07L: Hurricane Gustav

[Blake Michaleski]

Currently in Gulfport, MS...


After waiting all night, thinking we would miss the best of it, we were surprised this morning when the outer bands finally came onshore.

We started the morning with a very brief power flash lit tornado right in front of our parking deck. Brett Adair and I both witnessed it.

The outer band have been hammering up good with Matt Grantham and Brett getting some great surge footage. I was able to get alot of up close surge footage as well.

Winds have been sustained at 50-60 at times with gusts to 80 or 90mpg... some due to building interactions.

Surge is across the eastbound lane of US 90 in Gulfport now and still seems to be rising slowly.


This area is fortunate it is not much worse than it is.... I saw some newly constructed houses boarded up, and there are still many, many empty slabs left over from Katrina.

 

[Benjamin Sipprell]

Winds have been sustained at 50-60 at times with gusts to 80 or 90mpg... some due to building interactions.

Why aren't using hurricanes then for fuel efficiency?

Anyways ... news agencies reporting barges loose, and overtopping ... which really isn't overtopping, more lapping of water over the walls.

I think the worst is for wherever the storm stalls over ... this is just an opening performance.

This site shows it all: http://www.maroonspoon.com/wx/gustav.html

 

[Angie Norris]

NHC is reporting landfall near Cocodrie, LA as of 15Z. Most recent radar shows the eye totally over land SE of Houma.

 

[B Ozanne]

That water is 1 foot from breaching the levee on nola.com

The wind is pushing white caps over.

 

[Van DeWald]

Stu Robinson's chase cam is in the eye wall right now (or very close), as of 1050 am on the severestudios.com website. Quite interesting.

 

[B Ozanne]

Wasn't it about this time three years ago we were searching far and wide to find any real damage reports. I remember in the early evening Tim made up a map of the "major" damage reports from NOLA. I think the highlights were a brick wall collapse and some over-topping at a few canals.

In reality the city was in the process of flooding, the mayor was desperately trying to convince the outside world the city was filling with water and the pumps were hours away from being swamped. It wasn't until Tuesday morning that I reported the city was flooded.

 

[Patrick Marsh]

That water is 1 foot from breaching the levee on nola.com
The wind is pushing white caps over.

There is a huge difference between breaching and overtopping. What you are referring to is water coming over the top of the levees which is known as overtopping.

A breach is when a levee has a hole.

The difference in the two is that a breach means the whole column of water being held back and come through. In overtopping, only the water higher than the levee will make it through.

 

[B Ozanne]

There is a huge difference between breaching and overtopping. What you are referring to is water coming over the top of the levees which is known as overtopping.

Trust me, I know the difference. Right now its being over-topped by white caps, the actual water level is one or two feet below. The instant the water level rises above the levee it will almost instantly be over-topped and breached. That 12" of concrete can hold back water, but once it starts flowing over there will be total failure.

Therefore, I consider a true over-topping to be equivalent to a breach. Neither of which have occurred yet. But I've heard there is 6" of water in the lower 9th.

 

[Patrick Marsh]

If you know the difference, say what you mean. Don't speculate. By reporting one as the other (especially without clarifying), you do a great disservice to everyone reading this. If someone reads 'the water is 1 foot from breaching the levees' and then tells others, people who know the difference between breach and overtopping are going to have a completely different reaction.

I disagree with your assessment that overtopping of the levees means imminent "total failure" of said levees. It may (or may not) make it more likely, but by no means is it a guarantee.

 

[B Ozanne]

If the floodwalls are truly over-topped they will fail. That's not speculation. They are not designed to be over-topped. As of right now they do not appear to be over-topped. Its simply water splashing over. I am speculating though as there are over 300 miles of levees and I have no idea of the condition on all 300 miles.

If somebody is relying on my comments for the safety of their life I apologize and suggest finding a more reliable source.

 

[Darren Addy]

It is true that overtopping can lead to a breach. But that does not make overtopping equivalent to a breach, even if it does come to pass. Words mean things.

That being said, I think a breach (or three) around New Orleans will surprise few. The whole idea of levees is a human arrogance that Nature likes to teach a lesson once in a while.

 

[Shane Adams]

.We started the morning with a very brief power flash lit tornado right in front of our parking deck. Brett Adair and I both witnessed it.

Did you guys get it on video?

 

[B Ozanne]

Does anybody know how far the water is from the top of the floodwalls in the Industrial Canal under normal conditions?

 

[jeremy wilson]

To my rookie tropical eyes, it seems like Gustav is holding its own very well just like the rest of the other lanfallers this year. If Gustav maintains like the others would you start to call this a trend?

 

[Brian Barnes]

Does anybody know how far the water is from the top of the floodwalls in the Industrial Canal under normal conditions?

Here's the Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Canal

While we are all fascinated with those canals and levees due to Katrina, I think tomorrow a Gustav story will start to unfold and it's going to be centered on Plaquemines Parish and the damage that occurred to what was left of the wetlands.

I personally think its a tragedy that our government hasn't made more of an effort to save the wetlands in Louisiana. I read somewhere that something to the equivalent of a football field disappears every half hour.

To most of us (including myself) the disappearance of the Louisianian Wetlands will go by pretty unnoticed. But to people that live down there they have seen a rapid transformation in just a few short years and it gets worse by the day. I'm thinking that Gustav probably did a lot of damage to wetlands in Plaquemines Parish and unfortunately I haven't heard much about that "angle" on any news network yet.