The Headache of Gustav
Aug 30th, 2008 by Nola
Gustav is currently a Cat 4 or maybe a Cat 5. I won’t confirm which at the moment; I haven’t the energy or the heart. I got a migraine a few hours ago and took my good meds and a nap to knock it out; it didn’t work. My head is still feeling like it has been visited with the pointy end of an ice pick.
The house and our store are prepped. We are prepped. To stay. I still have things to gather in the event that we leave. That decision will be made tomorrow morning. To recap who in my world is still planning on staying, it’s three of my close neighbors, my sister (in Slidell), my uncle, and four friends. There seems to be comfort in others doing what we are doing. Safety in numbers or something like that.
We will not be foolish; we will not be irresponsible; we will not subject ourselves or Sun to any degree of danger.
I know this won’t be another Katrina as far as New Orleans is concerned. The surge is what was so terrible in Katrina, and that isn’t to be an issue with Gustav unless it really goes off its projected path. But I also know that we don’t know how our city will fare in a moderate storm with the work that has been done on the levees. Not one New Orleanian has admitted one iota of confidence in the work of the Army Corp of Engineers. That makes me sad and very angry. I keep being reminded of the scandalous story of the ACE stuffing Times Picayune’s in the levees instead of, yanno, dirt. No, it doesn’t instill confidence at all.
I suspect we will be driving to Memphis, TN or Montgomery, AL tomorrow to stay with friends and/or family. I also suspect that two more, if not all three, of my neighbors will be leaving tomorrow. We are all deferring that decision until tomorrow when Gustav is in the Gulf and on the move. But I really hope I am wrong in my suspicions. Because if we leave it is because Gustav is appearing to turn into a monster like Katrina and may just hit somewhere other than New Orleans, and THAT I don’t wish on any place or anyone.
Godspeed.
a bunch of us who are staying are communicating on twitter. you on? http://twitter.com/Pistolette
pistolette’s last blog post..Gustav #4
I’m in Houston…it sucks. I feel so unsettled.
Jane Moneypenny’s last blog post..Go, Go, Go
I just saw the news update.. my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family..and all in New Orleans.
Kim’s last blog post..Nie Nie Day is Here.
I am currently trying to convince my mother in Pearl River that she will be on the wrong side of the storm (unlike Katrina). The north and east side, no matter what, where the tornadoes live. I’m feeling very powerless here in Austin and it’s weird to know that all my friends and family are back home dealing with this and I’m not. The perils of having moved. I am of no help whatsoever, and I live in the wrong direction for anyone to evacuate to me. I keep telling her, “You cannot make a plan for this based on Katrina. Please keep an eye on it.” This storm is shaping up to be one bitch of a time.
Good luck to you, Nola. Even with the mandatory evac of New Orleans and most of Slidell (last I heard?) you’re staying? Or is it only parts of the city that got that? I know everything south of I-12 has gotten the mandatory orders starting tomorrow.
My prayers are with you and everyone else I know or know of back home, as well as those I don’t. Stay safe.
Sharon’s last blog post..3 years
Safe way through the storm. Safe journey from the storm. All the best and please let us know what you decide.
lilalia’s last blog post..Quiet Revolution
Stay safe!
I really can barely believe all this.
Please, please, please stay safe.
Xbox4NappyRash’s last blog post..A man’s work is never done