New Orleans officials formulating plan.

[vbhoutex]

Click on the link for details. It will be interesting to see what comes of this. I guess better late than never.

http://www.click2weather.com/weather/33 ... etail.html

[TS Zack]

I Live in New Orleans. Hurricane comes I am out of here.

Lili, Isidore, and Bill gave us tremendous problems I don't want to picture what a Cat 3-5 will do. Just really sucks when you have to leave your home knowing if this thing goes where it is forecast to go your house won't be their nomore and you wont be able to go home for weeks maybe months.

[alicia-w]

It makes me wonder all the more every time I drive over to Destin and see them build more and more high-rise condos. Traffic was at a near-standstill the last time an evacuation was required. Now that all these new buildings are up, and the infrastructure hasnt been updated, how on earth are all of these people going to get out of here in a timely fashion? That probably applies to every metro area on the Gulf and Atlantic coast. Developers are building at phenomenal rates thanks to those low interest rates.

It's just overwhelming.

[bevgo]

I live in the NO area also and will be heading to MS when a threat approaches. This is the first time in years I will be able to leave. I have been stuck at work till this year. I have been here for 17 years and have seen what a heavy spring thunder storm can do and what a TS can do also. Not gonne stick around for the real thing!

They have known for years that we are going to be in tropuble and they just now are getting around to planning.

[lilbump3000]

I live in N.O. and everytime a storm comes we head west to texas, because eventually the storm is going to turn east into mississippi.

[Steve]

Here for the long haul. As otherwise advertised, Gilbert is the only storm to ever have me consider leaving. Anything below a borderline Cat 4 and I'm staying (life vest, hatchet, ice chest of beer, carton of cigs, et al). The wife can take the kids wherever she wants.

Steve

[TS Zack]

New Orleans officials know everyone won't be able to get out. So they made a plan to turn all traffic North and West to both sides of the Interstates. I-59 will be turned into one way all the way to Hattiesburg. I-10 West will be turned one way all the way to Baton Rouge. I-12 West will be turned one way too Baton Rouge. So, you can only go north or west. No going east.

[vbhoutex]

It makes me wonder all the more every time I drive over to Destin and see them build more and more high-rise condos. Traffic was at a near-standstill the last time an evacuation was required. Now that all these new buildings are up, and the infrastructure hasnt been updated, how on earth are all of these people going to get out of here in a timely fashion? That probably applies to every metro area on the Gulf and Atlantic coast. Developers are building at phenomenal rates thanks to those low interest rates.

It's just overwhelming.

My parents tried to evacuate when Opal came through. After 4 miles and almost 2 hours Dad turned around and went back home. And yes it will be the same all along our coasts except maybe in the Carolinas where they seem to have learned some lessons.

[MGC]

What a joke, evacuate New Orleans. Ha, I'd like to see any major city evacuate. I'd take my chances and ride the cane out in NO. I survived Betsy there, the city can take it. I don't buy into the dooms day flood. The levees are much better than they were back in the 60's. New Orleans has been slammed by hurricanes over the years and never experienced a Galveston type disaster.....MGC

[Anonymous]

What a joke, evacuate New Orleans. Ha, I'd like to see any major city evacuate. I'd take my chances and ride the cane out in NO. I survived Betsy there, the city can take it. I don't buy into the dooms day flood. The levees are much better than they were back in the 60's. New Orleans has been slammed by hurricanes over the years and never experienced a Galveston type disaster.....MGC

Betsy wasn't a direct hit, we haven't been slammed by hurricanes over recent years and the swamps that used to protect us are gone. Higher levees just create a higher bowl..

[MGC]

Tropical, did you go through Betsy? Yes, it was not a direct hit but NO was in the bad quad and did get quite a surge. Levees are much higher now and concrete reinforced which they were just grass covered dirt in the 60's. Orleans Levee Board has done a good job with the levees over the years. At least there are flood gates now, when Betsy hit they used sandbags......NO is much better prepared today than years ago....MGC

[Anonymous]

Tropical, did you go through Betsy? Yes, it was not a direct hit but NO was in the bad quad and did get quite a surge. Levees are much higher now and concrete reinforced which they were just grass covered dirt in the 60's. Orleans Levee Board has done a good job with the levees over the years. At least there are flood gates now, when Betsy hit they used sandbags......NO is much better prepared today than years ago....MGC

No, fortunately I didn't. I still think these levees can only do so much for our protection. In fact, the last time they ran one of the models that predict flooding, the extent of the flooding progged in N.O. East was higher than previously thought. When Georges was approaching the city in 98, the Lake was already almost as high as the levee....from a Cat 2 and no direct landfall. There will always be debate up until the time we actually get hit by one of these monsters...but I hope everyone takes each threat seriously.

[PTPatrick]

I cant say that Mississippi has got a major problem with evacuating inland...as there the now 4 major highways that have been 4 laned to get people out of there. Having said that...they HAVE to ecavuate inland nowadays for anything above a 2 because at least in Jackson County(and I believe in Harrison and Hancock as well) there are not approved shelters in for a major storm. After some of the ones that were "approved" had major issues in georges(i.e. wall falling down, and roofs being blows off, flooding) there doesnt seem to be a safe haven in the county. And if memory serves, George and Stone counties dont have many...and niether do some of the others farther inland. So in major hurricane...many people will have to drive as far as Jackson and Meridian for shelter(this applies to the NOLA area folks too, as Mississippi shelters are theirs also)I myself rode that storm out in the school that my mother was principal of at the time...and it was at the a shelter option(although ditrict chose not to open it)...and it had flooded halls by the end of the storm. I think the problem comes when they dont know whether it is going to be a NOLA or a MS hit...then you have 2 major populated areas trying to evac up I-55, hwy-49, and 63. In short...we have the infrastructure...I just hope that people would leave in a timely enough fashion not to clog it.

[MGC]

Not having directly experienced the Hurricane Georges evacuation joke and having never evacuated for a hurricane, my main concern is being trapped on the road by the mass rush to leave. As with Hugo and Opal, I've read accounts of people turning around because the roads were one big parking lot. To think that making I-59 one way will aid the evacuation is false. Here is an analogy, put two straws into and drink and take a big mouth full. Once your mouth is full there is still nowhere for the fluid in the straws to go. So, the first few cars will get out quickly but the traffic will eventually back up. I'd hate to be caught out on the road in a big hurricane..........MGC

[gboudx]

The company I currently work for won the contract to develop the evacuation plan. Here is the link:

http://www.ieminc.com/Whats_New/Press_R ... rophic.htm