Hurricane Evacuation...Galveston's Plan

[82Rigger]

Folks,

I'm sure all of you have followed Florida's hurricane events on the news and the Weather Channel...

And I know you have seen how BALLED UP some of the evacuations have gotten with people sitting out in traffic on the highway for endless hours, even getting caught up in the storm while trying to evacuate.

I personally have been involved in 4 major hurricane evacuations and every one of them have been pretty much a somewhat organized clusterf**k.

I have just been looking over the evac plan for Galveston, Texas, and I have to say it's the BEST I've ever seen.

Apparently the Texans have LEARNED from past storms.

Here's the link so you can see it. It's a PDF file.

It takes a couple of moments to load, and you'll need Acrobat Reader to view it.




http://www.cityofgalveston.org/_priv...tes_061505.pdf

[melody1181]

Have heard all about it, glad there is such a decent plan.

Hope all get out of the path of this thing...where ever it hits.

[82Rigger]

The mayor of the City of Galveston just this morning (Tues 20th) officially declared a state of emergency which authorizes and initiated a VOLUNTARY evacuation beginning immediately.

They just announced on TV that a MANDATORY evacuation for Galveston Island itself will begin tomorrow evening (Wednesday 21st).

VERY WISE.

[Boats]

What do we have to do build a 40' barricade around the coast line? It seems these poor folks are getting many more of these storms of late or maybe the media is saturating the TV with the news about them.

I also heard its somewhat cyclic every so many years is this true?

[Packo]

Boats,

It is cyclic and we are in one bad assed cycle now but forget when this happened before. This cycle is supposed to last for quite a few years but not sure how many. Deb, me, and my sister-in-law where just talking at lunch if we want to stay here on the coast for retirement. Don't think much of being in my 60's/70's and having to do this crap. Farms in inland Mississippi and Alabama are looking better every day. Course, my luck we buy a small farm in Bama' and get blown away by a Tornado! Just don't think I'm gonna be into rebuilding every so many years at 65+. Actually, don't think much good about it now.

Pack

[MarineAO]

Originally posted by Boats What do we have to do build a 40' barricade around the coast line? It seems these poor folks are getting many more of these storms of late or maybe the media is saturating the TV with the news about them.

I also heard its somewhat cyclic every so many years is this true?

It is somewhat of a known cycle for hurricanes I believe it runs a in a 15 to 20 year period of high and lows (number of storms per year and intensity) kinda like the El Nino off of CA. Some of the experts believe we are on the UP Swing side of the curve and the next few years could be worst. I for one tend to believe this cause look over the pass 34 years there was not near as many storms as in this year alone, though there has been a few since 1969 (the year of Camille that also hit the MS Gulf Cost and N.O. which they think was a down side storm).

[Jerry D]

The Mayor of Galveston,TX is on the ball with a good plan and she is informing the people who don't want to evac that there will be NO! 911, or any other emergency services for a few days and they better have plenty of food and water because they won't be there to baby sit them. Now, thats the way to inform the public of the harsh realities of Mandatory Evacuations

Here is some Historical info on the earlier hurricanes to hit the Gulf Coast:
High Winds in Dixie
By Calvin E. Johnson, Jr.
Kennesaw, Georgia
_cjohnson1861@bellsouth.net_ (mailto:cjohnson1861@bellsouth.net)

What happened to that courageous woman of New Orleans?

Do you remember the woman who was interviewed as Hurricane Katrina was
closing in? She patiently waited, at the New Orleans Superdome, needing shelter from the coming storm. On her mind was not her safety, as she had the means to leave town, but instead she wanted to stay with her family. She said, "It is now in God's Hands." I hope she and her family are well.

The historic state of Mississippi was hard hit.

With sad hearts we hear about the victims who died in Louisiana and those
who lost their homes in Mississippi. A U.S. senator lost his 150 year old home.
There is another 150 year old home "Beauvoir", the last home of Confederate
President Jefferson Davis, which was also damaged. Mississippian's say they
would rebuild. I think someone said, "The South would rise again!"

Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane, is called by some people as the worse disaster in United States history. There was another hurricane, before the naming of hurricanes, that was for the record books and for 105 years it remained the worse natural disaster ever to hit it U.S.

Words were hard to find to describe the tragedy of Galveston, Texas.

Have you ever heard the story of that fateful day in Galveston, Texas?. A
category 4 hurricane hit that peaceful Texas gulf town during September, 1900. The seaport of Galveston was a blessing that helped the town's economy but some predicted that one day it might also be its curse.

Since 1867, the Catholic Church has been a positive influence.

A historical marker was placed on the beach where once stood Saint Mary's
Orphanage Asylum. This was placed in remembrance of 10 Sisters and 90 orphan children who died in that storm. The death toll from the hurricane, with no name, would rise to over 8,000 men, women and children.

The population of Galveston, Texas was about 36, 000. One sixth of the
people would perish in the storm.

There were no TV, radio, Satellites or Doppler radar in 1900. There was,
however, the "United States Weather Bureau." The USWB sent an urgent message on Friday, September 7, 1900, calling the people of Galveston to evacuate toward higher ground. This message was, however, mostly ignored and some vacationers still continued to swim in the gulf waters. The heavy rains came on Saturday.

It has been written that Sister Elizabeth Ryan, one of the 10 Sisters at
Saint Mary's, went into town for food supplies on Saturday, September 8, 1900. Mother Gabriel, of Saint Mary's Infirmary, pleaded with her to stay until the storm passed. She told her that the children had to have their supper.

Time ran out for the people of Galveston. By 6:00PM that evening of September 8, the winds began to gust to near 130 miles an hour and the sea waters surged to near 15 feet. It is written that the winds may have reached as high as 150 miles an hour.
No home was standing. It was estimated that nearly 15,000 homes were destroyed. Those who ventured
outdoors risked death by the flying debris. The Sisters were brave.
One of the three children of the orphanage, who survived, told of how the children were afraid but the Sisters were brave. Even with death knocking at the door the Sisters led the children in songs that included, "Queen of the
Waves."

There was a centennial memorial on September 8, 2000, on the spot of
Galveston, Texas that was Saint Mary's Orphanage. Also, since that fateful day, the Sisters of Charity have remembered those who died.

Clara Barton goes to Texas.

The American Red Cross was only 19 years old in 1900. Galveston, Texas was
the last disaster mission of Clara Barton who was the founder and president of
the Red Cross. She and the Red Cross helped in opening a dormitory for
victims of the storm. The Red Cross also helped with lumber to rebuild the homes. The New York World newspaper, who shared a building with the Red Cross, gave Barton all donations they received to also help disaster victims.

God Bless those people who help the victims of Katrina. May God also help
those who lost their homes. I think someone was asked if they thought Louisiana and Mississippi would regain its greatness. The answer I heard was, "You Ain't Just Whistling Dixie.!"

[melody1181]

I will just say that I am praying for everyone in harms way....

Also that I like my position in the high plains.

[revwardoc]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...strippers_dc_1
Strippers help tease back New Orleans nightlife

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - In a sign that things may be returning to normal in New Orleans, strip shows are back in the city's famous French Quarter.









Erotic dancers and strippers are entertaining crowds of police, firefighters and military personnel instead of the usual audiences of drunken conventioneers and tourists in Bourbon Street's Deja Vu club, which reopened this week.

It's the first strip joint to resume business, three weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck in the worst natural disaster ever to hit the United States.

"It's nice to get back to work, and all these men need some entertainment," Dawn Beasley, 27, a dancer at the club, said on Tuesday night. "They haven't seen anybody but their buddies for two weeks."

The crowd hooted and hollered as women peeled off their tops and gyrated, as customers tucked tips into their G-strings.

"This is our first time off the ship and it's great," said one young sailor as he left the club. He declined to give his name or say where he was stationed.

"It's good to see the businesses getting back up and bringing the city back," another sailor said.

New Orleans' strip clubs have long been a fixture of Bourbon Street, where marquees promise everything from "barely legal" dancers to transvestite divas. Photos of the seedy shows inside the clubs line the windows, next to scores of bars in the district that draws tourists from around the globe.

The city's dusk-to-dawn curfew failed to prevent the Deja Vu from staying open to the early hours, with blaring music and neon lights spilling out into the Quarter, most of which remained bathed in darkness in the aftermath of the storm.

"We were open till two last night, just long enough to get the testosterone flowing," Beasley said.

Only a handful of restaurants and bars in the Quarter have reopened in recent days, serving food and drinks -- usually without charge -- to rescue workers and military who stream through the mostly empty streets. The Deja Vu waived its cover charge, drinks were selling for $3 and a private dance was available for just $1.

For Deja Vu manager Brent Ardeneaux, reopening was a public service.

"It's a disaster zone. You got a lot of people in from out of town that need entertaining," he said as he unloaded supplies from the back of a pick-up truck.

The club even drew several women looking for a respite from their duties patrolling the city, but they resisted entreaties to join the others on stage and left after a few minutes.

One of them, a soldier, said: "We were just looking for any place open. We've been working hard."



Love those gals in N'Awlins. Ya gotta hand it to 'em!

[Jerry D]

Doc, them Soldiers and Sailors must think they are in the PI with prices so low at the Vu