Largest City in Louisiana...

Thanks for the emails and calls. The immediate family is doing fine. During the storm, the worst in Baton Rouge was downed power lines and tree branches. The power to our house is still down and not expected to be up until Saturday. We are staying with my wife's aunt as she has power and AIR CONDITIONING!!! Our small sales office has turned into a mini refugee camp with other employees and family staying here until the power is back up. Extended family from New Orleans has moved in with other relatives in Baton Rouge for an indefinite period as their homes are probably completely destroyed. But that's only the worst from a physical point of view.

Emotionally, Baton Rouge is just as devastated. Over night we have gone from the second biggest city in Louisiana to the first. Nearly 100,000 refugees are seeking shelter in Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Last account, New Orleans will not be habitable for 2-4 months, and not just a neighborhood or two but the whole city as well as the surrounding suburbs. Right now it looks like the entire power and water utilities will have to be rebuilt from the ground up, and most of the brick and wood homes will have to be rebuilt too. This is just the tip of the ice berg as we are heading into a period of rebuilding never seen before in America.

New Orleans isn't the only Louisiana area to suffer such devastation. The entire parishes (counties) of St. Bernard and Plaquemines are under 10-20 feet of water. One politician said after a fly over that the these parishes have been swallowed up by the Gulf of Mexico.

Tales from Margaritaville...

A note from Robbie:

Hi Everyone,

Addy, the kids, and I are safe in Opelousas – about 120 miles northwest of New Orleans. We have not been able to get in touch with anyone in the city. I did speak with one of my employees early this morning who stayed behind and said it was horrible. She was in a high-rise condo near the airport in Kenner. She said you could see roofs tearing off of homes and debris everywhere. There were some other employees who were planning to remain behind, but I hope they’ve changed their mind. I have not been able to get in touch with any of them. I also had several neighbors who chose to ride out the storm and have not heard from them either.

I’ve heard reports that Margaritaville and the French Market area of the Quarter survived relatively unscathed. However, I don’t think the residential areas were quite so lucky. I’ve heard reports from friends that they believe their houses were underwater. From the aerial videos I could see on www.wdsu.com , it appeared much of the area just south of the lake was under water, not to mention the New Orleans East area or Chalmette and the areas further upriver. It doesn’t seem residents will be allowed to return for days or weeks.

I hope everyone was able to leave the area, and if not, that they are safe and sound.

Take care,
Robbie

Help Wanted...

Power still out in Baton Rouge. Through my company I've signed up to help with the Red Cross efforts for Katrina. I'll keep you posted.

If you'd like to contribute to Red Cross, follow this link:
http://www.redcross.org/donate/donate.html

In The Big O!

Sent a bazzillion posts via text message but didn't work. We lost power right when the storm hit at 7am. The roof in our master bath sprung a leak, other than that no real damage. Electric company says it'll be a few days before power is restored. So we drove to the Big O to stay with Mom. Air Conditioner is a wonderful thing.

Just some notes from the radio. Nearly one million South LA homes don't have power. The entire parish of St. Benard is under water, some places up to 12 feet. Not pretty stuff.

Thanks for the prayers, now let's prayer for those missing.

Good Night K-K-K-Katie...

1000P: Actually lost power for 30 minutes already. Not a good start.

Reality Check. The wife talked to a cousin, and her 80 year old great aunt had to evacuate from NOLA. Her aunt has been crying since she left, left her home of 50 years with all her memories, not sure if she'd ever see it again. Weatherman says cat 5 hurricane is like a 30 mile wide tornado. Looks like hurricane might be turning more westerly, which means not a direct impact on NOLA, but Biloxi is screwed either way. Powering down the laptop and heading for the campout in the kids bedroom.

If we lose power, I'll still try to blog via cell phone. Good Night, Good Luck, and God bless.

Hurricanes are Sport...

Growing up on the gulf coast, hurricane tracking maps were available at every gas station, bank, and McDonald's. On the radio about every 10 minutes or so the DJ would announce the latest coordinates of the latest hurricane, and you would then put an "x" on your map matching those coordinates. Kind of like bingo I guess. My grandfather had this huge chalkboard with a map of the gulf and would get so excited about keeping track of the hurricane's progress. Back then the weatherman would have this magnetic board with the map and would move this large lawnmower blade shaped magnetic around with the coordinates. It was almost like tracking a relative coming for dinner or santa claus. The storms also had the friendliest names like Betty, or Bobby or Charley. Nothing to be afraid of.

Today, our children watch the weather and there this great big freaking red swirlie monster barrelling across a geologically and geographically correct map heading dead straight for that point on the map where they are taught to say that they live. Not only that but someone must want to bring back the anxiety of the cold war giving the storm mad Russian names like Boris or Ivan or Katrina.

Longitude: 27.2N Latitude: 89.1W -for those keeping score at home.

Here Comes The Rain.

650p. Just started raining. The kids are bouncing off the wall. Put 3 mattresses on the floor in the front kids room. There's a 50 foot tall sycamore in our backyard. Probably safer for everyone to sleep in the front of the house.

Damn This Traffic Jam!

http://www.2theadvocate.com/traffic/

That's bumper2bumper traffic there folks. That's a parking lot for 200 miles. Got a call from some family around 11am. They were just leaving NOLA and the closest hotel was Irving, TX. That's 500 miles away; by the time they get there the storm will be over.

Here She Comes...

7AM: Kids woke up. Wife sends me to the store for water, batteries, food and flashlights. Wal-Mart is completely picked over. No water, no batteries, no flashlights. Lines are long. Leave with only toilet paper and spaghetti-o's. Success at Walgreen's. The store is virtually empty. SCORE ON WATER, FLASHLIGHTS, AND BATTERIES!!!! WOOHOO!!!!

12PM: Calls from around the country coming in to check on the family: Virginia, Texas, NJ, Cali. Sun is shining bright. Cooler and drier than normal. Blue skies to the west, mass of clouds to the east. Poor New Orleans. One friend and family left New Orleans at 5pm on Saturday and took them 8 hours to drive 120 miles. Went back to Walgreen to get prescriptions filled. Store was packed. Water almost gone. Still had beer though, so picked up a case for emergencies.

3PM: Clouds have set in, but no wind. The children are planning their "hurricane party".

5PM: New Orleans is fucked! Doom and gloom all over the news. FEMA reporting that their simulations are showing up to 60,000 deaths. Mom just called wanting us to drive 60 miles further west to stay with her. Planning on riding out the storm from Baton Rouge. Can't fathom driving 6 hours with 2 kids to drive 60 miles. My company's security and safety department just called to checkin. Wondering if I should be more nervous.