he attended, and he lived/worked there for a few additional years after graduation. The roads do flood in heavy rain, but the students know when/where to move their cars and they are used to it. Other son had similar weather issues in Houston. But they didn’t have snow or ice. It is what it is.

socaldad2002 · July 12

"Or she can stay in Southern CA and see if her college gets shaken up in the next earthquake".

Earthquakes that actually close colleges in CA is a very rare event. The last one was 1994 (Northridge), 25 years ago.

It seems like colleges along the gulf coast are effected by tropical storms/hurricanes almost every year. Maybe its no big deal but I just want to make sure that its not something that she/we should be concerned about every July - Oct?

threebeans · July 12

@socaldad2002 IMO odds are good that they'll get the excitement of a tropical storm or hurricane but don't let it deter him from applying. It's a great school and they have done this before so their systems and processes are finely tuned.

socaldad2002 · July 12

@threebeans Thanks, that was the helpful advice/reassurance I was looking for...

bajamm · July 12

@socaldad2002 As a person who lives reasonably close to the earthquakes happening in California right now and with a D that graduated from Tulane in 2015, I would much rather my student deal with the hurricanes. threebeans is right, the school has structures and policies in place to deal with such things. And, it is usually (not always) no big deal.

I still remember a video from the fall of my D's sophomore year while a hurricane was going on. The video shows the students hunkering down in the hallways of their dorms, the RA or somebody playing a guitar, everyone singing camp songs and the university President coming along about midnight and dancing and singing with the students.

sushiritto · July 12

AFAIK, no universities in NorCal were effected, at least to any significant degree, in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. And seismic codes have continually been updated over the years for retrofits, remodels and new buildings. Major earthquakes, where there’s significant damage, are rare. And being familiar with current building standards, I have no worries about my home or the structures around us.

If I were a parent considering the Gulf region, and specifically NOLA, to send my kid to college, I'd be very worried. Hurricane season is every year. Major earthquakes, where there’s significant damage, are rare.

jym626 · July 13

There are risks anywhere one goes. This gets mentioned whenever some event occurs. Tulane is uptown and doesn't usually get flooded (was pretty unscathed even in Katrina - the bigger issue was the effects on the areas where support staff lived, shopped, where their kids attended school, etc).

sushiritto · July 13

According to Wikipedia, Tulane closed for 4 months after Katrina.

”On August 30 (2005), the university reported that "physical damage to the area, including Tulane's campuses, was extensive" and conditions in the city were continuing to deteriorate.”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_Hurricane_Katrina_on_Tulane_University

jym626 · July 13

That is a poorly written sentence. The uptown campus damage wasn't as bad- but downtown (where the med school is) is in a lower lying area. Of course it cost a lot of $ to deal with the effects of shutting down a campus in a hot, humid climate. Those costs added up. https://www2.tulane.edu/memorial/katrina/campus_events.cfm

sushiritto · July 13

Hurricane Issac:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hurricane-isaac_b_1940999

Tropical Storm Gordon:
https://tulanehullabaloo.com/42449/showcase/tulane-closes-all-new-orleans-campuses-in-light-of-gordon/

Every season. Every year. In any case, I’m done here. As a parent, I know how I feel.

jym626 · July 13

No need to pull up more articles. DS#2 lived in NOLA during Hurricane Isaac. They lost power for several hours. The biggest complaint is that they ran out of liquor. They were able to drive down to his GF’s place, where they had power, and all showered. Shortly after they were able to go out for breakfast.

There are risks everywhere. Hope the big one doesn’t hit SoCal (or NorCal). But people choose to live in areas of risk. It is what it is. And as others have said, with storms, there is warning and an opportunity to leave. Not so with earthquakes. Then there are the fires too... at least one can usually get out safely.

sushiritto · July 13

Full disclosure. My kid attends UMich and they closed the university for 2 days during the Polar Vortex last winter (late January). Of course, everyone still went to the sold out Ohio State basketball game that Friday night, including my kid.

jym626 · July 13

Oh and as for your last link, yes, for safety reasons/precautions they will typically close the campus when a storm approaches. Schools may be closed for a day or a few days.. Just like in big northern snowstorms. Yes they have evacuated (the aforementioned “hurrications”) and they have an excellent system in place to take the students who don't drive/fly out. Sometimes they shelter in place. But fortunately the particular articles you linked were really not all that big of a deal.

jym626 · July 13

Exactly, @sushiritto - kids are either resilient, stupid, or both! Was I happy to hear mine went down St. Charles Ave after the storm? No. I don't know (or I don't recall) when they ventured out to the apartment with power (they can see the power grid status the web and they had internet) but they did.

greenwitch · July 13

Reporting from Nola now - so far Barry is more Barry Manilow than anything else. Maybe 1/2" of rain and just blustery wind. I'm not worried for this city, just the coastal areas.

FYI- we had a sudden deluge of about 7" of rain in 2-3 hours on Wednesday morning that flooded some streets. It was unexpected, hit during the morning rush hour and caused a lot of trouble. The flooding was over by the afternoon although traffic was impacted in some areas for longer. Didn't the same thing happen in the DC area on Monday last week? Is everyone going to shun GW now, just in case?

mathmom · July 13

At least with hurricanes you know they are coming and can generally get out of the way. Tornadoes and earthquakes scare me, because you get so little warning.

Oh No, New Orleans, not again....

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