impleri

What a joke. A voluntary evacuation! “We really want you to leave so that you have a better chance of survival, but we're not telling you to do so.”
Well, that is what Southeastern Louisiana is like right now. Hurricane Ivan has most of the markings of the “Perfect Storm” that'd annihilate New Orleans with a landfall expected early Thursday. What most have feared for many years is that a category 5 hurricane (much like Ivan) would come slowly from the south right around 90 degrees W (not unlike Ivan) and stall right before making landfall (as most hurricanes do). This would allow the winds to pump water through the Rigolets and into Lake Pontchartrain. This increase of water would be held by the hurricane levee systems. Then, as the hurricane moves northeast, it would move so that the winds shift southward, thus pushing the now filled lake's water into the bowl that is called New Orleans…about 30 feet worth (deep, that is) of water across the city. Then, as the storm moves on, Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River connect. FEMA estimates that this would leave around 40-60 thousand people dead. Always a comforting thought.
So, we're waiting until tomorrow to see if the storm turns north/east (which would be REALLY good for us). If it does not, we are loading a U-Haul with all of our dogs, packing up the van, and driving out to some relatives' house in Alexandria (in north central Louisiana). i'll be trying to keep everyone here posted.