Gulfport and Long Beach

[therealashe]

I also was there for Andrew, and while it wiped Homestead flat, and it was horrible...Katrina... I have no words. The devestation is so widespread, so complete.

Whoever said "This is our tsumani" had it right.

[CentralFlGal]

Thank you for the information and your kind thoughts Flgal. I just watched the flyover of Long Beach at http://www.wlbt.com/ and now I am really worried. I wasn't able to pick out the college on the film (my favorite cousin lives in the shadow of the library). I just hope they actually did evacuate no matter how late in the evening it was.

You are so very welcome.

I have a new link for you. Mapquest your family's addies, then compare the map to the NOAA sat images here (takes a little while to get accustomed to the orientation of the images - sometimes north is to the top, sometimes to the right, etc.): http://alt.ngs.noaa.gov/katrina/KATRINA0000.HTM

Another S2K member was gracious enough to share this link (I'm sorry, I can't recall who it was right now, but I'm very thankful for it), and I was able to locate my family's homes and survey the damage from above. Once you get your bearings, I'm certain you'll be able to find what you're looking for.

I'm going to PM you as well to make sure you are able to use this resource.

* edited for horrible spelling. Time for bed.

[AdvAutoBob]

They are staying that as far as a mile in, everything is flattened. It's a WLBT-TV feed to MSNBC.

I'm looking at this and feeling sick, knowing that the death toll can only rise. This is beyond Andrew. Way beyond.

everybody keeps saying this.

yes, the detruction is widespread... and the surge may be the highest we've ever seen.... but saying this is way beyond andrew is saying a lot.

i think some people forget how devastating andrew was. winds ripped apart tens of thousands of homes in south florida.

Andrew was small Katrina was big, and surge is 100 times more powerful than wind.

As John Hope reminded us quite a few times in the past (Probably the best hurricane analyst and I still miss him), a cubic yard of seawater weighs 1700 lbs (that's three quarters of a TON). This is why the coastline looks this way. As to comparisons...for myself, I'm using the Galveston Storm of 1900 as a comparison to Katrina. Some of the utter devastation looks exactly the same, and I fear the death toll will come close to, if not eclipse 1900's toll.

[cancunkid]

Wanted to let everyone know on this thread I found most of my cousins during the night. Still missing one that rode the storm out in Long Beach at her in-laws (her house is gone) but another rode it out just north of the tracks and is fine, two went to ocean springs and had a foot or two of water in the os house but are fine although their house is badly damaged (next to the college elevation27 feet 3 feet of water in house) the one from NO is in Fairhope her house is underwater in NO. Although my cousin was an attny. he didn't carry flood insurance! Felt since he and his family made it through Camille without any flooding it was not necessary at their house. Hopefully the others did have flood insurance.

Thanks for all your help and thoughts. My prayers and thoughts are with everyone who is still searching for their loved ones.

[gtalum]

A friend of mine from long Beach just called me and let me know he and his family are okay. He's in Memphis right now, and his parents rode out the storm in their home, and the home is almost undamaged. There is hope, away from the beach.