Hurricane to hit New Orleans

[topdog]

A monster hurricane called Katrina is heading for New Orleans...incidentally one of my housemates is from New Orleans and he's flipping out. The entire city is being evacuated. According to forecasts, New Orleans could be wiped out in the worst-case scenario. It's supposed to hit Monday morning (Monday night in Msia). Catch it live here....
http://www.nola.com/bourbocam/

[gonjeng]

heh, it is cat 4 hurricane. damn, you guys ought to be very careful. im from florida, and when we had 4 hurricanes last year, that was bad enough. i went to punta gorda, where cat 4 hurricane charley hit... damn some places are like padang jarak padang terkukur... all the trees are blown away, many houses were seriusly damaged.

do tell your friend, if he is near where the hurricane will make landfall, do cabut aaa. if he's like at least 60+ miles away, it may not be as bad... the hurricane may not be as strong anymore. the things he/she may have to watch out is tornado and 'wooden missles' (branches of trees literally flying straight and level at at least 30 mph).

anyway, this is just the beginning of the season. as many predicts, there are more to come. aiseh... seems that these hurricanes have found US as a nice place to have late summer vacation :)

be safe!

[topdog]

it's a cat 5, supposedly 2.5 times stronger than charley.

[gonjeng]

hah damn... heh, yeah it is cat 5. last time i checked it was cat 4 - my bad. then, those new orleaners better get the heck out. having seen how catastrophic cat 4 can be, i cant imagine cat 5 man...

landfall is tomorrow morning right?

[PJKru]

this is an act of god

[zAiTsEv]

why people always blame God when something bad happens?

[Zeroth]

well, people thank God for good things, why not bad things as well?

[__earth]

this is an act of god

this is actually, might be our doing:
greenhouse gases emission -> climate change -> warmer ocean -> larger temperature difference -> intensified natural phenomena.

but im a greenie. might be biased.

[Zeroth]

there is a possibility, since the US refused to join in the kyoto protocol to reduce Co2 emmisions. They din rite?

[wawa]

it is very sad... mass desctruction

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina

[Salvation]

there is a possibility, since the US refused to join in the kyoto protocol to reduce Co2 emmisions. They din rite?

Anyone knows the reason they did not join? Unfair economic advantage to developing countries like china?(different lvls of co2 emmisions lvls permitted for developing countries) I remember John Ashcoft or don't know who said that the US did alot more outside the protocol concerning global warming or that the protocol just doesn't make economic sense.

[Zeroth]

they say that there is no evidence that co2 leads to global warming.

[topdog]

this is an act of god

this is actually, might be our doing:
greenhouse gases emission -> climate change -> warmer ocean -> larger temperature difference -> intensified natural phenomena.

but im a greenie. might be biased.
i find it rather far-fetched to connect natural disasters like hurricanes to global warming, considering they have been going on since the beginning of time(?).

[Zeroth]

it may be possible that global warming increases the frequency of these occuring because of shift in temperature differences. Just my postulation.

[__earth]

When I first read about it, I found it hard to grasp too.

But it's not something new. Climate models do predict increase in natural phenonema frequency/intensity. One of the latest papers on the issue (warming -> intensity) is published in Nature (ftp://texmex.mit.edu/pub/emanuel/PAPERS/NATURE03906.pdf).

Another publication that I know of that talks about this is Carbon War by Jeremy Leggett. But he's a geologist, not a meteologist - that might undermine his authority a bit. He's also a greenie. So, that might make him biased too.

There are other older stuff that I came across during my undergraduate years that talk about the relationship objectively but can't seem to recall the author name.

In any case, this climate-> hurricane relationship is not as crazy as climate -> earthquake -> tsunami stuff.

[Zeroth]

i agree. In fact hurricanes are a manifestation of differences in temperature between different layers of air, that would make it logical that climate may influence it.

[Tasslehoff]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-katrina-graphics,0,1949321.blurb?coll=chi-newsbreaking750-hed

quite alot of detailed info on the hurricane if ya wanna know :D

nasa has even better pictures.. ;)

[burningBUTTERFLIES]

when i first heard abt the katrina hitting the states, i wasnt too concerned with it because well, an assumption that the US of A, first world country would react fast to it and it will be under control.

But today... somehow I was comparing it to last year's tsunami.

I am really really surprised. The hurricane hit them on 29th of August. And only few days ago the rest of the country is actually doing something worth it. The whole looting, babies sleeping on cardboard boxes, dead bodies decomposing... I was aware of Americans always helping the needy, like homeless shelters etc etc, but what happened here? why was the response so slow?

but of course the rich had evacuated. the poor wasnt given enough attention on evacuating them. the issue of race arised, yea.

apparently, same activity, my friend told me that one picture of a white man was said to be 'finding food' while another pic of a black man was captioned 'looting'.

hope the survivors are getting better necessities now.

Harvard has visiting undergraduate slots for college students affected by Hurricane Katrina. And it's FREE tuition too!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

September 2, 2005

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:

The devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina have stunned us all. The
loss of life, destruction of property, and unimaginably severe
conditions that remain in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama
are profoundly saddening. Our thoughts, prayers, and sympathies are
with all those who have suffered from the storm and its aftermath. How
can we as a university help? Let me outline several ways.

First, we are contacting our undergraduate and graduate students who
live in the region to offer any assistance we can in helping them
arrive safely for the fall term. We also stand ready to lend support
to any member of the Faculty or staff who has family members displaced
by the storm. Any faculty or staff in need of such support should
contact my office at 617-495-1566.

Second, Harvard College will admit 25 additional students from colleges
and universities that will not reopen this term due to the storm into
our Visiting Undergraduate Student Program for the Fall Semester.
Applications will be processed on an expedited basis. No tuition will
be charged. On-campus housing will be provided on a space-available
basis and priority will be given to students rendered homeless by the
storm. Students interested in being considered for the Visiting
Undergraduate Program should contact Marlene Vergara Rotner in the
Office of Admissions at 617-495-9707 or vus@<hidden>.

Third, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will admit into the
Special Student Program for the Fall Semester, 25 additional students
from colleges and universities that will not reopen this term due to
the storm. As in the case of Visiting Undergraduates, applications
will be processed rapidly, and no tuition will be charged. Students
interested in being considered by the Special Student Program should
contact Sue Wood at 617-495-5392 or swood@<hidden>.

Fourth, the Harvard Extension School, which has led Harvard's outreach
efforts for more than a century, will allow enrollment in up to four of
its fall courses to those students living within commuting distance who
would normally be attending college in the flooded areas. For those
students who are not within commuting distance of the campus, HES will
make available enrollment in any of its 36 fall online courses. In
either case, HES will waive the tuition for these students and require
only the $50 registration fee. Scholarships for online courses are
limited. Further, high school students from the flooded region who can
come to the Boston area and live with relatives may enroll in Extension
School courses that meet AP requirements, such as Introduction to
Calculus, introductory science course, and introductory language
courses. Students interested in these opportunities should contact
Christine Santos at 617-495-5850 or santos@<hidden>.

President Summers is posting on the University website a letter in
which he will outline efforts across Harvard, including the
establishment of a fund to assist victims of the hurricane. Let me
suggest a further way you can help. If you are in a position to house
a visiting student for the fall semester, you would do that student,
and this Faculty, a great service. If you can assist in this way,
please contact Anna-Lisa Plant in the Harvard College Dean's Office at
617-496-0265 or aplant@<hidden>.

Finally, please help to spread the word about these opportunities to
colleagues and friends in the affected colleges and universities.
Given that our classes do not begin until Monday, September 19, there
is still time. But we must move quickly. Now is the moment to show
solidarity with our sister institutions who are in such need.

With all best wishes,

Sincerely,


William C. Kirby
Edith and Benjamin Geisinger Professor of History and Dean of the
Faculty of Arts and Sciences



A copy of this letter is available at the FAS website:
www.fas.harvard.edu

[Thirdshifter]

My prayers to those who are affected by this disaster. Hopefully recommers who lives around that area are doing fine.

[PCLing]

I am quite surprise to find out about the late relief efforts offered to the victims of Katrina. The poor people have suffered enough.....what do you think caused this delay?

[Thirdshifter]

what do you think caused this delay?

i don't think this was unexpected.. just that now its being politicized..

Logistics is probably why it took this long to bring in relief...just like how it was in Indonesia last year.

[el_empty]

from the New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Katrina-Getting-Help-Through-HK4.html?pagewanted=print

Long lines of volunteers are being stopped on freeways on their way into New Orleans.

''Anyone who self-responded was not being put to work. The military was worried about having more people in the city. They want to limit it to the professionals,'' said Kevin Southerland, a captain with Orange Fire Department in Orange County, Calif., a member of one of eight 14-member water rescue teams sent to New Orleans at FEMA's request.

[digimushu]

Virginia Tech offering to accept Displaced students

From: http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?relyear=2005&itemno=933

Blacksburg, Va., September 2, 2005 -- Virginia Tech will offer specialized admissions to students displaced by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. "We will offer admission for non-degree status on a case by case basis to qualified undergraduate or graduate students for the fall and/or spring semester. We know that it will be difficult for students already traumatized by the tragedies in the South, but these are not normal times and we want to do everything in our power to help students stay on their academic paths," said Charles Steger, president.

Tech's program will be open to students already enrolled in a school shut down or likely to remain closed as a result of the hurricane.

The university residence halls have a very limited number of on-campus spaces available, but many off-campus apartment complexes have vacancies and are willing to offer special arrangements to students displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Undergraduate students interested should immediately contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, (540) 231-6267 or admiss@<hidden> and complete an application at www.admiss.vt.edu. Graduate students should contact the Graduate School, (540) 231-7581. Students and their families are advised to act quickly. Admissions will not take applications after 5 P.M on Wed., Sept. 7. Virginia Tech completed its second week of the 15-week semester today. Admissions personnel will be available Saturday and on Monday, Labor Day, to assist.

David Ford, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs calls the Virginia Tech option a "temporary academic experience" that will allow students to complete transferable credit courses back to their home university. Ford says, "Our hearts go out to everyone in those grief stricken areas. This is but one small way that we can help ease the pain for those struggling to recover."

As of this writing, the university also is investigating ways to expand on-line course offerings to assist affected students. The Sloan Foundation is considering offering grants to universities to expand existing on-line course programs and Tech has responded. Displaced faculty in hurricane affected areas interested in visiting faculty status are encouraged to contact Provost Mark McNamee, (540) 231-6123

[Thirdshifter]

It's nice to know some universities are trying to help these students.. but considering the demographics of NO and the schools there.. i doubt any students would actually qualify for either harvard of V tech.

Having said that.. kudos to them for trying.

[digimushu]

Want to know why help was so slow?

From: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KATRINA_DISASTER_RESPONSE?SITE=ASIAONE&SECTION=TOP_STORIES&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

The top U.S. disaster official waited hours after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast before he proposed to his boss sending at least 1,000 Homeland Security workers into the region to support rescuers, internal documents show.

...

Acknowledging that such a move would take two days, Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sought the approval from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff roughly five hours after Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29.

...
Brown's memo to Chertoff described Katrina as "this near catastrophic event" but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, "Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities."

...
The same day Brown wrote Chertoff, Brown also urged local fire and rescue departments outside Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi not to send trucks or emergency workers into disaster areas without an explicit request for help from state or local governments. Brown said it was vital to coordinate fire and rescue efforts.



This is what happens when bureaucracy dominates a government...

[Salvation]

Allow me to quote NYT
Well, if 9/11 is one bookend of the Bush administration, Katrina may be the other. If 9/11 put the wind at President Bush's back, Katrina's put the wind in his face. If the Bush-Cheney team seemed to be the right guys to deal with Osama, they seem exactly the wrong guys to deal with Katrina - and all the rot and misplaced priorities it's exposed here at home.

These are people so much better at inflicting pain than feeling it, so much better at taking things apart than putting them together, so much better at defending "intelligent design" as a theology than practicing it as a policy.

A president so adapt at dealing pain is clearly unadapt to healing pain.[/code]

[vseehua]

haha...since the iraq war, i've been waiting for the fday when bush will be pushed down the place... :twisted:

[masdie]

In the states, if you're poor, you're left out. The world is very wild over there. You're left to defend for yourself. The world is very cruel, if you don't have money, there won't be people next to you offering a helping hand.

Wonder why so many natural disasters happen nowadays. Is this world coming to an end?

[topdog]

Wonder why so many natural disasters happen nowadays. Is this world coming to an end?
yes, the world has been coming to an end since the beginning of time