Uhh, not good

[NorthQuad]

That would be hard to deal with, knowing that when you leave your home that when you return it's going to be demolished. I've had my house messed up pretty bad during a flash flood when I was a kid and we lost a lot of our things but we were glad that was it. I really hope your house doesn't get it that bad but that's some fast wind and a pile of power. I hope everybody down there comes out safe.

[Ryan from Ohio]

I hope you guys have good home owners insurance!

175 MPH winds will be enough to level any house.

[William from NOLA]

I hope you guys have good home owners insurance!

175 MPH winds will be enough to level any house.

Actually yea, we have this agreement with them that they cannot drop us for no reason. (State Farm) We have our house and cars under them.

[lotas]

so will how much of your stuff do you take out of your house? I mean all your computer gear and all that, is that just in the house or do you move some of it or how does that work?

I have never spoke with anyone who has been in a situation like this, as im from WA so the worst I get is snowed in, so its pretty mind-boggling for me. I really hope everything turns out okay for you.

[William from NOLA]

Basically, the only non-essential items were the laptop and cameras. We only had 6 hours from when we decided to leave to get everything together. That included boarding up the windows and unplugging everything, etc.

I'm relying on insurance for anything I might lose. While we were on the road, we listened to a local AM station. They announced, 4 hours after we drove off, that there was a mandatory evacuation. I know a bunch of poeple who left at 11 am and still have not made it more than 100 miles away from new orleans. The contraflow system they put in seems to help traffic, but people still get in gridlock. (contraflow is where they use all of the lanes of the interstates as outbound lanes. It sure is weird driving on teh wrong side of the road)

[jonnyb]

i hope everything turns out ok for you.

glad you could evacuate.

[Ryan from Ohio]

You guys did the smart thing getting the hell out of there when you did.

I figured it was the only essential stuff you take with you. So you in a hotel or with family? Shelter?

The worst we get in my area are Tornado's and snow.

The Tornados dont seem to hit very often in my exact location. But they do the counties around me...

[William from NOLA]

I'm in a hotel in Atlanta, Texas.

I was just reading what some people have reported. It's definately far from good even in my neighborhood.

- In New Orleans, water topped a levee along the Industrial Canal. The city's 911 emergency system was out of service and Charity Hospital was on emergency power and windows had been blown out on five floors. The Police Department was operating on a backup power system. Three to four feet of water was reported on St. Claude Avenue at Jackson Barracks. And a 20-foot tidal surge knocked out four pumping stations; only one was able to get back into service.

The pumping stations are the only utilities that keep water out of the city.

Water rises in Lakeview

A resident inside a camelback bungalow in the Homedale
neighborhood in Lakeview on Monday at 9 a.m. watched street floodwaters
rise above the porch steps as he also battled water pouring down
his stairwell from a second-floor window blown out by high winds
from the west. The homeowner said floodwater had not yet come inside
his home but was rising. He said he planned to move with his dog
to the second floor and pray.

god... this is my street. It's only 3 blocks long.

[Bwcad1]

man im sorry for u i got shivers just reading it i hope all is well and i think the board should start a william relife fund!

[Jszar]

hey Will....i should have told you to head up here to Longview. The last 24 hours have been insane with traffic on I-20. I was out at 3am this morning, and the roads were PACKED. at least it didnt hit NO directly. something like 100 miles east.