The Gulf

B~C · Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 12:16 am Post subject: The Gulf

Man I'm sure glad I don't live someplace where they name storms. They sure don't give you poor folks much turn around time between hurricanes anymore do they? And that traffic jam they had on the news looked horrific...best of luck to all that live down south.

flagold · Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 2:09 am Post subject:

The worst part of it is seeing people waiting and running out of gasoline for a full day stuck in 6 lanes of northbound traffic while 6 lanes of southbound highway are completely empty . . .

I am beginning to wonder if there is anyone anywhere in government that is competant enough to hold their jobs. They didn't reverse the trafic flows in FL until the last minute and a bunch of people got stuck in horrendous traffic or ran out of gas and went through the last hurricane on the highway (I was one of them, rode it out in C-Dawg-E at a rest stop between a tractor trailer and a bus). They didn't reverse the traffic flow in New Orleans until the last minute and a bunch drowned. The aren't reversing it in Texas until the last minute . . . Gee whiz!

PS: this isn't a political statement -- they're all at fault -- they flip on the tube, see the same thing you and I see on those roads and they don't do a thing except send more police to make sure nobody uses the empty lanes . . . I've seen the same thing so many times now that it is totally baffling to me -- and very frustrating.

C-Hawk · Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 10:54 am Post subject:

I was commenting on that last night when PJ and I was watching the news. Reverse the lanes and allow people to drive north in the south bound lanes.
Need to pull the boat out and fill the tanks tomorrow, before the prices get too out of hand.
My daughter is in Arlington, near Dallas. She said it's getting a bit crowded around there.
Good luck to every one in the area.

El and Bill · Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 7:13 pm Post subject:

And New Orleans goes under water again, with another breach of the levee. Now with this storm, there is the additional risk to the Gulf states (and New Orleans) from flooding associated with a stalled hurricane dumping all its rain in the same area for a few days.
Hopefully, this time something has been learned from the debacle at New Orleans -- although obviously not how to use a highway system for evacuation. FEMA's making the right noises this time and there's a military man (instead of a horse show organizer) at the helm but, even though it is the President's state, they still may have problems.
We're worried about the refineries and the cost of gasoline (already in such short supply) when Rita smacks Port Arthur and Beaumont. Been through there on Halcyon and it's all oil development on that coast.

Ron on Meander · Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 11:18 pm Post subject:

Living up here north of the border I really have no real comprehension of what its like to be in the path of a hurricane. I sure wish the best to the folks about to experience it. I really hope Rita doesn't live up to her billing. I really don't comprehend how a storm surge works. Maybe some one can explain it to someone who's more familiar to blizzards than hurricanes. Is it like a very high tide caused by the wind or is there other factors at play?
Ron

B~C · Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2005 12:24 am Post subject:

I aint no weather man but I did stay at a motel once, I think it would be like the ripple you get when you blow on cup of water, only on a much bigger scale.
You know, one good thing those folks in N.O. have going for them is that they don't have to worry about watering the lawn

rogerbum · Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2005 12:14 pm Post subject:

katkt · Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2005 4:51 pm Post subject:

The storm surge is a result of two things(some supposition involved here Laughing

)
The primary cause is the wind. 100 mph+ winds in a storm moving 9 to 15 miles an hour can stack up a lot of water. The decrease in pressue at the center of the storm, which causes the spiral circulation(I know the earths rotation is involved here also), also helps to keep the water bunched up.
The secondary cause is the location of the storms. Along the gulf coast the water levels are low and the water meets resistance with the bottom and cannot move down and away, so it stacks up. Coastal areas with deep water adjacent to the shore generally don't have the storm surge problems, that we do along the gulf.
You can duplicate a storm surge in a tank of water, by using your hand in place of the wind. As your hand moves through the water, the water will bunch up in front of your hand but still maintain its original level in other areas of the tank. Combine the wind and extreme low pressure with shallow water, and you end up with a storm surge. The majority of coastal destruction is or was caused by the storm surge. The last place you want to be in a hurricane(that is coming ashore) is in the 0 to 90 degree quadrant(12 to 3) around the eye, and that area they refer to as the eyewall( the eyewall varies in width depending on the size of the storm)

Byrdman · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 7:48 am Post subject:

Man, spent the last few days down in MS taking peoples' worldly possecions out to the street, tearing out sheet rock, taking up carpets. What a mess both physically and emotionally. I am now truly aware of why I "was retired" instead of selected for another tour. My work since Katrina with the disaster relief teams has for sure been very trying at times, angry at times, but most of all very rewarding after going down for a few days and seeing some of the results of the teams and being in the middle of it myself. This is way better than anything I could have accomplished in the AL ARNG with the promoting quotas and BS that was and is taking place. I am a much happier man. Take a look around you home tonight and just visualize a line about 7' high around the top of each and every room. Then, just imagine that you lost everything below that line in every room. Then to find out that none of your homeowners insurance is going to pay didly because you did not purchase the extra flood pertection because the area that your home is built in has not flodded in over 50 years and was zoned a "non-flood" zone. What people seem to hate loosing most are for sure not the most exspensive items, but the items handed down from generations. This is truly an awakening experience. Going back down real soon and will be working with FEMA Thursday night at Frazer UMC on how our churches can work together with FEMA to make things much more effective in OUR recovery efforts. I am tired, but can not stop. Yall keep on praying, and at each sundown toast a nice sundowner for us. Yall come on down. Plenty of work yet to be accomplished, free houseing, food, laundry, tools.... all ya need is YOU.
Byrdman