Here Comes GustavBy Nancy Matthis | Sunday, August 31st, 2008 at 2:35 am
Gustav passed over the west end of Cuba yesterday evening, and shortly after 10PM last night entered the Gulf of Mexico as a Category Four hurricane, the second highest rank on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity. Our graphic, provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows the projected track at 2AM.
Gustav is headed straight through the US off-shore oil rigs and is aimed directly at New Orleans. A word to the wise:
- get out of town and go as far north as you can
- take a briefcase of your essential documents (deeds, insurance policies), cash money (power outages may disable ATMs), and any needed medicine
- TAKE YOUR PETS WITH YOU
Three years ago, Louisianna governor Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin completely failed in their duties and over 1,600 people, half of whom were at least 75 years old, died. The last seven unidentified corpses were just laid to rest in a mausoleum Friday.
Things look better this time. Louisiana’s current governor Bobby Jindal is a capable executive, and appears to be ahead of the hurricane curve.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal issued an executive order closing schools in central and north Louisiana Tuesday and Wednesday to free up shelter space and bus resources for local residents and residents in south Louisiana….
The entire Louisiana National Guard, over 7,000 members, was activated on Friday. Over 1,500 were sent to New Orleans to assist with evacuations and prevent looting.
Nagin is doing better, perhaps having learned his lesson the hard way. The biggest difference — Blanco did not activate the Louisiana national guard in time for Katrina, while Jindal has already deployed them for Gustav.
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Filed under: Weather Tags: Bobby Jindal, Gustav, Jindal, Katrina, Louisiana, Nagin, National Guard, New Orleans, oil rigs, Ray Nagin |
