I'm down here on business for the week, staying in Baton Rouge and doing work in New Orleans. I've never seen anything quite like it, pretty damn sad actually. People just look tired of dealing with it all. Driving down I-10 lets you see a shitton of abandoned, stripped, and washed out cars. I saw sinks, dressers, clothes, beds, shit just everywhere on the side of the road. The Westbank area is doing alright, mostly because it's not heavily impoverished. However anywhere off of Charles street, or downtown is pretty fucked up still. There are just black people roaming around everywhere, standing in gas station parking lots looking for work. There are still buildings that have "Help" written on them. Shit, the Superdome is still missing half of it's roof.

I went into that Wal-Mart that was all over the news as it was being looted as well. After getting through the guards at the door, I asked an employee if they had any digital camera batteries, only to have her laugh in my face. So, that means no pictures for you guys unless I go find a battery around here somewhere.

It kind of sucks, I was looking forward to partying down on the companies dime, but I really don't even want to hang out down there. It really is godawful depressing.

I went there for Mardi Gras about a month ago. It was definitely still severely fubared.

Not sure about the Superdome though. It looked like they had replaced the roof already and they had the sign for it's reopening for this coming football season.

I think it's gonna be a great job market there once everything gets going again. I'm sure they're gonna do everything in their power to keep the bottom feeders who were once there, out.

all I can say is cry me a fuckin river.

I went there for Mardi Gras about a month ago. It was definitely still severely fubared.

Not sure about the Superdome though. It looked like they had replaced the roof already and they had the sign for it's reopening for this coming football season.


There is a reopening sign on it, but the roof definitely doesn't look fixed yet. There were several panels missing when I went by it today. I don't really know to what extent it was destroyed beforehand, but it certainly didn't look like it used to.

lol still pwnt...

It's actually pretty sad, mainly for the regular working class people there. It just seems like they are really worn out and tired from the whole situation. Alot of people I talked with today were discussing their plans to move once they get back on their feet again and settle insurance claims. Sucks too, cause that whole area would be absolutely badass if it weren't for all the scumbags.....and the motherfucker's of hurricanes that come every year. Either way it was a pretty humbling experience. It was easy to sit in NC and call everyone retarded for living there, until you saw it firsthand.

It's also easy to see what a bitch it is to get out of there. I-10 is the only escape route, and that city is a fucking maze. Expressways and one way streets everywhere, all funneling to I-10 which has 2 lanes running through the middle of the bayou. Sure as hell does not make for a quick route when mass evacuation occurs, or warning is given.

hey man--go to the Walmart in Gonzales. If you take I-10 from baton Rouge, hop off at exit 177, and you can get there from that exit. They have all the batteries you will need. My office is right off that exit too. If you want complete directions, PM me and I will let you know exactly how to get there and back--it is pretty simple.

But yeah, man, NO is still a mess. People do not realize that more than half the city has not even been touched yet since the storm! I went through the eastern side of the city back in January....Came in on I-10 and took one of the exits, and the only thing moving anywhere in sight was me, and whatever small trash the wind blew around. No power and not a soul in sight. The damage was exactly as Katrina had left it, and I felt like I was on the moon or something. Very eerie....If I had brought my camera on that trip I would have taken a boatload of pics....the whole place is basically destroyed. What buildings were still standing were all heavily damaged, cars were covered in debris, etc etc etc. The only evidence at all that anyone was in there after the storm was evidence of looting and marks that were painted on buildings by rescue workers in some places, showing that they searched that building. That's it.

Oh, and I-10 is not the only way out, but it might as well be. There is also LA-61(Airline Blvd) which runs right past the international airport. That one road goes from New Orleans all the way through Baton Rouge and is a common alternate route around here. It is amazing that they got so many people out in the 30 hours or so of evacuation time before the storm hit....over a million people got out on I-10. I still dont know how they did it.

Driving down I-10 lets you see a shitton of abandoned, stripped, and washed out cars.

Any 7's sitting around? :dunno:

Any 7's sitting around? :dunno:

you wont find any. There is a 7 car club down here and many of the guys lost their cars and more. SOme of them got lucky though, like me. I only lost my house, but my 7 and my truck did not get a scratch. Hard to explain that one, as they were parked under the carport, and the carport was the only thing left standing! Go figure...

but the guys with 7's have already all been heard from and their cars have been accounted for. you may get lucky enough to find a 7 that was not in the club, but with the amount of water we got down there, the entire inside of the car would look like a chia pet by now. So much would have to be replaced that you will spend more $$ this way than you would just buying a nice one somewhere else.

reminds you how all the technology, toys, and conveniences of modern civilization can disappear, real quick

Isnt that something though? It's really easy to get lost in the technology we use everyday, until this happens and you dont even have power or water for a week or more. Man, some areas of NO still dont have power and we are officially getting ready for this hurricane season--kicks off on June 1st....

hey man--go to the Walmart in Gonzales. If you take I-10 from baton Rouge, hop off at exit 177, and you can get there from that exit. They have all the batteries you will need. My office is right off that exit too. If you want complete directions, PM me and I will let you know exactly how to get there and back--it is pretty simple.

But yeah, man, NO is still a mess. People do not realize that more than half the city has not even been touched yet since the storm! I went through the eastern side of the city back in January....Came in on I-10 and took one of the exits, and the only thing moving anywhere in sight was me, and whatever small trash the wind blew around. No power and not a soul in sight. The damage was exactly as Katrina had left it, and I felt like I was on the moon or something. Very eerie....If I had brought my camera on that trip I would have taken a boatload of pics....the whole place is basically destroyed. What buildings were still standing were all heavily damaged, cars were covered in debris, etc etc etc. The only evidence at all that anyone was in there after the storm was evidence of looting and marks that were painted on buildings by rescue workers in some places, showing that they searched that building. That's it.

Oh, and I-10 is not the only way out, but it might as well be. There is also LA-61(Airline Blvd) which runs right past the international airport. That one road goes from New Orleans all the way through Baton Rouge and is a common alternate route around here. It is amazing that they got so many people out in the 30 hours or so of evacuation time before the storm hit....over a million people got out on I-10. I still dont know how they did it.

Sweet, I'm going there right now. I know I have a client in Gonzales that I was going to stop and see tomorrow, but if they have batteries I'll go today.

And I tried to stay away from the East Side. I may have to venture over there a bit today, but I'm gonna try to get in and out as quick as possible. I already got lost on Plank Rd in Baton Rouge the first night I was here, and I was easily the only white guy within a 10 mile radius. Normally that wouldn't bother me, but down here I get the feeling I am not welcome. I had 4 dudes circle my car at a gas station on Sunday, look at me and ask what's up, look at my car, and then walk inside while still looking back. I didn't even bother filling up the tank, I just hopped in and got the fuck out of there.

Any 7's sitting around? :dunno:


I didn't see any, and if there were they would surely be stripped of anything valuable. The blacks already took every rim in site. All the cars are sitting on blocks, and literally have a garden growing inside of them.

Sweet, I'm going there right now. I know I have a client in Gonzales that I was going to stop and see tomorrow, but if they have batteries I'll go today.

And I tried to stay away from the East Side. I may have to venture over there a bit today, but I'm gonna try to get in and out as quick as possible. I already got lost on Plank Rd in Baton Rouge the first night I was here, and I was easily the only white guy within a 10 mile radius. Normally that wouldn't bother me, but down here I get the feeling I am not welcome. I had 4 dudes circle my car at a gas station on Sunday, look at me and ask what's up, look at my car, and then walk inside while still looking back. I didn't even bother filling up the tank, I just hopped in and got the fuck out of there.

I come prepared....as in, armed....when I have to venture to those areas. For the most part though, people down here leave you alone as long as you leave them alone I find. At least thats how it is now, after the hurricanes. Before, it was worse. Things have quieted down ever since we shipped our surplus of inner city criminals to Texas lol

But yeah, take exit 177 anf turn left. You are going to go until you find LA-44, which is called Burnside Avenue. At that traffic light, you will see a Chevy dealership across the intersection on your left. Turn left there. Continue through several traffic lights, then over the big railroad tracks. Keep in the right lane. When you come to Highway 61--Airline Drive--turn right. The Walmart is going to be on your left. They are fully stocked and have had no problems in getting anything. they even started selling guns again lol

On the east side of New Orleans, there is a Six Flags. I am unsure what kind of shape it is in, but once you get out that way, be prepared to be the only person in sight, unless things have really kicked into high gear in the last month or so, which I doubt. The damage is visible from the highway(I-10) easily. You can see apartment buildings that have partially toppled over onto cars and so on. The whole place is a disaster

The Wal-Mart in Gonzales was out of the battery I needed, but I found one in LaPlace today. I'm gonna upload some pictures I took today for everyone in a few minutes.
skydiver, do you by chance work for Marathon or Norco? I went by those 2 refineries on 61 today and remember you saying you worked for an oil company.

http://photos-371.facebook.com/n13/210/42/13805691/n13805691_30221371_8399.jpg

This is Jackson Ave. About 36 seconds after I took this picture, an old man came up to my car and warned me that I should get out of that area for my own safety. Apparently there are mad cubs and mad shootings in here

http://photos-372.facebook.com/n13/210/42/13805691/n13805691_30221372_8774.jpg

This building was occupied by Navy Seals snipers, as well as a bunch of police snipers. All of the buildings surrounded it looked down on a Marina with very expensive yachts. I talked to one of the guys who was there during the height of it all, and he told me that they had 108 confirmed kills just in this small area. All were looters posing a threat to the peoples safety in the area, and all were disposed of without any reports. Apparently a shitload of people were just capped in the head by snipers and then tossed away for no one to find.

http://photos-383.facebook.com/n13/210/42/13805691/n13805691_30221383_3102.jpg

Russell Pier, right on Lake Ponchatrain.

http://photos-384.facebook.com/n13/210/42/13805691/n13805691_30221384_3489.jpg

More of Russel Pier

http://photos-386.facebook.com/n13/210/42/13805691/n13805691_30221386_4233.jpg

Nice Xterra.

http://photos-381.facebook.com/n13/210/42/13805691/n13805691_30221381_2112.jpg

http://photos-385.facebook.com/n13/210/42/13805691/n13805691_30221385_3863.jpg

http://photos-374.facebook.com/n13/210/42/13805691/n13805691_30221374_9520.jpg

http://photos-375.facebook.com/n13/210/42/13805691/n13805691_30221375_9886.jpg

It's hard to see cause I was going 80mph, but under the freeway there is all abandoned cars.

I have some more, but am tired of cutting and pasting.

The Wal-Mart in Gonzales was out of the battery I needed, but I found one in LaPlace today. I'm gonna upload some pictures I took today for everyone in a few minutes.
skydiver, do you by chance work for Marathon or Norco? I went by those 2 refineries on 61 today and remember you saying you worked for an oil company.

I dont work at a refinery--I work at 34 different plants and refineries. I work at both Norco and Marathon. My company is an independent third party company.


Oh, and that first pic you took on Jackson? I was right there just this afternoon....

I was also in the spot where you took that last pic. Only I was not on the highway. I was on that road where you could turn in to the area that all those cars are parked in. The water almost got high enough to completely submerge the cars there--you can see on the windows where the water line was. there is even a blue Vette Convertible in there. For some reason, the looters left these cars alone almost entirely. They all still have their wheels and most of them did not even have broken windows.

If you go back again, you want to go out east further on I-10. Look up how to get to the Six Flags then go around in that area. There should be plenty to take pics of.

That's funny, I was there at about 11am I think.

I have to go to Galliano, Thibodaux, Houma, and Raceland tomorrow. If I have time I might shoot back across I-10 and check it out. I also wanted to get over to Gulfport this week, but I don't know if I'll have the time. From what I've heard, that's even worse off.

you wont find any. There is a 7 car club down here and many of the guys lost their cars and more. SOme of them got lucky though, like me. I only lost my house, but my 7 and my truck did not get a scratch. Hard to explain that one, as they were parked under the carport, and the carport was the only thing left standing! Go figure...

but the guys with 7's have already all been heard from and their cars have been accounted for. you may get lucky enough to find a 7 that was not in the club, but with the amount of water we got down there, the entire inside of the car would look like a chia pet by now. So much would have to be replaced that you will spend more $$ this way than you would just buying a nice one somewhere else.
wow... thats sad...

wow... thats really f'ed up... post more pics please?

http://photos-370.facebook.com/n13/210/42/13805691/n13805691_30221370_7993.jpg

Look closely and you can see the tops of the pumps look like someone mangled them with a crowbar. The canopy is destroyed too.

http://photos-373.facebook.com/n13/210/42/13805691/n13805691_30221373_9148.jpg

http://photos-380.facebook.com/n13/210/42/13805691/n13805691_30221380_1728.jpg

Someone's home with marks on it after being searched. Not sure what the letters and numbers mean, but I saw others with the same pattern that said things like "2 dogs rescued" next to it.

http://photos-382.facebook.com/n13/210/42/13805691/n13805691_30221382_2733.jpg

Sucks, this place was probably a badass restaurant.

http://photos-379.facebook.com/n13/210/42/13805691/n13805691_30221379_1329.jpg

You can see the signs that were just blown out from the frames. Also, the Superdome in the background. That picture doesn't show any damage, but you can see it if you go around the other side.

This building was occupied by Navy Seals snipers, as well as a bunch of police snipers. All of the buildings surrounded it looked down on a Marina with very expensive yachts. I talked to one of the guys who was there during the height of it all, and he told me that they had 108 confirmed kills just in this small area. All were looters posing a threat to the peoples safety in the area, and all were disposed of without any reports. Apparently a shitload of people were just capped in the head by snipers and then tossed away for no one to find.
:bigthumb:

Grab me a cool ass piece of debris.... something hilarious.... i dunno.. use your imagination... I'll pay shipping.

Here come my NOLA pics from when I was there:

Six Flags

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/sikopathx/NOLA/d0ad1f3d.jpg

Some Plaza

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/sikopathx/NOLA/1a850e34.jpg

One of many COMPLETELY empty Apt. Complexes

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/sikopathx/NOLA/7f92ce73.jpg

Jacked up House

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/sikopathx/NOLA/4b45e7d0.jpg

Some Neighborhood

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/sikopathx/NOLA/f9cb1cb7.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/sikopathx/NOLA/88ca4a90.jpg

Dowtown

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/sikopathx/NOLA/c3c02c73.jpg

Nice Cathedral, but battered

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/sikopathx/NOLA/33fe78dd.jpg

Awesome shot of the Superdome

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/sikopathx/NOLA/aa2432bb.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/sikopathx/NOLA/c8e6fb69.jpg

O n0es! Not Churches!

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/sikopathx/NOLA/3df3cf7c.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/sikopathx/NOLA/8b3b6238.jpg

Just like every other Fast Food place in town

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/sikopathx/NOLA/bcf7a70c.jpg

One more thing that seriously showed how wrecked the place was, was that on main 6 lane streets...there were no streetlights. Just Stop signs for EVERYTHING. Made getting through the city a bitch sometimes.

Grab me a cool ass piece of debris.... something hilarious.... i dunno.. use your imagination... I'll pay shipping.

There's a couple of boats on the side of the highway, might be pricey as far as shipping goes. I'll see what I can do. I don't know if I will have time to go back through there, but I will do my best.

One more thing that seriously showed how wrecked the place was, was that on main 6 lane streets...there were no streetlights. Just Stop signs for EVERYTHING. Made getting through the city a bitch sometimes.


Alot of them are still like that. Also, they use those stupid fucking signals that are mounted low, and on the corners of the street. I'm not looking on the street corner for a green light, I'm looking up in the air so I don't have to take my eyes off the road. I can't count how many tire screeching stops I had after realizing there was a signal at the intersection.

That's funny, I was there at about 11am I think.

I have to go to Galliano, Thibodaux, Houma, and Raceland tomorrow. If I have time I might shoot back across I-10 and check it out. I also wanted to get over to Gulfport this week, but I don't know if I'll have the time. From what I've heard, that's even worse off.

I was there an hour after you were man....what do you do anyways? Thibodaux, I dont live too far from there.. I have to go there this afternoon for a Dr appointment.

Oh, and we used to go to Gulfport all the time. Yesterday, we ran into a woman from Gulfport near the zoo. She drove all the way out here to go to the zoo but it is not open on Tuesdays. I asked her how it looked and she said that there is basically nothing left of the waterfront down there. And to think, we were in Gulfport for the weekend just two weeks before Katrina hit. Let me see if I can get some pics of what it looks like down there.

This is what's left of the Highway 90 Bay St. Louis bridge--
http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/Pics/cap2.html

http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/Pics/cap3.html

This one is along Highway 90 near a town called Pass Christian, not far from Gulfport--
http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/Pics/cap6.html

This is a shot of the marina at Pass Christian before the storm.

http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/Pics/google7.html

Here are a couple shots of it afterwards--
http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/Pics/cap8.html

http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/Pics/cap7.html

This pic shows where the water rose to....compare the damage in the lower part of the pic to the top half.

http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/Pics/cap12.html

Here is the K-Mart in Gulfport. The only thing holding up the roof is the support columns. The walls and everything inside were completely washed away. You can clearly see where the high water mark is in this one....

http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/Pics/cap14.html

This one is a bunch of banana trucks that were scattered all over the place. If you look on the right, that rectangular red thing is actually a river barge that is used to haul bulk goods like gravel or sand...
http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/Pics/cap15.html

This next one is what is left of the Grand Casino....it used to be a floating casino, and it is sitting right on top of Highway 90 in the pic. Pay special attention to the size of the building on the highway, and compare it to the building that is still standing in the center of the pic.....a "before" show will follow.
http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/Pics/cap16.html

Here is the before shot--notice how much of the Grand Casino is simply gone. The piece of it that washed up on the highway is a very small portion of what it used to be--
http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/Pics/google16.html

Here is more damage to the casinos. The Treasure Bay ship did not go too far, the guy says....but you can still see plenty of damage to it.

EDIT--the ship used to be moored alongside the building on the right in the pic--with the bow facing out to sea. It was moved off the moorings and to the left.
http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/Pics/cap18.html

By the way, the road in that pic is Highway 90, and it is the main road that runs along the shoreline down there. That road, as anyone who has been there will tell you, is packed full of motels, restaurants, shops, etc etc etc. Needless to say, most of what was built next to that road is completely gone, and what remains is very heavily damaged.

Here is a shot of the brand new Hard Rock Cafe casino--it had not even opened yet--

http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/Pics/cap20.html

This link is for Marine Life, an aquarium in Gulfport. I took my daughter here two weeks before Katrina hit. The first pic shows what it used to look like--the one with the train in it--while the next two pics show what it looks like now. Completely destroyed. And this place is right on the waterfront. It is actually surrounded by a marina, which was also wiped out completely.
http://www.gulfarium.com/help.html

Looks like I need a new place to go to for the beach for a few years....

One more thing that seriously showed how wrecked the place was, was that on main 6 lane streets...there were no streetlights. Just Stop signs for EVERYTHING. Made getting through the city a bitch sometimes.

From those shots, it looks like you got off the highway in the eastern part of NO. That "jacked up house" reminds me of an apartment complex out east, near Six Flags. I got off the highway when coming back from Michigan in January and drove around in there. I was the only person in sight. No other cars moving, no one anywhere to be found but me. Anyways, the apartment building I came across had two stories, and the entire second story, along with the whole exterior wall, came down on a Porsche 911. I could barely see the back of the car under all the debris.

It will take several years to get things cleaned up around here, no doubt.

EDIT--here are some more links to pictures of the Gulfport area

http://www.mississippiheritage.com/HurricaneKatrina.html

http://www.ppumc.org/Relief/Church/

http://www.pbase.com/flemingw/katrina

Check this pic out--the storm actually tore up entire roads in Bay St. Louis--tore the damn pavement up off the ground....
http://www.pbase.com/flemingw/image/48629458

Holy shit man.

I was in Thibodaux, Houma, Lockport, and Raceland today. Went all through Bayou Blue area and everything as well, and there didn't seem to be much damage at all.

I work for a commercial finance firm. I do a multitude of things, from fraud investigations to scouting new credit lines. A friend/co-worker of mine who lives in Baton Rouge needed my help this week because he fell far behind, so I've been checking in on existing clients down here, and seeking out some new business. Closed a $500k deal in Thibodaux today actually.

My dad's photos of Jefferson Parish: http://www.pbase.com/cvbjr/katrina_jeffpar

My dad's New Orleans shots: http://www.pbase.com/cvbjr/katrina_no

Shit's crazy. The really crazy thing is the fact that Jefferson Parish is almost back to normal, yet N.O. shows almost no signs what-so-ever of any kind of attempt at fixing. Politics are a crazy thing, especially in such a fucked up parish like Orleans Parish.

I was very fortunate in the fact that my home and more importantly family are okay. My aunt had a house on the 17th Street canal, however, and they still have not gotten well yet. It just takes such a mental and phyical toll on you.


*Edit* 2nd.Gen. for referrence, I'm located between Thibodaux and N.O. Apprx. 30 minutes from New Orleeans.

http://k43.pbase.com/v3/56/300556/1/49754175.23AH09101.jpg

That's one of my clients, he moved the business to Kenner. I was talking with him yesterday, wierd.

Holy shit man.

I was in Thibodaux, Houma, Lockport, and Raceland today. Went all through Bayou Blue area and everything as well, and there didn't seem to be much damage at all.

I work for a commercial finance firm. I do a multitude of things, from fraud investigations to scouting new credit lines. A friend/co-worker of mine who lives in Baton Rouge needed my help this week because he fell far behind, so I've been checking in on existing clients down here, and seeking out some new business. Closed a $500k deal in Thibodaux today actually.

Do you guys ever use private investigators for fraud investigations? I am going for my PI license....

Yeah, we did not get really anything for damage in this area. Funny though--we lost our house and I am less than 20 miles from Thibodaux. We were the only ones who lost our house in town, a tornado took my roof clean off. back to normal now though--insurance is a really good thing. The entire Thibodaux/Houma area really only suffered some downed tree limbs, missing shingles here and there, and power outages. This is higher ground, so we dont flood really at all. If we flood, then something's REALLY wrong.

Thats pretty wierd. I didn't think there was much damage in that area, aside from the occasional downed telephone pole.
And I don't know if we use PI's, I've never heard of it happening before. Most of what I deal with is forms of embezzlement that end up being pretty easy to spot. I will go in somewhere and they have to surrender all of their bank statements, transaction registers, accounts payable, etc. over to me so I can go ahead and do my thing. I can think of a few instances where we could have used a Private Investigator, but I don't know if they would bring someone in from the outside or not. I'll look into it.

Do you guys ever use private investigators for fraud investigations? I am going for my PI license....

Yeah, we did not get really anything for damage in this area. Funny though--we lost our house and I am less than 20 miles from Thibodaux. We were the only ones who lost our house in town, a tornado took my roof clean off. back to normal now though--insurance is a really good thing. The entire Thibodaux/Houma area really only suffered some downed tree limbs, missing shingles here and there, and power outages. This is higher ground, so we dont flood really at all. If we flood, then something's REALLY wrong.

That's exactly why we were so lucky in this area. St. Charles Parish ISN'T high ground. The entire place is +-3 feet from sea level. The fact that we didn't really flood at all was a miracle.

Where do you live at, exactly? I'm in Des Allemands, more specifically Bayou Gauche; if you've ever heard of it.

I saw two extremely clean red FB's for sale on the side of highway 1 today, between Raceland and Thibodaux.

That's exactly why we were so lucky in this area. St. Charles Parish ISN'T high ground. The entire place is +-3 feet from sea level. The fact that we didn't really flood at all was a miracle.

Where do you live at, exactly? I'm in Des Allemands, more specifically Bayou Gauche; if you've ever heard of it.

I live in Vacherie, about 15 minutes away from Thibodaux. I think we are something like 25 or 30 feet above sea level here, not sure. I know right where you are at over there, yeah you got lucky. You guys usually flood when it just rains a bit....

Can you grab any street signs.... like bourbon st or something?

Can you grab any street signs.... like bourbon st or something?

bah, too late. Many of those street signs are already long gone. Aside from that, with the bacteria that was present in the flooded areas, I highly doubt you wuold want something that came from there, unless you wanted to permanently wear latex gloves and a respirator...there are cleanup crews in there right now that still have to wear those things and the water has been gone for a long time now.

wow wtf @ six flags.... its... gone!

btw does the place stink?

it does in some places, depending on where you go and how much cleanup has been done. You need to remember that they are still finding bodies in wierd places too, so if you happen to be lucky enough to wander into one of those places, your nose will not be happy. This will probably take the next 5-10 years to clean up, seriously. The damage is more than a hundred billion dollars easily, and that number is probably climbing daily as they find out the actual extent of the damage....

its like a bowl full of ants floating in a pond.

lesson learned: don't build a city beneath sea level unless it is extremely well engineered

they still haven't learned the lesson

hey, people still move to "tornado alley" in the md-west,
and that area is ravaged by tornado's like every single year.

Thats because people are retarded.

Like the people who live on cliffs in California. Cliffs exsist because of a thrust fault, therefore living on top of them is like living on a timebomb.

Yeah, but new orleans was a rare freak accident that had a combination of errors to create that disaster.

If you live on tornado alley, natural selection has come home.

Maybe they don't have cable and don't know the true force of a tornado.
Moore had to learn the hard way.

A 4x4 traveling a 300+ MPH can slide through 3 mason cinderblocks a steel door and a refrigerator in one blow.

The twister in Moore picked up a car gutted the exterior and interior and dropped it on a house 4 blocks away only because the wind could not hold the frame longer. That's a 2000 pound vehical.

They're only lucky f-5's lke the ones in Moore don't happen every year.

Idiots hide in closets and basments like it matters.

Its called the National Geographic channel people. Watch it, Learn it, Love it.

Yeah, but new orleans was a rare freak accident that had a combination of errors to create that disaster.

If you live on tornado alley, natural selection has come home.

Maybe they don't have cable and don't know the true force of a tornado.
Moore had to learn the hard way.

A 4x4 traveling a 300+ MPH can slide through 3 mason cinderblocks a steel door and a refrigerator in one blow.

The twister in Moore picked up a car gutted the exterior and interior and dropped it on a house 4 blocks away only because the wind could not hold the frame longer. That's a 2000 pound vehical.

They're only lucky f-5's lke the ones in Moore don't happen every year.

Idiots hide in closets and basments like it matters.

Its called the National Geographic channel people. Watch it, Learn it, Love it.

I spent five years living in tornado alley. The fact is simple--just like anywhere else you could live, you must be prepared to handle such a situation. If you live there, and you are not prepared, I do not have pity for you. I survived five years of tornado season, and not one single year that I was there had a slow one. Then I came down here--Louisiana--and a tornado took my house during last year's hurricane. Define irony, right?

Oh, and I like how you think you know so much about hurricanes--this was not a freak rare occurance. We have a hurricane season just like you have a tornado season--every year--and hurricanes routinely come this way. Say what you will about how several things combined to make New Orleans as bad as it is, but you are completely missing the point. New Orleans is one city...the Mississippi Gulf Coast got it worse than we did here in terms of actual hurricane damage. And they did not need a combination of things to get screwed--storm came, area levelled. End of story.

Perhaps you would like to tell us about Florida's hurricane season last year, and then tell us again how this is just a freak raare occurance that resulted from a bunch of things going wrong.....

Oh, and I like how you think you know so much about hurricanes--this was not a freak rare occurance.
The F-5 that hit was a freak rare occurance.
..Actualy I only brought it up because my National Geographic Hurricanes DVD's have come...along with my 10 Deadliest Animals one.


Perhaps you would like to tell us about Florida's hurricane season last year, and then tell us again how this is just a freak raare occurance that resulted from a bunch of things going wrong.....

Their levies failed and their city miss managed money as well??????????

I accualy feel safe where I live for once. Only bad thing you have to worry about here is if you live by a river. Stupid floods.

The F-5 that hit was a freak rare occurance.
..Actualy I only brought it up because my National Geographic Hurricanes DVD's have come...along with my 10 Deadliest Animals one.

1--The F-scale is not used for hurricanes, Mr. National Geographic. Being that you are talking about your tornado alley, why dont you recognize that the F-system is a TORNADO classification? Did they not cover that part on the tv show you saw?

Hurricanes are classified as a "Category #"....

2--This storm did not hit land as a Category 5 storm. It hit as a Category 4 storm, which we see several of those each season in the Gulf. WHOOPS!!

Their levies failed and their city miss managed money as well??????????

Why, no, genius--that is exactly my point. nothing about the hurricanes the Gulf Coast gets are "rare freak of nature" events. Florida was hit by at least three storms, all back to back, and all very powerful. And the damage caused had nothing to do with broken levies or freak rare events.....thanks for playing....

Tell you what--go back and watch some more National Geographic....you obviously have not seen enough yet to know what you are talking about.

EDIT--something else that your television forgot to mention--when we get hurricanes, tornadoes are a common by-product of the original storm....so this area actually gets hit both ways.

Tell you what--go back and watch some more National Geographic....you obviously have not seen enough yet to know what you are talking about.


You're being a hardass. What he's saying is the "force" of Katrina was a rare freak accident. The Gulf does not have hurricanes this powerful year after year. History tells us this...

http://www.geocities.com/hurricanene/gulfcoast.htm

Yeah, but new orleans was a rare freak accident that had a combination of errors to create that disaster.

I'll have to agree with the above statement. The Gulf Coast states (Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama) never get hit this hard by hurricanes. The levees breaking were nails in the coffin for the City of New Orleans.

You're being a hardass. What he's saying is the "force" of Katrina was a rare freak accident. The Gulf does not have hurricanes this powerful year after year. History tells us this...

http://www.geocities.com/hurricanene/gulfcoast.htm



I'll have to agree with the above statement. The Gulf Coast states (Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama) never get hit this hard by hurricanes. The levees breaking were nails in the coffin for the City of New Orleans.

The storms are not as rare as you think--in fact, they are getting more and more common each year. The predictions for the next several years are not that far off from last year, so we will see about that. They are now saying that the next 15-20 YEARS will see unusually high numbers of such storms. And the prediction for this year is not quite as high, but they are still saying that we will see at least five major hurricanes--Cat 3 or higher. Not very rare anymore, guys....

Also, new Orleans is one small part of this storm. Like I said, what about Mississippi? Have you seen the damage over there? If you take the size of New Orleans in square miles--350 square miles--and compare it to all the damage done to the rest of the storm area, you will see that New Orleans did not suffer much because of the hurricane itself. The levies are a whole separate issue--if they had held, then the water would have just washed over them, and the pumps would have taken care of it. The vast majority of the damage comes from the fact that 80% of the city was flooded. Compare this to the total loss that was experienced in Grand Isle, or all along Highway 90 along the Mississippi coast. Add it all up--the coastline areas of Louisiana and Mississippi, and New Orleans is small by comparison. I tried to make that point earlier, but I guess you skipped over it.

Rare....hmmm....Last hurricane season's stats, as of December 1, 2005:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/tlh/tropical/TWSAT_2005.txt

26 tropical storms in all--a record, up from 21 in 1993. Of these, half became hurricanes. Of these, SEVEN of them became MAJOR HURRICANES. And of these, THREE became Category 5 storms. Rare? Not as rare as you think. Three in one season hit the top of the scale and we are already preparing for worse this time around. doesnt sound too rare from where I am sitting....

so I gotta ask, jon, why do you insist on living there, if you know all this? because your family is there?

because everywhere you go there is something. Up north, snow....had more than enough of that. California--earthquakes. Midwest, tornadoes....there is always something to look out for. And the good outweighs the bad for me--already came through this one, and back up and running just fine, better than before even. It's called life. The one thing that is better about the storms here is that we get a few days warning before a hurricane hits....tornadoes in Kansas just land on your head and no one knows when or where they will come.

because everywhere you go there is something. Up north, snow....
snow? even the heaviest blizzard is nothing compared to an f-5... or even an f-2.
Come on dude.
California--earthquakes.

Which are still more rare than tornados and hurricanes.

Even the stongest Earthquake can't hurt youif you laying in the middle of an open field.

Ryosuke,
He who has 0 sympathy for those who have lost something because of a tornado while living in tornado alley.

snow? even the heaviest blizzard is nothing compared to an f-5... or even an f-2.
Come on dude.

Did I ever say that it was? Why are you such a persistent pain in the ass over this? I merely said that I lived there half my life and chose not to stay where the snow was...what business is it of yours to try to put words in my mouth?

Which are still more rare than tornados and hurricanes.

Do I care? Probably not. The frequency does not matter--I will take a hurricane, which gives me a week's warning before it hits, over an earthquake, which hits without warning, any day of the week, thanks very much. The same is true about tornadoes....no warning. You seriously need to go get a hobby and stop trying to dog me over stupid things like this....you have it bad enough to make things up that I never said? Dude--you are sad. Get a life. I amy be an ass in here, but at least I have the decency to not try to make things up for your point of view.

Even the stongest Earthquake can't hurt youif you laying in the middle of an open field.

An open field....which can, of course, easily be found all over the metro areas of cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego....there is always an open field just waiting within running distance, I suppose...this is a ridiculous statement that has no bearing on the topic at hand. Anything else, Mr. Wizard?

EDIT--to add another answer to YZF's question, I believe that we have to live with what nature puts in front of us. The weather and conditions are a part of life here, just like they are anywhere else. People who live in flooding areas build their houses on stilts. Buildings in California are built to be flexible to withstand the shock of an earthquake better. That said, I chose what part of nature I wanted to live with. Why the hell should it matter so much to you? Are you here dealing with hurricane season? I merely pointed out how bad the events here were last August, and from that you somehow think it gives you the right to be this ignorant and put words in someone's mouth?

A hurricane took my house. We recovered just fine. And if another one comes along this year, we are insured to replacement value on everything we have, so I will get a brand new house and move on. Frankly, that should be good enough for you. If it is not, for whatever reason, that's your problem, not mine.

Yeah, we don't worry about shit up here. Warm weather, ocean is close by, it didn't snow once this year, and I know there won't be any hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes coming by here soon.