elbuzzard.com

Here’s what my mom relayed to me from Bob, who is with the Terrytown Volunteer Fire Department:

80% of Terrytown is damaged. He was unable to even get near Christ the King to see what it looks like.

The firemen have been bathing in a swimming pool full of soapy water.

Looting is out of control in Gretna and Terrytown. The Walgreens and A&P on Carol Sue and Terry Parkway are completely gutted. The fire department has been armed. Looters commandeered a mail truck and were driving it around firing at police and firemen. The firemen are not allowed to go anywhere without a police officer.

They are too far undermanned to stay. Word is that today they will be leaving the city.

Oschner is the only hospital in the city that is operational. Charity is completely shut down. Last night, looters surrounded the hospital waving guns and banging on the doors. A nurse inside called it the most terrifying experience she could imagine. They called in the National Guard and they are now surrounding the hospital.

From Susan’s nephew, a National Guardsman:

Looters have been firing on the evacuation helicopters at the Superdome. This has made the national news.

A ten-year-old girl was raped in the Superdome. More rapes have been reported.

Guardsmen stopped a man from trying to sodomize a boy in the Dome. They “beat the hell out of him.”

Bob has not heard from his son or daughter. He knows they evacuated, but he hasn’t heard if they made it to their destintation. My mom was saying he is exhausted. They are working non-stop. There is simply not enough firemen and police to be effective.

Reports on neighborhoods:
Mandeville: suffered some wind damage, but it is not very bad.
Metairie: mostly dry, but that’s all they know.
WestBank: mostly dry, lots of damage. Looting is out of control.

Its a bad bad situation there.

I sent a text message to Kevin Kelly last night, but I haven’t heard anything yet from him. Neither Dave nor I know if he evacuated or not.

Here is what I know about the whereabouts of our friends and family in New Orleans.

Jack is here with Leslie and me in Atlanta. He’ll be staying here as long as necessary, until he can make it back to New Orleans. His house in Lakeview is near the levee break on the 17th Street Canal, and we assume his house is underwater. We’ve been stocking up on supplies; he’s now the proud owner of a very heavy gasoline-powered generator. To give you an idea of how long he may be staying, today we went to Ikea to look at foldaway beds. His cell phone doesn’t work: he can dial out, but can’t receive calls. Text messages will go through, though. We don’t have a land phone line in the house, but we are calling BellSouth tomorrow to get one installed. His cats are also with us.

Marnie is now in Ft. Worth, staying at her mother’s house, with Susan, Mike, and their children. Sybil is also with them. Both their houses are ok, they just suffered some wind damage to the roof. Bob is in Terrytown now with the fire department, which is how we got the report on the houses. He says Terrytown looks like a war zone, and has spent most of his time trying to get the old people out of the Timberlane subdivision. I gave him a list of neighborhoods to check on, but communication is difficult within the city. Marnie doesn’t have a plan to return yet. You can reach her at her mother’s phone number. She is having the same cell phone problems.

Grant was never in harm’s way in Houston. Marnie and Susan stayed with him for a little while before they headed to Ft. Worth.

Dave is on his way to Enid, OK to stay with his folks. I talked to him tonight from his hotel room in Denton, Texas. He will be looking for work in Omaha and Atlanta. He lives Uptown, and it seems his house is right on the edge of the flooding.

Brent Joseph is with his parents and the Laboises in Hammond. His house in Mid-City is most likely flooded, but it is pretty high. The last time I talked to him, he was up in the air about what to do. He is thinking of trying to get a construction job, and filming the cleanup in the city.

Paul left for New York before the storm, and is heading to Oakdale/Lake Charles to stay with his parents.

Jamie is heading for St. Louis to stay with his parents.

Ashley evacuated with Jamie and Dave to Dr. Joe‘s house in Oakdale, and is now with her mom in Houston. She left me a message last night that said “Dave, Jamie, and Dr. Soileau saved my life.”

I know Claire evacuated, but I’m not sure where she is.

That’s what I know so far. I’ll keep updating as I find things out.

WWL has some pictures up of the flooding and damage in New Orleans.

It’s mind blowing.

http://www.wwltv.com/sharedcontent/breakingnews/slideshow/083005_dmnkatrina/1.html

WDSU is up now at: http://mfile.akamai.com/12912/live/reflector:38843.asx

WWL was reporting that the levee was breached on the Industrial Canal on the Chalmette side near Tennessee Street. They were saying 3-8 feet of water will fill those neighborhoods.

The Superdome’s roof has suffered some damage, but nothing structural.

Then WWL went off the air.

The storm took a turn to the east. This radar image looks bad, but supposedly its better for New Orleans if the storm hits east of the city.

Gulfport and Biloxi are screwed, but they aren’t 6 feet below sea level.

Vapid News Anchor: Jim, what advice can you give those folks who may not have evacuated yet?

Jim Cantore: Well, they should get down on their knees and say, “Lord, I need you help me and save me and my family, because I did not do the right thing by leaving when I should have.”

Wow.

On another note, I was watching the “StreetcarCam” at nola.com. There were three cars parked on the neutral ground on Napoleon.

I’m sure that extra six inches of height will save your car.

There is a house in New Orleans, not the house you’ve heard about, I’m talking about another house.

A lot of houses, actually. A lot that won’t be there.

What we’ve joked about for years looks like its finally going to happen. We’ve all known that the Crescent City has been due for a long time. We’ve taken pride in it, we’ve laughed at the possibility. That’s the New Orleans attitude.

Now, here in Atlanta, I feel completely helpless. All of my people have gotten out (at least as far as Baton Rouge so far, even if it took them 8 hours). On one hand I wish I was there with them, on the other, I’m glad I’m here.

Good luck and be safe everyone.