The Hurricane
Betsy, Andrew, Emily, Ivan, Camille......pretty good names for a newborn child? Perhaps if it suits your fancy on that certain day, but these particular ones were all names for major hurricanes that ripped through New Orleans during my time there. Well, Betsy occured in the late 60's I think, but the legend of her aftermath seemed to be systematically drilled into each of our little heads every time we practiced a "hurricane" drill at school. The scary thing racing through my mind right now?.....Ivan may be the one to top them all.
AP: "More than 1.2 million people in metropolitan New Orleans were warned to get out Tuesday as 140-mph Hurricane Ivan churned toward the Gulf Coast, threatening to submerge this below-sea-level city in what could be the most disastrous storm to hit in nearly 40 years.
Residents streamed inland in bumper-to-bumper traffic in an agonizingly slow exodus amid dire warnings that Ivan could overwhelm New Orleans with up to 20 feet of filthy, chemical-polluted water.
Forecasters said Ivan could reach 160 mph and strengthen to Category 5, the highest level, by the time it blows ashore as early as Thursday somewhere along the Gulf Coast."
It's weird. I'm atleast 7 years removed from that entire area, yet a small part of me wishes I could be there right now. Fleeing for my life with the rest of my friends....=) The good thing though is that a few of them are heading out to Houston and will be staying with my family while nature takes its course.
Here are a few things I do remember from 12 years of braving annual storms:
-One time it flooded so bad that they rounded up all of us students and placed us in the gym. Water was threatening to fill up the hallways. Every parent had to brave the currents in order to pick up their kids and take them home.
-When the canal system overflows, it literally becomes a sea of water, sewage, and creepy crawlies. I'm talking about snakes, bugs, frogs, and nutria
-I remember taping up all of our window panes in the shape of an X with packing tape. This would prevent the glass from shattering too finely if the winds became violent
-There would be no food on the grocery store shelves. Nothing. You couldn't even buy a soda
-The graves in New Orleans were all built above ground. Apparently some caskets emerged from the ground way back in the day before people figured out how to measure the sea level
-I remember fleeing to higher ground as well. The highways were always tightly jammed with cars. Much like the Israelites leaving Egypt during the exodus. Hold onto your goat son!
-I remember a family friend. One of the elders at church that would stay behind no matter what because he was a doctor and felt needed in such a situation. DocL would send off his family and just sit there alone at home. I have so much more respect for him now that my punk days are over. We'll meet again in October....=)
-Mosquito hell once everything dies down!
Anyways, it's not pretty. Much like a really violent earthquake I suppose.
*LIB Note: Those satellite photos and closeups of the storm's eye are so CREEPY. I once had a nightmare had me on a clipper ship while being sucked down a hurricane's giant vortex.
Man, my bones are quivering. Time to pray.