Sprol

Many people are using Craigslist New Orleans: Lost & Found for information about missing loved ones in the aftermath of this natural disaster.

Major connection bridges between NO and the rest of the world are unpassable with two major ones out of service for at least a month. All houses in NO and Slidale, Louisiana, are flooded. Bay St Louis has not been mentioned in the news so we are at a loss as to what the situation really is. Rumor has it that the bridge between Bay St Louis and Pass Christian was destroyed which would cut the tiny island off from the rest of Southerm Mississippi. Bad News if true.

Levee broken, the Big Easy is flooded by the waters of the Mississippi River.

The Mississippi River floods the city of New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina. It happens during large storms from time to time, since the city is below sea level. This particular storm isn’t the result of global warming caused by human activity, but globally, storms are getting worse.

This satellite image from the Nasa Earth Observatory taken yesterday shows much of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana submerged.

As preparation for the natural onslaught, the Waterford nuclear power plant was shut down, as were the refineries and gas pipelines. Winds of more than 150 miles per hour were reported when the storm hit the coastline.

Hurricane Katrina enters history as almost the most powerful hurricane to ever hit the United States. This was the first time a mandatory evacuation was ever ordered for New Orleans in the city’s history, and a million people could be homeless for several weeks.

This terrifying warning message is what NOAA sent out the night before Katrina made landfall. Sorry about the all caps — not shouting — that’s the way it came:

AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL
FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY
DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.

THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL.
PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. MANY WOOD
FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE
BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME
WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.

HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A
FEW POSSIBLY TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. MANY WINDOWS WILL BLOW
OUT.

AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH
AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY
VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE
ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE
WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.

POWER OUTAGES MAY LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MANY POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN
AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING
INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY
THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED.

Atlantic hurricanes have been increasing in intensity lately as a result of a natural 20-30 year cycle, and not as the sole result of human activity. So the ferocity of Hurricane Katrina has little to do with global warming. Instead it is the predicted upswing in the Atlantic hurricane cycle.

However, only about 11% of hurricanes worldwide happen in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s important to look at the global record when you are looking for a signal of global warming in the noise of climate measurements. One recent study shows that when you look at storms worldwide, they are getting stronger.

According to a report by leading hurricane researcher Kerry Emanuel, published this month in Nature, the fact that around 90 large storms happen worldwide every year hasn’t changed. Many decades ago scientists had theorized that the frequency of storms would increase as the climate changes. Instead, something else is happening worldwide when you measure the total lifetimes of hurricanes worldwide.

However, the hurricanes are getting worse, in that they are lasting longer — they are maintaining a higher intensity level over time. “We now have clear evidence that global warming is having an effect on hurricane activity,” he stated in an interview yesterday with Amy Goodman.