NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
EXTREME DANGER in S. Central U.S.
From: Will O?Neil
Date: 2005 Aug 28, 21:10 -0400
From: Will O?Neil
Date: 2005 Aug 28, 21:10 -0400
My apologies for this very off-topic post, but I am sending it just on the chance that it will alert someone to a danger he might not otherwise be aware of -- Hurricane Katrina. This is a very violent hurricane and may well turn out to be one of the most destructive ever to hit the U.S. While its current 160 mph winds are not the strongest ever recorded, they cover an exceptionally wide area. Moreover, it is expected to cut a great swath through some of the more populous and vulnerable areas of the country. For current information on this storm you can go to http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/ At 7pm, CDT, the hurricane center was in the Gulf of Mexico, southeast of New Orleans, at about 27.2N, 89.1W. This is about 200 statute miles (170 nautical miles) south-southeast of New Orleans. Sustained winds are about 160 mph, with higher gusts. Since it is moving north-northwest at about 11 mph, it will hit somewhere not too far from New Orleans some time around noon on Monday. But since it is so vast, the winds will be dangerous long before then along this low-lying coast. Hurricanes are capricious, but the best guesses show it heading north or north-northeast through Mississippi or Eastern Alabama before arcing toward the east and running up through the East-Central U.S. Of course its strength will fall off as it gets further from open water, but it will remain a very strong storm. Here are some excerpts from the National Weather Service warnings on Katrina: MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE. HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT. AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. ... POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS. THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE KILLED. ... STORM SURGE 18 TO 22 FEET ABOVE NORMAL. A FEW AREAS MAY EXPERIENCE STORM SURGE FLOODING AS HIGH AS 28 FEET ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES NEAR AND TO THE EAST OF WHERE THE CENTER MAKES LANDFALL. In other words, be very, very wary of this storm. Will O'Neil