The mandatory evacuation of New Orleans has begun as Hurricane Gustav continues to grow and head toward the Louisiana coastline. I was just reading the
Times-Picayune online and all the restaurants have closed in the Quarter and Garden District, grocery store shelves are empty, the last flight out of Louis Armstrong International departs at 6 p.m. tomorrow evening. Traffic is gridlocked on I-10 (as pictured above) and at some point tomorrow they will begin contraflow, which means all lanes of traffic will be outbound from the city. Luckily, it looks like everyone (including the government) is taking this storm seriously. After spending a few days in New Orleans back in May, driving all around and hearing stories, I don't know if the city can survive another storm of this magnitude. It's horrifying that Gustav is coming to New Orleans on the three year anniversary of Katrina. Spare a thought and prayer for New Orleans...one of the greatest cities in the world.
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i just read the mayor say "get out now!"
GAV
Hansoo's parents drove up from Mobile, Alabama (coastal town, like New Orleans)yesterday, and were involved in a car-crash. Fortunately, they seem alright(doctor checkups today), but the car is a loss.
I saw HUNDREDS of evacuee-folks at the local(North Point) Target. The store even made announcements on Sunday afternoon "We welcome all of you from the Gulf coast. Welcome to Alpharetta, welcome to Atlanta." Seems everyone was picking up supplies, meeting relatives, etc--at Target! I heard several hotels are running less-expensive deals, "Gustav specials", if you will.
God Help New Orleans, and the Gulf Coast.