Hurricane Katrina a Category 5 Hurricane!

[conjur]

Katrina is now a Category 5 hurricane

YIKES!

Winds gusting to 195mph...pressure at 908mb!


Camille was 905mb and Andrew was 922mb to give you an idea of the devastation to be expected.

EDIT: 2:40pm...pressure down to 902mb. Flight-level winds >190MPH



Donation/assistance links:
https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation-form.asp

http://www.redcross.org /

http://www.noahswish.org

http://www.teamster.org/05news/hn_050830_2.htm

http://www.msana.com/msadisasterrelief.htm

http://www.la-spca.org/forms/donations.htm

http://www.hssm.org /


MoveOn.org is sponsoring Hurricane Housing

Hurricane Katrina has left hundreds of thousands of people homeless. But thousands of people throughout the region are stepping into the breach to offer free shelter to those in need.

http://www.hurricanehousing.org

Offer up a spare bedroom, rental house, vacation home, etc. to storm refugees


Thanks to Goosemaster for the following:


America's Second Harvest (800) 344-8070

Adventist Community Services (800) 381-7171

Catholic Charities, USA (703) 549-1390

Christian Disaster Response (941) 956-5183 or (941) 551-9554

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (800) 848-5818

Church World Service (800) 297-1516

Convoy of Hope (417) 823-8998

Lutheran Disaster Response (800) 638-3522

Mennonite Disaster Service (717) 859-2210

Nazarene Disaster Response (888) 256-5886

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (800) 872-3283

Salvation Army (800) SAL-ARMY (725-2769)

Southern Baptist Convention -- Disaster Relief (800) 462-8657, ext. 6133

United Methodist Committee on Relief (800) 554-8583

LOUISIANA SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS:
Web: http://www.la-spca.org

NATIONAL VOLUNTARY
ORGANIZATIONS ACTIVE IN DISASTER:
Web: http://www.nvoad.org


Following is a list of other Web sites offering disaster relief information:

Federal Emergency Management Agency
Phone: 1-800-621-FEMA
http://www.fema.gov/

Louisiana Homeland Security
http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/

City of New Orleans
http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx

Louisiana Governor's Office
http://www.gov.state.la.us/

Catholic Charities
Phone: 1-800-919-9338
http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/

FEMA Charity tips
http://www.fema.gov/rrr/help2.shtm

National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
http://www.nvoad.org/

Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
http://www.la-spca.org/

National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
Ande Miller, Executive Director
Email: amiller@nvoad.org
Phone: 703-339-5596


State Emergency Organizations:

FEMA State Emergency Contact ? http://www.fema.gov/fema/statedr.shtm

Alabama Department of Public Safety
Phone: (334) 242-4445
Website: http://www.dps.state.al.us

Alabama Emergency Management Agency
5898 County Road 41
P.O. Drawer 2160
Clanton, Alabama 35046-2160
Phone: 205-280-2200
Fax: 205-280-2495
Website: http://www.ema.alabama.gov

Florida Division of Emergency Management
2555 Shumard Oak Blvd.
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2100
Phone: 850-413-9900
Email: florida.disaster@dca.state.fl.us
Website: http://www.floridadisaster.org

Florida Emergency Preparedness Association
Phone: 850-906-0779
Fax: 850-893-1845
Email: fepa@fepa.org
Website: http://www.fepa.org

Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
Phone: 225-925-7500
Fax: 225-925-7501
Website: http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov

Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness
7667 Independence Blvd.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806
Phone: (225) 925-7500
Fax: (225) 925-7501
http://www.loep.state.la.us

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency
P.O. Box 4501 - Fondren Station
Jackson, Mississippi 39296-4501
Phone: (601) 352-9100
Toll Free Phone: (800) 442-6362
Fax: (601) 352-8314
http://www.mema.state.ms.us
http://www.msema.org/mitigate/mssaferoominit.htm

Georgia Emergency Management Agency
P.O. Box 18055
Atlanta, Georgia 30316-0055
Phone: (404) 635-7000
Fax: (404) 635-7205
http://www.State.Ga.US/GEMA/


1-866-KAT-MEDI

The number to call if you have medical expertise and want to volunteer your services for hurricane victims. Gov. Blanco has issued a waiver eliminating the need to be licensed in the State of Louisiana first.


9/4/2005 update
ResellerRatings is offering to match your donations to the Red Cross from Sunday September 4th, through Thursday September 15th, dollar for dollar, up to a total contribution of $10,000.

To confirm to you that we uphold our end of the bargain, we will request a letter from the Red Cross as verification of our contribution and we will publish a scan of that letter here.

For complete details, click here:
http://resellerratings.com/katrina-relief.html


The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation has been established in order to help provide immediate assistance to our citizens in need through a network of Louisiana charities, non-profit and governmental agencies, including clearinghouses like the Louisiana VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster). The Foundation is also designed to support long-term family restoration and recovery by focusing on education, housing, health care, legal assistance and jobs for Louisiana families whose lives have been altered by Hurricane Katrina.

By postal mail, please make donations payable to Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, Inc. and mail to:

Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, Inc.
Fed. Tax ID No. 20-3399944
c/o Division of Administration
1201 North Third Street, Suite 7-240
P.O. Box 94095
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9095
Inquiries may be directed to: LouisianaRecovery@la.gov

http://www.katrina.louisiana.gov/donate.htm



Streaming video links:
http://www.wwltv.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2830

All information is subject to change. Many stations are relying on their corporate parents to configure and maintain Internet streaming. Because of the intense interest in the feeds, they may be unavailable at times because of network congestion or a problem feeding the video to the streaming servers.

WWL-TV New Orleans - WWL-TV is being re-evacuated as of 10:00am EDT as new levee breaks are resulting in additional flooding in the French Quarter. Broadcasts will resume via LSU in Baton Rouge. WWL-TV has resumed streaming via KHOU-TV Houston.

WDSU-TV New Orleans - This station evacuated from its New Orleans facilities and relocated to WAPT-TV, the ABC affiliate in Jackson, MS. In an unusual arrangement, the two stations have teamed up to provide joint coverage. WDSU definitely has the stronger news team, and the Jackson station's own local coverage has benefited from this.

WKRG-TV Mobile, AL - This station is providing good coverage of the situation to the east in Mississippi and Alabama.

WTOK-TV Meridian, MS - This station is streaming news about Katrina for residents in eastern Mississippi and western Alabama.

WJTV-TV Jackson, MS - The CBS affiliate in Jackson is providing live coverage for both the Jackson area and south Mississippi (knowing a lot of media in that area is off the air).

ABC-TV Network Special Feeds - ABC News maintains a free special video feed service that relays local ABC affiliates, important news updates, and a scrolling headline service. The service was airing WBRZ-TV Baton Rouge earlier, but is currently running scrolling headlines.

CNN National Feed - HurricaneCity is providing a low speed video stream of CNN's national feed with reports from across the area. The provider might interrupt the feed from time to time for their own reports.

Gulf Coast Storm Network (Clear Channel Radio) - Clear Channel offers radio listeners across the gulf coast access to a simulcast emergency radio service. WPMI-TV anchors may show up here since they cannot broadcast via TV.

Sirius Satellite Radio: For those with Sirius, Channel 184 is running 24/7 emergency radio reports for those affected by the hurricane, including traffic information. A free streaming trial is available if you want to listen via the www.sirius.com website.

WWL-AM 870 New Orleans: Although they do not stream, residents across the south should be able to receive WWL on a decent AM radio. They have resumed 50,000 watts of power after dealing with damage from Katrina and are once again putting a decent signal across the south.

Streaming Media Links

WWL-TV:
Via CBS: http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/videoplay...iveWebCast&BaseName=livenews&title=CBS$@$News$@$Live$@$Webcast&castNum=2&mediaType=wmv

Direct link: http://video.cgi.cbsnews.com/video/video.pl?url=/broadcast/*/livenews2.wmv&sid=500251&dart=news.video

Via WFAA Dallas:
http://www.wwltv.com/cgi-bin/bi/video/m...laylist.pl?title=beloint_wfaa&live=yes

WDSU Primary: http://mfile.akamai.com/12912/live/reflector:38843.asx

WDSU Secondary (a digital subchannel - currently streaming a blue screen but may reactivate): http://mfile.akamai.com/12912/live/reflector:38202.asx

Another link for WDSU:
http://mfile.akamai.com/12912/live/reflector:38844.asx

WKRG-TV: mms://wmbcast.mgeneral.speedera.net/wmbcast.mgeneral/wmbcast_mgeneral_aug262005_1435_95518

WTOK-TV (follow the link on the home page): http://www.wtok.com/

WJTV-TV: mms://wmbcast.mgeneral.speedera.net/wmbcast.mgeneral/wmbcast_mgeneral_aug262005_1435_95563

ABC-TV Network Special Feeds: http://mfile.akamai.com/12441/live/reflector:32715.ram

CNN National Feed: http://www.hurricanecity.com/LIVE.ram

Gulf Coast Storm Network (radio): http://www.stormalert.net/main.html#

These stations are off the air:

WPMI-TV Mobile, AL - This station suffered extremely heavy damage from Katrina, was broadcasting on generator power, and then a lightning strike destroyed their primary transmitter. The station is off the air.

IRC/Scanner links:
http://wiki.nola-intel.org/index.php/Main_Page


Forums for local information:
http://www.wwltv.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=1

http://www.nola.com/
http://www.nola.com/forums/


Satellite Imagery of the Gulf Coast Devastation
http://alt.ngs.noaa.gov/katrina/KATRINA0000.HTM


For all of those displaced by the storm
Use http://www.usps.com to have your mail forwarded to another address for the meantime.

(Thanks to MaxDepth for that one.)


9/1: FEMA SUSPENDS RESCUE OPERATIONS!! Situation too dangerous.

---

Update:

Thanks to HDTVMan for this post, transferred from another thread:

Please spread the word and forward this web address, www.YourAlive.com to everyone you know. Yes we know thats considered spamming but the site has no other purpose than to help others find thier friends and families during recent tragic events. Families were seperated during the hurricane and any little bit of comfort helps.

HDTVMan

www.YourAlive.com


Another housing link:

http://katrinahousing.org/



9/9/05
Pet Rescue Information:

USEFUL PET RESCUE SITE:
http://www.vetmed.lsu.edu


PETS OWNERS WITH PETS LEFT BEHIND: READ THIS
From http://www.vetmed.lsu.edu
Confined Pets in Need of Rescue from Disaster Areas
Residents who left pets in their homes may call toll-free (888) 773-6489 between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm or e-mail katrinalostpet@ldaf.louisiana.gov to leave information about the number of animals that need rescuing, their species, and their confined location.

Residents are now being allowed back into certain parts of the Greater New Orleans areas. While we will do everything we can to rescue as many animals as possible, your pets will have a better chance if you can get in and rescue them yourselves. Please watch the news media for announcements of which areas residents may re-enter.

If you do rescue your pet yourself after requesting rescue through this shelter, please notify us so that we can remove your name from the waiting list.

If you need a place to leave your pets for housing and care after rescue, please bring them to us at the John M. Parker Coliseum on the LSU Campus. We will care for them until you can be permanently reunited.


LINKS FOR MONETARY DONATIONS
Most of these links also have updates on rescue efforts and instructions on how to donate supplies.
NOAH'S WISH: http://www.noahswish.org /
ASPCA: http://www.aspca.org /
HUMANE SOCIETY: http://www.hsus.org /
UNITED ANIMAL NATIONS: http://www.uan.org /
NORTH SHORE ANIMAL LEAGUE: http://www.nsalamerica.org /
LOUISIANA VETERINARIAN MEDICAL ASSOC.: / http://lvma.org /

 

[CrackRabbit]

:shocked:
Those in the potential path of the storm, leave now and good luck to you.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Holy CRAP! That thing got big FAST!!!

I'm not looking forward to that thing making landfall.

 

[Injury]

908 Megabytes of pressure suX0rs!

If anyone in FL has a spare like, 40 GB HD, they should totally toss it into the wind and see if it destroys it.

 

[conjur]

More from weatherunderground:

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMa...comment.html?entrynum=79&tstamp=200508

Posted by: JeffMasters, 9:16 PM EDT on August 27, 2005
The eyewall replacement cycle that began at about 8am this morning has ended. The 8pm EDT Hurricane Hunter pressure reading was 942 mb, down 2mb from the pressure at 6:45pm. No inner eyewall was found, just an elliptical 30-40nm eyewall. We may be on the verge of a rapid deepening phase, since the shear and dry air on the northwest side of the hurricane appear to be lessening, and the hurricane is moving over a deep layer of warm water of almost 90F. The areal size of the hurricane continues to expand, and Katrina is growing from a medium sized hurricane to a large hurricane. Where the pressure will bottom out after this deepening phase is anyone's guess, and I believe something in the 915 - 925 mb range is most likely, which would make Katrina a strong Category 4 or weak Category 5 hurricane by tomorrow afternoon. The deepening phase may last longer than usual for a major hurricane, since Katrina is expanding in size and thus has more mass to spin up.

After this phase of deepening, another eyewall replacement cycle will occur, and the timing of that cycle will be worth billions of dollars and perhaps many lives. There is no way to predict when this eyewall replacement cycle will occur. Another factor will be the timing of the tides--if Katrina hits at high tide, there may be billions more in damage. Tidal range (difference between high and low tide) at Bay St. Louis near New Orleans is two feet. High tide will occur around 8am Monday, and low tide at 8pm. There is still the possibility, too, that the trough that is now steering Katrina to the north will also create enough shear to reduce her to a Category 3 storm at landfall. This is what happened to Hurricane Ivan last year.

New Orleans finally got serious and ordered an evacuation, but far too late. There is no way everyone will be able to get out of the city in time, and they may be forced to take shelter in the Superdome, which is above sea level. If Katrina makes a direct hit on New Orleans as a Category 4 hurricane, the levees protecting the city will be breached, and New Orleans, which is 6 - 10 feet below sea level, will fill with water. On top of this 6 feet of water will come a 15 foot storm surge, and on top of that will be 20 foot waves, so the potential for high loss of life is great. Given the current track and intensity forecast, I'd put the odds of this at about 20%.

And an newer update:
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/show.html

Posted By: JeffMasters at 12:24 PM GMT on August 28, 2005
Updated: 12:36 PM GMT on August 28, 2005
Katrina is in the midst of a truly historic rapid deepening phase--the pressure has dropped 34 mb in the 11 hours ending at 7am EDT, and now stands at 908 mb. Katrina is now the sixth strongest hurricane ever measured in the Atlantic. At the rate Katrina is deepening, she could easily be the third or fourth most intense hurricane ever, later today. The list of strongest hurricanes of all time includes:

Hurricane Gilbert (888 mb, 1988)

The Great Labor Day Hurricane (892 mb, 1935)

Hurricane Allen (899 mb, 1980)

Hurricane Camille (905 mb, 1969)

Hurricane Mitch (905 mb, 1998)

Hurricane Ivan (910 mb, 2004)

Katrina's winds and storm surge
Maximum sustained winds at flight level during the 7am Hurricane Hunter mission into Katrina were 153 knots, which translates to 160 mph at the surface, making Katrina a minimal Category 5 hurricane. The winds are likely to increase to "catch up" to the rapidly falling pressure, and could approach the all-time record of 190 mph set in Camille and Allen. Winds of this level will create maximum storm surge heights over 25 feet, and this storm surge will affect an area at least double the area wiped clean by Camille, which was roughly half the size of Katrina. Katrina has continued to expand in size, and is now a huge hurricane like Ivan. Damage will be very widespread and extreme if Katrina can maintain Category 5 strength at landfall.

Landfall projections
The computer models are very tightly clustered and have been so for almost a day. The data used to initialize the models is excellent, since all available hurricane hunter aircraft have been in the air continuously making measurements for several days. Katrina has already made her turn northward, which makes the task of landfall prediction for the models much easier. The offical NHC forecast of a landfall in SE Louisiana, on the western edge of New Orleans, is thus a high-confidence forecast. The spread in the landfall location is just 90 miles, meaning the eye of Katrina is very likely to hit somewhere between New Orleans and a point just east of the Mississippi-Louisiana border.

Intensity forecast
Katrina's intensity at landfall is likely to be Category 4, but could easily be Category 3 or 5. She will undergo another eyewall replacement cycle before landfall, and this will weaken her maximum winds by 20 - 30 mph for a 12-hour period. Additionally, some increase in shear is possible in the 12 hours prior to landfall, which could weaken Katrina's winds another 10 - 20 mph. If we are extrememly lucky, both factors will conspire to knock Katrina down to a Category 3 and she will hit at low tide. Given that the storm is so large and is already pushing up a huge storm surge wave in front of it, even a weakened Category 3 Katrina hitting at low tide will cause an incredible amount of damage. A stretch of coast 170 miles long will experience hurricane force winds, given the current radius of hurricane force winds around the storm. A direct hit on New Orleans in this best-case scenario may still be enough to flood the city, resulting in heavy loss of life and $30 billion or more in damage.

 

[Eli]

Like I said in another thread...

/cues flushing sounds

 

[aircooled]

dude. she's a monster! living in NC I've been in several hurricanes, but that one is massive!
be safe!

 

[Rip the Jacker]

Originally posted by: Injury
908 Megabytes of pressure suX0rs!

If anyone in FL has a spare like, 40 GB HD, they should totally toss it into the wind and see if it destroys it.

ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[conjur]

At least 100,000 people are unable to leave
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u...20050828/ap_on_re_us/hurricane_katrina


Here's some streaming coverage
http://www.wwltv.com/cgi-bin/bi/video/m...aylist.pl?title=beloint_wwltv&live=yes

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Injury
908 Megabytes of pressure suX0rs!

If anyone in FL has a spare like, 40 GB HD, they should totally toss it into the wind and see if it destroys it.

FL? Dont you mean LA?

 

[Nitemare]

"A storm of this magnitude is also likely to affect the Oil and Gas Industry in the Gulf, putting further pressure on the price of oil. "

God Fvcking damn...feel sorry for the people that are about to get hit and all, but damn these peeps will raise gas prices at the drop of a hat.

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: Nitemare
"A storm of this magnitude is also likely to affect the Oil and Gas Industry in the Gulf, putting further pressure on the price of oil. "

God Fvcking damn...feel sorry for the people that are about to get hit and all, but damn these peeps will raise gas prices at the drop of a hat.

I could understand this affecting the price of gas but oil?


Anyway, we may be looking at tens of billions of dollars in damage in the New Orleans area.

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: conjur

Originally posted by: Nitemare
"A storm of this magnitude is also likely to affect the Oil and Gas Industry in the Gulf, putting further pressure on the price of oil. "

God Fvcking damn...feel sorry for the people that are about to get hit and all, but damn these peeps will raise gas prices at the drop of a hat.

I could understand this affecting the price of gas but oil?


Anyway, we may be looking at tens of billions of dollars in damage in the New Orleans area.

Accuweather has it hitting Alabama and/or Mississippi. New Orleans might be spared again because most of the full effects are going to be to the North and East of the eye.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: Nitemare
"A storm of this magnitude is also likely to affect the Oil and Gas Industry in the Gulf, putting further pressure on the price of oil. "

God Fvcking damn...feel sorry for the people that are about to get hit and all, but damn these peeps will raise gas prices at the drop of a hat.

Well... Good reason on this one. I saw a news story that showed everyone evacuating the rigs. 1/3 of our oil comes from the gulf. No workers, no drilling. No drilling, no oil.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: conjur

Originally posted by: Nitemare
"A storm of this magnitude is also likely to affect the Oil and Gas Industry in the Gulf, putting further pressure on the price of oil. "

God Fvcking damn...feel sorry for the people that are about to get hit and all, but damn these peeps will raise gas prices at the drop of a hat.

I could understand this affecting the price of gas but oil?


Anyway, we may be looking at tens of billions of dollars in damage in the New Orleans area.

Gasoline is just refined oil.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17

Gasoline is just refined oil.

NO SH!T??!??! WOW

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17

Originally posted by: conjur

Originally posted by: Nitemare
"A storm of this magnitude is also likely to affect the Oil and Gas Industry in the Gulf, putting further pressure on the price of oil. "

God Fvcking damn...feel sorry for the people that are about to get hit and all, but damn these peeps will raise gas prices at the drop of a hat.

I could understand this affecting the price of gas but oil?


Anyway, we may be looking at tens of billions of dollars in damage in the New Orleans area.

Gasoline is just refined oil.

Right...if refining is damaged, that means gas would go up. The supplies of oil are fine...or so we're told.



Anyway...check out this wind forecast! Hurricane-force winds as far north as Nashville and TS winds up to Buffalo?!?!
http://tsr.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/tracker/dynamic/images/200512N.png

 

[vtqanh]

damn damn, New Orleans is in very deep sh1t

 

[Analog]

The Big Easy won't be tomorrow!?!

 

[conjur]

WWLTV showing water temps at about 86F just SE of LA.

Wave heights as high at 55' near the eye.

 

[AbsolutZero]

Looks like NO's number has just come up.

"A couple of days ago," explains Maestri, "We actually had an exercise where we brought a fictitious Category Five Hurricane into the metropolitan area."

The map is covered with arrows and swirls in erasable marker. They show how the fictitious hurricane crossed Key West and then smacked into New Orleans.

When the computer models showed Maestri what would happen next, he wrote big letters on the map, all in capitals.

"KYAGB?kiss your ass good bye," reads Maestri.

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: Injury
908 Megabytes of pressure suX0rs!

If anyone in FL has a spare like, 40 GB HD, they should totally toss it into the wind and see if it destroys it.

FL? Dont you mean LA?

yeah, that too. I don't keep up with current events. IMAGINE THAT :-x

 

[Raiden256]

When is this thing supposed to make landfall?

EDIT: nm -- MSNBC just said Monday morning.

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: Raiden256
When is this thing supposed to make landfall?

EDIT: nm -- MSNBC just said Monday morning.

There's supposed to be another eyewall replacement and I saw some forecasted winds for 24 hrs from now to be 174mph! That'll mean gusts well over 200mph. That puts sustained winds at the F3 tornado level and gusts at the F4 level. You know what damage and F3 tornado wreaks, right? Usually in a confined area, though. Now, imagine an F3 tornado many miles wide.

 

[NiKeFiDO]

a real pounding is about to ensue in louisiana.

g'bye Louis., i'll always regret never getting to know you.