Gustav Slams New Orleans.....Catastophic Flooding Avoided
Posted: (September 01, 2008 07:34 pm)

Thus far the residents of New Orleans can breathe a sigh of relief as Hurricane Gustav, as expected, only delivered a glancing blow. The storm came onshore early this morning around 9:30am near Cocodrie (pronounced ko-ko-DREE) which is a low lying suburb approximately 70 miles southwest of New Orleans. Gustav was a strong category 2 storm on the Saffir SImpson scale with winds of only 110 mph. I say only because earlier in the week it was feared that Gustav could slam Louisiana with category 4 strengh winds (130-155 mph). The dramatic difference in wind speed is the exact reason why New Orleans survived this latest round from Mother Nature.

That's not to say there hasn't been any damage, because there has....and some of it has been quite bad. I mean after all, it is still a hurricane! It's just not on the same level as what Hurricane Katrina was three years ago, not even close! Your typical hurricane damage was reported today. This included everything from roofs being blown off houses to flooded roadways to toppled trees. There was also a levee in the southeast part of the state that was on the verge of collapsing. But so far officials have forified it.

At 4:00pm CDT Hurricane Gustav was located 15 miles north of Lafayette Louisiana. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to 80 mph now making this a very minimum cateogry 1 storm at this time. Further weakening is expected throughout the night as Gustav continues to move off to the northwest at 16 mph. This speed should put the storm over eastern Texas by Tuesday. The big problem with Gustav now will be isolated tornadoes and severe weather on the northeastern side and flash flooding from the torrential rains.

Gustav is expected to produce rainfall totals of 6 to 12 inches with from Louisiana northwestward to southern Mississippi, Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma/Texas. Some isolated areas could pick up as much as 15 inches depending on where the heavy rainbands set up. This will cause low water levels to rise quickly near creeks and streams as well as low lying areas and areas of poor drainage. Remember to turn around, dont drown. Often times the water on a flooded roadway is deeper than you might think. It doesn't take much to sweep your vehicle away.

In Mississippi, officials said a 15-foot storm surge flooded homes and inundated the only highways to coastal towns devastated by Katrina. Officials said at least three people near the Jordan River had to be rescued from the floodwaters. Elsewhere in the state, an abandoned building in Gulfport collapsed and a few homes in Biloxi were flooded. The ground floor of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on Biloxi's casino row was flooded during the storm surge from Gustav. Hurricane Katrina smashed the casino three years ago shortly before it was to open. Bobby Tuber, the casino's facility-grounds manager, said the storm put about 30 inches of water in the building but the casino itself, located on an upper level, and was not damaged.  "We're fine. We'll come out all well," Tuber said as he and others used a pump and a large hose to remove the water.  - Associated Press -

---