Bane Macleod

Katrina 1AM

The hurricane is interesting thus far, especially as I watch the local media coverage unfold. The first thing to note is that while you often see TV reporters and TV stations report on-site during the worst of events this is not one of those occasions. To the best of my knowledge there are no operational TV or Radio stations operating from within Orleans Parrish. The local ABC affiliates have combined to put their best people serving the news, the local weather takes on a back and forth format as the local weatherman and the Orleans weatherman go back and forth explaining the issues. Everything simulcasts to both markets. This, for the most part, has gone over well.

The second thing I've noticed is the tone of the interviews and the interviewees. During storms of the past you would always have the people interviewed before being the tough soloist "This is my home I ain't going nowhere". This time the recurring theme in all the interviews, both with local officials and residents, is that lives are much more important than possessions. Possessions can be replaced, lives cannot. This seems a little more sensible to me as well. Not only does that help penetrate the thick skulls of the people who think nothing could ever happen to them it helps to pass that message along to the community. And it is without a doubt the correct message.

The thing in this situation that I admit myself to being a little detached from is the other message that they are trying to send. The last reports have said that the storm surge facing New Orleans will overwhelm the levies with ease. Those of you who have never been to New Orleans may well never see the city as it was before this storm. 3/4 of this city is below sea level, the levies were built (and never tested) with a category 3 storm in mind. The talk here is of New Orleans being under 15-20 feet of water with ease, of tall buildings collapsing, of power outages running into months. Of a complete disruption in the power grid.

The hurricane will continue past New Orleans, moving northerly at it's own pace. The worries will move from what will happen to N.O. to how will N.O. recover and how much will the rest of the country suffer while it is doing so. Port Orleans and LOOP shutting down is one million barrels of crude oil not making it into this country. Add this to the incredible rainfall from this storm having the capability to overrun dams as far north as New York and Pennsylvania and likely no one in this country won't feel the effects of Katrina.