Tropical Storm Lee

Tropical Storm Lee is sitting off the coast of Louisiana dumping huge amounts of rainfall along the Louisiana and Mississippi coast. The rain is much needed as both states have been suffering through a drought. The rain has been light with periods of intense rain which is expected to last for three days or more. The winds have begun to pick up a little.

Winn Dixie alert in D'Iberville!!!! The store is out Lay's sour cream and onion chips.

Update: Declares state of emergency. State officials must do this in order to receive help from FEMA.

The expected rainfall totals will close heavy flooding.

Td Thirteen : Radar : Weather Underground

Time to get the umbrellas, boats, etc out. Three days of expected 10-12 inches of rain.


Td Thirteen : Radar : Weather Underground

Poisoned Nurseries

Have you ever watched birds as they take care of their young? Birds are fiercely protective. Many times I've watched in amazement as mockingbird chases off a hawk and as a grackle chases off an osprey.

The Louisiana brown pelicans can do little as the oil comes ashore in Breton Island and covers their eggs and hatchlings with a thick coating of oil.

Herons are in the same dire mess.



Marshes are being severely impacted.

And it's mess that will be with us for years.

The marshes not only are nurseries for birds but for fish and shrimp as well. The marine food chain starts in these marshes. More needs to be done. No more drill baby drill until we learn how to deal with the spill baby spill.

Drill Baby Drill

Louisiana: Full of Whiners

When a hurricane threatens Louisiana, more specifically the New Orleans area, contraflow goes into place. In Mississippi, this means two interstates, I55 and I59 are no longer available to those in south Mississippi. Louisiana also closes off I10 going west. Lately, there has been much whining and complaining from those in Louisiana that Mississippi should open I10 to evacuees from Louisiana. The Times-Picayune was full of those complaints. An excerpt:

In Wolshon's opinion, the controversial decision to close down Interstate 10 east at its junction with Interstate I59 in St. Tammany Parish -- preventing most Louisianians from evacuating eastward -- is also worth another look.

The decision has been second-guessed by many Louisianians, led by Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard, who recently insinuated that Mississippi officials were thinking of money, not people, when they made that call

Aaron Broussard, Aaron Broussard, where have I heard that name before? Oh yes,, he's the one that lied about the nursing home incident during Hurricane Katrina. But I digress. I'm just sick and tired of the sense of entitlement that permeates those in Louisiana. Below is my response via email to the articles author:

There have been many in Louisiana complaining about Mississippi closing I-10 east to those in Louisiana evacuating. What you guys seem to forget that in threats like Gustav, there are many in south Mississippi who need to evacuate as well. We in south Mississippi can't travel on I55 and I59 because of contraflow. That leaves a population of 400,000, almost the same as the New Orleans metro area, with two options: I10 and Highway 49.

I can understand the concerns of those trying to evacuate from Louisiana, but we in south Mississippi need to have avenues of evacuation as well.

You state in your article that those from Louisiana didn't want to go west because of Gustav's direction. Are there not any Louisiana highways going north that can be accessed from I10 and other highways in Louisiana?

Can't officials in Louisiana stagger evacuation orders so that those in the most dangerous areas can leave first?

Can't more from Louisiana use just one car when evacuating? I know many many families who take two cars. Wouldn't using just one car help ease traffic?

Also, there were a few Louisiana evacuees who helped themselves to shelters in Jackson County. Those shelters are for Mississippi coastal residents. Doesn't Louisiana have shelters of its own?

Also, Louisiana closes I10 to those in Mississippi when contraflow is in effect. Like I stated before, this leaves two options for those in south Mississippi to evacuate: I10 and Highway 49. Considering that the population of south Mississippi almost equals that of the New Orleans metro area, I consider that to be very generous.

When Ivan threatened, we in Mississippi faced tens of thousands evacuating from Alabama and Florida. They used I10 to gain access to Highway 49. There were long waits. There was no contraflow in place. Yet, I've heard few complaints from those in Alabama that Mississippi should exclusively provide for those evacuees by the closing of interstates and other roads.

We in Mississippi want our neighbors in Louisiana to be safe but we also need to be able to evacuate in a timely manner. However, those in Louisiana need to remember we need to be able to get out as well. The closing of I10 had nothing to do with it being the Labor Day weekend. The casinos closed on Sunday. We had major flooding from Gustav and Ike. Mississippi tries to be a good neighbor to Louisiana. It works both ways. Those in Louisiana need to be mindful that they are not the only ones at risk and need to evacuate.

Disappearing Marshland

Most satellite images of the Louisiana shoreline give a false sense of substance. Take this one for instance:



It shows landmass that doesn't really exist.

The radar image below gives the reality:




There is more water than land in the approaches leading up to New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina destroyed a lot of those marsh lands but they've been in decline for decades. Lake Borgne is becoming part of the Gulf of Mexico. New Orleans and south east Louisiana is sitting very precariously on slender strips of land. How soon will that little strip of land that reaches from New Orleans to Venice be there?

Gustav: Reflections

In Mississippi, we prepared for Gustav like it would be another Hurricane Katrina. Preparations on the Mississippi Gulf Coast started in earnest when Gustav was a Category 4 and the potential was there for it to become a Category 5. The National Hurricane Center's projected path of Gustav proved very accurate with landfall expected along the central Louisiana coast. Mississippi has been experiencing the tail-end of Gustav all day. Even at 11:00 pm Monday evening, the occasional gust would go through. The storm surge spread across the Mississippi Coast and was greater than expected.

Mississippi started preparing for Gustav on Wednesday, August 26, 2008. Containers at the Port of Gulfport were moved inland. People began stocking up on water, food, and materials needed to secure homes. Businesses took the threat seriously and secured inventory, equipment, and files. Mandatory evacuations were ordered in Hancock and Harrison counties for those living in flood zones A & B. Mandatory evacuations were also ordered for those living in FEMA trailers and Katrina cottages. The National Guard was called in.

It was an eerie repetition of what we all were doing three years ago in preparation for Hurricane Katrina. Lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina were employed, hence the containers being ordered inland. School buses were used to evacuate those who needed transportation and pets were allowed to go along. The Mississippi Department of Transportation did a great job of handling the contraflow of evacuees from New Orleans and other areas of Louisiana.

Some may say the threat of Gustav was hyped up. That all the time and energy put into preparing for Gustav was wasted effort since we did not have a direct hit or because it was not a major hurricane when it made landfall in Louisiana. Hurricanes can be very unpredictable. You can never know what to expect until it hits land. Hurricane Camille which struck the Mississippi Coast in 1969 intensified to a Category 5 just before it made landfall. Hurricane Georges which struck us in 1998 was a Category 2 storm. The rains it dumped caused major flooding in Jackson County.

With other disasters such as earthquakes, tornados, and wildfires, you don't know when they will occur. When a tornado threatens, you may have only a few minutes warning to seek shelter. With hurricanes, you have days to get prepared. And if you don't, it can cost you your life. Everyone should have a basic emergency kit consisting of food and water to last at the minimum of three days. It's best to prepare for a longer period of time.

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. That is what we in Mississippi and Louisiana did for Gustav and by doing so, lives were saved.