The worst of Katrina has passed New Orleans. Now, flooding is the big concern. With dozens of news organizations and hundreds of bloggers covering the storm and the city’s agony, there is little point in my attempting to add much from this distance. Monitoring tells me that my alma mater, WDSU-TV, is doing a good job of continuing updates, as is The Times-Picayune.
Here’s a recent entry from WDSU’s web log:
11:52 a.m.: Evacuees Huddle In Hallways At Chalmette H.S.
People who took shelter in Chalmette High School are now huddled in the hallways because the windows have blown out. The building has sustained significant damage. There are reports that the water is 10-feet deep near the high school and is rapidly rising. — WDSU.com Web Staff
And here’s one from the Picayune‘s Jon Donley in a NOLA weblog :
NEW ORLEANS IS SINKING…I DON’T WANT TO SWIM
9:34 – Reports of widespread flooding now, although not at the doomsday scenario levels. But we’ve got several hours to go before we’ve seen the worst past. Scanner traffic is busy with calls of rising water, including 18 inches and rising against the levee in the French Quarter. Dispatchers questioning officers on the scene, trying to determine if there is a break in the river levee, or if water is pouring over the top. Independently, NOLA has received a flooding alert for the French Market area.
Fairly heavy street flooding in front and behind the Times-Picayune . . . water appears about knee deep, whipped by the steady wind into whitecaps and breakers. Water is hubcap deep on the furthest vehicles in the employee parking lot, and rising quickly.
For a guide to other blogs on the Katrina situation, check the list at About Last Night.