Topic starter
22/09/2007 12:59 am
Greetings From New Orleans .
Its just been over two years since Hurricane Katrina had New Orleans in its cross hairs and in some parts of the city you would swear that it blew through just yesterday . When I have to go to the New Orleans , General Anchorage to catch a north bound ship , I pass through areas of the city that still has the stinch , still has no electricty , still has no residents , still has no retail stores , but still does have the residue of a city that bore the full brunt of a Class 5 Hurricane . Now , two years and one month latter , New Orleans is again in the path of another storm , and thank God , not a hurricane but something much less , Tropical Storm Tim . From listening to the local news accounts , the low lying areas of the city and the parish are taking nothing for granted and are opening shelters and closing flood gates . Residents of FEMA trailers ( yes many people are still living in trailers because their homes are still in dis-repair ) are being told to evacuate and are told to bring only the personal items that they can carry . The recent good news is that the National Weather Service is now predicting that Tropical Storm Tim is now heading more of a North-west track than west and is expected to make landfall between Pensacola and Gulf Shores tomorrow . However , they did go on to say that in all likely hood that the storm will by pass the Greater New Orleans area and we will only experience 45 to 50 mile an hour winds and a great deal of rain . Its also my understanding that the Bar Pilots and the Crescent River Port Pilots are still in operation and the same with the NOBRA pilots as well . So , it appears for the time being at least that New Orleans has dodged the bullet and hopfully this will wrap up the 07' hurricane season . Attached to this posting is a few of the pictures I took of conditions on the river after Katrina and hopfully after Tim there will be nothing to either photograph or report . Imagine , if you will , just what it must have took to blow and wash these different river vessels literally out of the Mississippi River and force a storm surge go up the river well past Baton Rouge ???
Smoothe Sailing ,
Ted Davisson
22/09/2007 12:02 pm
Excellent Reporting
Cap'n Ted,
Thanks for sharing your candid insights on the lower river and your artful photography. We readers are fortunate, indeed, to see through your eyes what we would never have to the opportunity to see with our own. Keep up the excellent reporting from down on the Coast.
22/09/2007 2:34 pm
Captain, As always, thanks for the pictures, which say more eloquently than words what things were like for the people who lived through Katrina. When I talk about the river, I stress that these problems are America's problems. Most people do not truly understand how important the Port of New Orleans is to the nation's economy. After dealing with the terrible human story of Katrina, it was a priority to get the harbor up and running--not just for New Orleans, but for the entire country. This is an issue that will not go away, and one that every American needs to understand.
07/10/2007 2:22 pm
Thanks Ted, Sam, and Mary
I still find it hard to fathom how little is actually reported of progress in the whole gulf region. Yes, there are pockets of stories now and then. But Katrina's wrath had more lasting effects economically than even 9/11.
The exemption for the Delta Queen might not have been an issue if not for the union lobbying which might not have happened if not for MAL which might not have become the boats' owners IF not for Katrina.
I've been off the board because of family matters- and I do thank people who assisted with my card shower for my dad's birthday in June. Alzheimers has been winning and he is now in a nursing home. But the irony for me has always been that I was watching Katrina on the news the day that I brought both my folks to the VA hospital and begged for help. I had spent the previous night trying to sleep in an upright kitchen chair. I often told people that when Katrina hit New Orleans, she hit my household in a different way and things have never been the same since then.
But as Mary put it- New Orleans is in America! This is our problem and I don't even see political candidates making that a stomping ground. Guess it isn't the right photo opportunity for them or the lack of electricity might be a problem- ya think?