Gustav

[W2R]

I hope that you have an uneventful time evacuating, and that it proves to be an unneeded precaution -

be well -

ta,
mews

Thank you! With any luck, all will be fine for us and for New Orleans. I don't see this being another Katrina event but we would rather leave.

Whereas every single person on our block left for Katrina, my next door neighbor is staying this time (they have big dogs and they are fed up with traveling with them). The guy across the street lived his whole life in Chalmette (another New Orleans suburb) until Katrina destroyed his home there. He is evacuating.

 

[Dawg52]

We are both looking forward to retiring next year and moving north.

I hear ya. I would get the heck out of there too. I'm just far enough north that hurricanes are more of an inconvenience than a deal breaker.

 

[Purron]

Good luck Want2retire. I'll be thinking about you and hoping you and Frank are safe and sound. Keep us posted and know we are all praying this storm doesn't cause any harm.

 

[Moemg]

Good luck ! Hope Gustav is way overrated !

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

My car is stuffed so full of my things that I feel like a hillbilly

 

[W2R]

Yes, like that, CFB!

Dawg52, you are right (but as long as we will be moving for ER anyway, we are moving far enough north to avoid even the inconvenience! )

Moemg and Purron, thanks. I am taking my laptop and will check in now and then. Hopefully Gustav will not affect New Orleans too much so this will be like a brief vacation.

 

[Leonidas]

From a storm chaser blog:

We’re driving down I-10 bound for New Orleans, and I’ve been struck by two things on the trip:...second, the number of Wal-Mart trucks we’ve passed on the freeway.

We are clearly driving faster than whatever speed Wal-Mart recommends for its drivers, but the sheer number of trucks heading to supply New Orleans-area Wal Marts is impressive.

It reminds me of a New York Times article I read way back in 2004. The article discussed what Wal-Mart calls “predictive technology.” In a nutshell, servers at the company’s Bentonville, Arkansas headquarters constantly track what consumers are buying at every store across the country. Over the years the company has learned a thing or two about what people think they need prior to a major hurricane.

The number-one item? Beer.

Wal-Mart’s chief information officer told the Times that the company also noticed that customers crave Pop Tarts before a big storm.

So one could easily reason that I’ve now passed eight trucks filled with beer and Pop Tarts here on I-10.

 

[mickeyd]

Gustav just went to Category IV....time to start running.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

servers at the company’s Bentonville, Arkansas headquarters constantly track what consumers are buying at every store across the country.

They need to have a system that tracks that the local walmart doesnt bother stocking their shelves or maintaining inventory. I sort of gave up going because I'd walk in with a list of six things and two of them would be empty shelves. I asked once if there was any more "in the back" and I was told there is no "back".

Be pretty interesting though to have the next disaster area get divided in two, let FEMA handle half and walmart handle the other half. See which one works better and costs less.

 

[Leonidas]

Gustav just went to Category IV....time to start running.

Depends on where you live. If it were New Orleans, or coastal low lying places to the south and west I would already be gone. East of NO, I would wait for another day. Farther west, I would wait for the models to firm up after Gustav gets feet wet post-Cuba.

As he approaches Cuba he is in a very hot part of the Loop Current. When he leaves he will be in a good piece of it again, maybe even hotter than what he's in right now. Cuba won't take too much off him and by Sunday evening he will be every bit as big and bad as he is now. I would not be surprised to see it go to a Cat 5.

But the models are all starting to show a western turn at,or right after, landfall. A couple even show the storm bouncing off the coast and turning back out into the Gulf toward Mexico.

Trying to predict landfall is always tough, but Gustav seems to be a changeable sort. Still, as long as Nola is in the path, or close in on the dirty side, that's too much rain for me to be comfortable staying in the bowl shaped city.

 

[Purron]

Be pretty interesting though to have the next disaster area get divided in two, let FEMA handle half and walmart handle the other half. See which one works better and costs less.

My money's on Wal-Mart.

 

[W2R]

Just reporting in...

We made it safely to Jonesboro, Arkansas. Traffic was very heavy with other evacuees but moved steadily along at 55-65 mph most of the way. Frank drove his Murano, and I followed in my Solara. We communicated by cell phone, took our time, and stopped frequently, including stops for a long breakfast and lunch.

Looking at Gustav's development, I am so glad we left.

Tomorrow we will probably drive up to Springfield, which is only another 3-4 hours from here. Then while we wait, we can further explore our likely ER location - - a pleasant place where we feel happy, secure, and safe.

 

[Dawg52]

Just reporting in...

We made it safely to Jonesboro, Arkansas. Traffic was very heavy with other evacuees but moved steadily along at 55-65 mph most of the way. Frank drove his Murano, and I followed in my Solara. We communicated by cell phone, took our time, and stopped frequently, including stops for a long breakfast and lunch.

Looking at Gustav's development, I am so glad we left.

Tomorrow we will probably drive up to Springfield, which is only another 3-4 hours from here. Then while we wait, we can explore our likely ER location - - a pleasant place where we feel happy, secure, and safe.

Cool. I'm hunkered down with a cold six pack watching football.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

good you left want2. just saw the news on tv. now predicted to hit as a cat 4. best wishes to all effected.

 

[W2R]

Cool. I'm hunkered down with a cold six pack watching football.

Enjoy it while you can! I remember the 1+ weeks of blackout you had after Katrina.

 

[W2R]

good you left want2. just saw the news on tv. now predicted to hit as a cat 4. best wishes to all effected.

Thanks, Lazy. I am glad that I left, too. A cat 4 would not be good for New Orleans or the rest of south Louisiana. Besides, I don't want to wave to you all from footage on the evening news on Tuesday.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

FEMA chief says they expect it to turn into a category 5.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

ya, awful. i was here for andrew (cat 5), actually in lauderdale and it hit south miami. was in a condo with floor to ceiling glass that actually bent. i never saw glass bend before. i made a nice roast beef dinner for me and a friend. (was eating meat back then). roast beef became our hurricane joke for many years.

the next day or the day after that i was moving down to miami temporarily to report on the destruction. we had to stay there because you couldn't drive back and forth. after hours we helped our colleagues who lived in the strike zone. one house had nothing left but a few walls. so sad.

my first few hours touring the area literally made me sick to my stomach. i'd never seen destruction like that. add to the mix the army vehicles and all the diesel smell in the air. i think that must be as close as i've ever come to war-like destruction. hope to never see that again.

ps. the cat five is between cuba and the u.s. should (hopefully) weaken a bit before landfall.

 

[unclemick]

Hmmm - since the ole rolodex has at least a dozen folks on cell - the towers that went in Katrina wonder what's gonna happen come Gustav.

As I recall it seemed to take forever to regain communication last time.

heh heh heh -

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

cable internet that might stay intact longer. when canes hit here we usually keep internet and even land line phones for a while, even when the area loses electric because the phone company has backup which lasts for a day or two.

but the electric was out for so long after wilma that i was only able to get word to my brother that i was leaving town. no other family knew. because i needed my gas to cross the state i couldn't even check up on my mom though my brother was just a short drive from her so i was ok with that (also she was in a facility with a huge industrial generator).

took about a week or two before i could contact everyone. and that was just a cat 1 (2 max) when it hit (it had been a cat 5--the strongest on record--when was in the gulf).

 

[W2R]

Wow, Lazy - - that must have been awful.

I really don't want to go through living in destruction again, with nobody but low flying helicopters around (thank goodness for the military!!) and such hardship. I am truly looking forward to our move north after I retire next year. I wanna be like UncleMick - - a transplant, who doesn't have to go through this. I think he was so smart to move.

UncleMick - - there was some phone communication within the New Orleans area, but there wasn't any into and out of there for nearly forever!! I tried and tried to call my supervisor in New Orleans by cell phone and landline, when I was evacuated to Alabama. When coming back on Sept 4th, we were driving through Bayou Manchac on 51 and it was really dark and spooky - - no moon, no other cars, and one of the scariest places I know of to begin with. Suddenly my cell phone beeped - - it was a voicemail from my supervisor, that she had left a couple of days before. I wasn't able to get it until I was almost back to New Orleans.

Lazy, cable internet was out here after Katrina, but Cox cable really worked hard and got it back on line (for me). Some other people didn't have it for months.

 

[Purron]

It's great to hear from you! Looking at the evacuation videos on cable and current prediction this could be a Cat 5, I'd say you and Frank were very wise to leave when you did. Sounds like you will turn this into a good experience and explore your planned retirement location. All fingers and paws are crossed in my home hoping Gustav spares New Orleans. I've only been there once - a trip my DH and I took for our anniversary. We will never forget the great music, awesome food, and wonderful people. It is a special place and a unique city.

 

[unclemick]

Tyler, TX to Pensacola, FL plus two on duty downtown. Reserve and one for a private security co. Plus more standing packed on go in Slidell, Bush, Baton Rouge, Covington and watching.

Even after three yrs - will be watching this one with so many friends still down there.

heh heh heh - interestingly in my day always went sort of straight north - not so much West or East.

 

[W2R]

It's great to hear from you! Looking at the evacuation videos on cable and current prediction this could be a Cat 5, I'd say you and Frank were very wise to leave when you did. Sounds like you will turn this into a good experience and explore your planned retirement location. All fingers and paws are crossed in my home hoping Gustav spares New Orleans. I've only been there once - a trip my DH and I took for our anniversary. We will never forget the great music, awesome food, and wonderful people. It is a special place and a unique city.

Purron, thank you - - you really knew just the right things to say, to comfort me. I think it is a special place and a unique city, too, even though I have been planning and longing to leave for good ever since about October, 2005.

 

[unclemick]

Purron, thank you - - you really knew just the right things to say, to comfort me. I think it is a special place and a unique city, too, even though I have been planning and longing to leave for good ever since about October, 2005.

Wellllll - counting Slidell and Covington - been back 9 times since 'technically leaving for good' Aug 2005.

I think you will find it's not that bad a drive from Springfield.

heh heh heh - there is leaving and then there is staying gone!