Katrina

As I write tonight, Hurricane Katrina is approximately 120 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River with maximum sustained winds of 160 miles/hr, which makes it a Category 5 Hurricane, the most severe. It will make landfall sometime tomorrow morning around the Louisiana/Mississippi border, bringing with it waves as high as 30 feet in some areas. As of now, it would be the 2nd strongest hurricane ever to hit the Gulf coast, Camille in 1969 (which hit just a little to the east) being the worst.

What's gotten everyone's attention is the possible damage that the city of New Orleans may suffer. 70% of New Orleans sits about 10 feet below sea level. It is surrounded by Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River, with the majority of the city sitting between and below those 2 bodies of water. If the storm continues at its present pace and doesn't weaken, the surge of water created by the hurricane will pass over the levy system that protects New Orleans and flood the city. Because New Orleans sits in a bowl between the Mississippi and the Lake, the water has nowhere to go. As the storm slows, the water builds and the rain amounts, forcing the water level to rise. Basically, when you wake up tomorrow, New Orleans could be under water. Can you even imagine???

What's also tragic is the people that can't evacuate the city. 28% of New Orleans's population live in poverty. They are being forced to the Superdome, the Shelter of Last Resort. I've seen pictures of these people in line, waiting to get in, and your heart goes out to them. They have to stand outside in line as the rain starts to fall. When the storm hits, they'll be trapped inside with no power and air conditioning likely. Plus, it is likely that the floor of the Superdome will flood with water. Imagine the panic of those people inside, seeing water come in to where they are. In addition, the Superdome may not be able to hold all of these people. Because of the possibility of flooding inside the Dome, the people are forced to sit in the seats. The Superdome holds between 65-70,000. There are an estimated 100,000 people looking to get in. Hopefully, they're able to be accomodated.

Of course, then there are the morons who didn't evacuate and didn't go to a shelter, when they could have. Two were interviewed tonight, and they were asked, "Why didn't you evacuate, especially when the President advised you too and the waves coming in may be comparable to the tsunami?" They answered, "Tsunamis are much worse, tsunamis and hurricanes are different."

Well, yes, tsunamis and hurricanes are different, but hurricanes are much worse. Tsunamis are big waves that may last for a couple of hours. Hurricanes can affect you from 12 to 24 hours. The water doesn't come in for a couple of hours, it comes in throughout the storm. Add 160 mph winds and 15 inches of rain, and I think that should convince you hurricanes are worse than tsunamis. Even the director of the National Hurricane Center agreed with this when asked tonight.

So please say a prayer for the poor people that are in the path of this storm. Their loss and suffering won't end with the departure of the hurricane, it will only begin. It is already being estimated that the hurricane will inflict at least $30 billion worth of damage, which would be greater than the amount Hurricane Andrew caused.

There isn't much else to report here. In-depth analysis of Miami/Ohio St. will begin tomorrow night, so stay tuned for that. I am really looking forward to this weekend. I've been invited to a party Friday night with some fellow Miami alums in downtown Columbus, so I'll get to catch up with some people.

My choice of golfing venue will be Tipp City's Hidden Lakes. Now, Hidden Lakes isn't the most impressive course you'll ever see, but it's $10/day. Yes, $10, all you can golf, so I can't pass that up.

Tomorrow, the waiting begins again. Let's hope the good news continues to roll in. I don't care how long it takes, I will remain patient and wait for the good news.