You’ve all read the news stories [1], so I’ll be brief: Things are very Schumeresque [2] in New Orleans and Biloxi. The damage is much more severe than was experienced with Hurricane Camille back in 1969. Perhaps as many as one million people will become refugees. The Lake Pontchartrain levee breach (currently 200 feet wide) may mean that there will be 20+ feet of water in much of Nah-Lens. Hopefully the breach can be repaired before that happens. There won’t be a full death count for several weeks. One official said that the death toll will be “much higher than Camille” (which claimed 200 lives.)
As of Monday night, more than 37,000 people were in American Red Cross shelters, and that number is rising as people are plucked off their rooftops. Nearly 5 million people, in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are without utility power, and power won’t be restored in some areas for more than a month. (Hmmm…. I guess its time to crank up those generators that people “wasted” their money on in anticipation of Y2K [2].)
Most of the oil refineries and LNG terminals on the Gulf Coast are offline, so some pundits are predicting gasoline prices to spike over $3.00 per gallon. For some detailed news stories, see World Net Daily [3]
There is currently no effective law enforcement and hence beau coup [1] looting [1], despite the fact that there is hip-deep water to wade through to get to most stores. Even a few police officers were seen engaged in looting. Officials are predicting a “worst case” situation vis-a-vis sanitation. Gee, this situation sounds like something out of one of those paranoid whacko survivalist novels.
Apparently many families were trapped in their attics and had to chop their way out to their roofs with axes. One clever gent didn’t have an axe but did have a shotgun, so he blasted his way out of his attic. (I award him bonus points for creativity.)
Again, I’d appreciate hearing some brief first hand accounts from SurvivalBlog readers that are in the affected area.
Please continue keep all of the folks in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and surrounding states in your prayers!