<p>This was brought up on another thread, but here’s hoping for Gustav to turn around and go die a dreadful death in the Atlantic. Thinking of all the Tulane parents out there…(as well as everyone else in NOLA).</p>
<p>I have a friend whose daughter is visiting family in Houston this week. She’s scheduled to start college in Connecticut on Tuesday, flying out on Saturday. My friend and I are closely watching the storm, hoping to encourage her to fly out ASAP – as soon as the airlines will allow her to change her tickets at no charge.</p>
<p>Tulane parent here… thanks…and concur… let’s all blow this storm somewhere else. this is not what the university, or the city, needs at this point. they are just hitting their stride.</p>
<p>I am just glad that the wise people of Louisana insisted that the rest of America spend billions to make sure that their fine city of New Orleans was rebuilt exactly where it was before so that another hurricane could come and blow it away again. Oh how I love seeing American tax dollars wasted again.</p>
<p>Let’s blow Gustav to the Twin Cities during the Republican convention. And see how quickly they rescue rich white guys in a storm… Bet they’ll be no stadium for these flood victims – it’ll be the Ritz all around, funded by us.</p>
<p>Another Tulane parent here. Thanks for the kind supportive words, razorsharp. Maybe just once you could stick that sarcasm and flippant negativity somewhere where … well, you know.</p>
<p>Are the Louisiana’s levees any better than they were before Katrina?</p>
<p>I heard they weren’t quite finished with them… doesn’t mean they’re not better than they were before, though.</p>
<p>Class-warfare, back-biting and second guessing aside, building a major city below sea level in a hurricane area is pretty goofy. Time to move everyone to Baton Rouge and knock down the levees. It’s a losing battle, especially without continuing to screw up the lower Mississippi.</p>
<p>The city has been around for a long time, as have cities on islands routinely hit by hurricanes time and time again. Could we possibly not send this thread into a direction that is starting to have that faint awful stench of the political threads (and please- no comment that the smell is mold, mildew, trailer formaldehyde or what have you…)? A polite request that anyone who wants to debate the pros and cons of where cities have been constructed, what stupid decisions governments have made with funding, whether or not oil platforms should have been built in the Gulf, whether any city should be built on any coast, in a flood zone, an earthquake area, a mudslide area, or whatever-- please start a separate thread and gripe to your hearts content there. Some of us are genuinely concerned about our kids and the residents of the Gulf coast.</p>
<p>Seconding jym. </p>
<p>My oldest friend – we grew up together – and her husband live in LA. They evacuated for Katrina, he to Texas, she to Florida, and returned to find that five feet of storm surge had ruined their home. They’ve been working on it since. Hope they’ll be okay.</p>
<p>Well said, jym. We are also watching, waiting, planning and praying.</p>
<p>Like razorsharp and poetsheart, I am wondering what’s going on down in the bayou, politically and otherwise. It’s been many months since the Katrina debacle; what’s happened since to rectify the situation?</p>
<p>Thanks owlice and giddey_up. And thank you LakeWashington for starting a separate politically-oriented Gustav thread. Maybe the Republicans will use their hot air to blow the storm away so it doesn’t trump their convention news! Thats fine by me.</p>
<p>If you want to get the latest accurate information, and lots of it, on what’s happening in New Orleans go to [New</a> Orleans, LA Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - NOLA.com](<a href=“http://www.nola.com%5DNew”>http://www.nola.com), the website of the Times Picayune. It is thorough and they usually have good graphics, some of which are interactive. I’ve been checking it last night and this morning as my mom lives there. She was coming to visit me this weekend anyway, but is leaving early now, probably tommorrow, so as to avoid evacuation traffic.</p>
<p>I can’t find the article right now, but last night they had it up about the plans to send in extra buses on Saturday and get Amtrak trains at the station ready to go. Outlying areas will start evacuating on Saturday, followed by Orleans Parish residents on Sunday, with contraflow most likely to occur then. They will use buses to get people up to Shreveport, Monroe and Alexandria. The trains will take people to Jackson, Miss. </p>
<p>Jindal has already made some emergency declarations and is sending in National Guard troops to help with the evacuation. The city has a 311 number you can call to get transportation from your house to either the bus or train if you don’t have a car. The Corps of Engineers is working 24/7 to finish some stop gap measures where the levee repairs aren’t finished (some work won’t be complete til the end of 2009, maybe 2010). Lots of sandbagging.</p>
<p>Ironically, it is the West Bank where the most severe remaining vulnerabilities are; also somewhere in Kenner. But they are planning on evacuating everyone in the event of a direct hit just to be safe. As with Katrina they will coordinate with Miss. State Police on the contraflow. The latest National Hurricane Center map shows the center line of the cone has moved a little west, more of a line up with Lafayette, but as the storm hasn’t entered the gulf yet, things could change. Basically the entire state is on high alert right now.</p>
<p>Nola.com is your best source of info right now. It is updated continuously throughout the day.</p>
<p>I am praying and crossing my fingers and what ever else for you guys in La. There is a time for sarcasm and critcism, and this is not the time/place/thread. So many posts and threads taking inappropriate turns these days. OK, off that and back on to Gustav. </p>
<p>I know that states, the red cross, power companies are all readying for “anything.” Preparation will be way better this time around. I hope much of it will be unnecessary.</p>
<p>^^^^ correct, and thank you, sunnyflorida. You have your own storm to watch out for… currently referred to as “tropical depression 8”. And thanks mercymom for your information. I’ve been watching these links [Intellicast</a> - Active Hurricanes](<a href=“Intellicast | Weather Underground”>Intellicast | Weather Underground)<br>
[Tropical</a> Storm GUSTAV](<a href=“POTENTIAL TROPICAL CYCLONE TWENTY-TWO”>POTENTIAL TROPICAL CYCLONE TWENTY-TWO) but it is still too early to tell whats likely to happen. That said, apparently NOLA plans to order a mandatory evacuation if it is a Cat. 3 or higher hurricane and is within 60 hours of the city. At its current pace, that might mean it would be ordered Saturday-- does that sound right???</p>
<p>Thanks for the prayers and good wishes. I always feel guilty about these things cause it seems you are praying for it to hit somewhere else which necessarily means someone else. Hitting an unpopulated part of Mexico is always a good thing.</p>
<p>Parents of college students, remember the city has not ordered an evacuation yet; it is just preparing for one. You can’t move buses, trains and troops at the last minute. But they are putting everything in place. You usually don’t know until 2 days, 3 max what the storm will do. Sometimes it is 1 day if conditions are crazy. These storms are very unpredictable even with all the technology. </p>
<p>Tulane did a great job of getting everyone out safely during Katrina; they will probably do an even better job this time if they have to.</p>
<p>jym626, we cross posted. My understanding from what I read last night is they are moving the buses and trains down on Friday with the intent that people who need that will leave on Saturday along with the people in cars leaving St. Bernard and Plaquemines and the lower half of Jefferson Parish. They are asking the people in cars not to leave en masse until Sunday to get the lower coastal areas out first. If needed they will do contraflow for the remaining cars of Orleans and Jefferson on Sunday.</p>
<p>People are preparing better in other ways this time as well. For example, my cousins are all emailing each other (and me) with their evacuation plans and cell phone numbers, etc, so if, God forbid, we repeat Katrina, at least we will not have to spend 2 months trying to find everyone this time.</p>
<p>And I recall that the biggest problem with Katrina were those who refused to leave. There were empty busses… leading to folks on rooftops. So if they recommend leaving, then best to evacuate. And the earlier the better. While it is a pain in the …neck… to leave and have the storm go elsewhere, it is far better than waiting too long to decide. And a weekend evaluation might be fortuitious.</p>