Sister Storms – Irene and Katrina?

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Hurricane Katrina reached Cat 3 intensity at 5:00 AM.  At 5:00 PM, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin announced a state of emergency and called for a voluntary evacuation.  He would only order a mandatory evacuation 30 hours before landfall, reportedly to avoid gridlock.  He did advise those living in low lying areas, such as Algiers and the 9^th Ward to get a head start.  He said he would open the Superdome as a shelter of last resort for evacuees with special needs.  President Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana and Max Mayfield, head of the National Hurricane Center briefed the president, Louisiana and Mississippi governors and Mayor Nagin on the status of Hurricane Katrina.  Katrina reached a Cat 4 short after midnight.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Evacuations have already been ordered in at least six states:  North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and New York. Hundreds of thousands have been advised to leave the areas.  New York hospitals and nursing homes in low-lying areas have been evacuated.  The New York transit system has been shut down which leaves the Big Apple, “the city that never sleeps,” totally immobile, but not asleep!    

The good news is, six years later, we’ve learned something!