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Gustav Evacuation — Survivors of I-59 Contraflow Tell Their Tales

Traffic

One evacuee’s tale is the subject of this blog post:

The six hours before dawn took us into the gridlock. Once we hit I-59, traffic was reduced to an average of one to three miles per hour. With no available gas in sight, the option of AC rapidly became too fuel-intensive to embrace. In heat close [...]

Advice for the Next Evacuation

Catastrophes

After the traffic jams that were experienced on interstates by folks evacuating southern Louisiana, this post at the Best of New Orleans Blog may be a useful reminder for next time:

After an hour of sitting in the well-documented misery that was I-59 in the waning hours of contraflow, we got off as soon as we [...]

DirecTV relaying WDSU on Channel 361

Media

Local newscasts are much less annoying than the cable news channels.

Oops

Catastrophes

CNN has a blurb mentioning water overtopping the Industrial Canal levees in New Orleans.

However, a quick check of online sources doesn’t reveal any confirmation.   During Katrina, the NWS was pretty quick to issue a flash flood warning when a levee was breached.

…of course, as I was typing this up, CNN cut to a live shot [...]

National Media Not Paying Attention to Evac Stories North of NOLA?

Catastrophes

It seems that the downside of having 1.9 million people evacuate Louisiana this time is that perhaps the evacuation routes might have been a bit underpowered.

Despite what’s been heard on CNN, the Best of New Orleans blog reported this afternoon:

I am livid with the information we are receiving from the authorities and the media about [...]

New Orleans to be Evacuated…Again

Catastrophes

Seen at the Times-Picayune:

Mayor Ray Nagin late Saturday warned that Gustav is the "mother of all storms" and ordered a mandatory evacuation for the West Bank of New Orleans for 8 a.m. Sunday and noon for the East Bank.

"We want 100 percent evacuation," said Nagin. "It has the potential to impact every area of this [...]

Gustav Causes Lower Louisiana Freeways to Be One-Way Inland

Weather

If you were thinking about driving through southern Louisiana ahead of Gustav….maybe that’s not such a good idea.

Seen at the Times-Picayune:

The contraflow plan to open all lanes of traffic away from coastal areas to speed evacuation from Hurricane Gustav could begin Saturday night and no later than Sunday morning, state officials said this afternoon.

The state [...]

Gustav / Convention Thought of the Night

Weather

When it was announced that Obama would make his acceptance speech outside on Mount Olympus at Invesco Field, there were reports that certain McCain supporters called for prayers for rain.  (The forecast for Denver is clear, by the way.)

Now it looks like the GOP convention will be competing with Gustav for media attention.  This has [...]

Note to Evacuees: Remember to Document Repairs from the Last Storm

Catastrophes

The Times-Picayune offers a helpful reminder to folks who may be taking a little unplanned trip this Labor Day weekend:

If Gustav prompts an evacuation, homeowners should bring receipts, contractor invoices and photographs documenting completed repairs at their houses to make sure they are eligible to collect insurance for any fresh damage that may occur.

Both [...]

Governor Jindal Mobilizes Troops and Evac Busses

Weather

Maybe a few lessons have been learned from Katrina.   Seen at NOLA.com:

Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a pre-storm state of emergency this afternoon, announcing the mobilization of 3,000 National Guard with as many 5,000 call-ups possible depending on the course of Hurricane Gustav. […]

Contracts for 700 buses also have been activated, Jindal said, with the out-of-state [...]