Hurricane Katrina - the Real Deal Folks. A CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE!

Hurricane Katrina is now a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 175 mph (281 kmh) near the eye makes this storm extremely dangerous and catastrophic! The eye is currently 30 miles by 30 miles, clearly visible from space in satellite photos. President Bush has now declared a state of emergency fo the state of Louisana and Missississippi. Already Hurricane Katrina has killed 7 people in Florida when it was a mere Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds at 80 mph and dumped as much as 18 inches of rain. We're facing the grim prospect of a Category 5 hurricane making a direct hit, most likely, to Louisana or Missississippi. Sustained winds could very well get up to 180 mph. These winds are not gusts but SUSTAINED winds with likely gusts over 200 mph. This is effectively a 35 - 65 mile wide tornado! Only this time, Hurricane Katrina is no mere tornado.

Damages are expect to be enormous. Expect oil prices to go up markedly because much of the offshore oil production rigs and oil refineries are in Louisana where Hurricane Katrina will interrput oil flow, probably for some time because of the ferocity and size of Hurricane Katrina.

Another concern is the city of New Orleans sits several feet below sea level and any water that goes into the city from rainfall has to be pumped out. With Hurricane Katrina the fear is that the city may not have the ability nor the capacity to handle Katrina with the combined ocean surge of 18 feet along with incoming rainfall. Combined the deadly winds, rainfall and ocean surges, New Orleans may be in fact be facing "THE BIG ONE."

Amid this maelstrom, the estimated 200,000 or more people left behind in an evacuation will be struggling to survive. Some will be housed at the Superdome, the designated shelter in New Orleans for people too sick or infirm to leave the city. Others will end up in last-minute emergency refuges that will offer minimal safety. But many will simply be on their own, in homes or looking for high ground.

Thousands will drown while trapped in homes or cars by rising water. Others will be washed away or crushed by debris. Survivors will end up trapped on roofs, in buildings or on high ground surrounded by water, with no means of escape and little food or fresh water, perhaps for several days.

"If you look at the World Trade Center collapsing, it'll be like that, but add water," Eichorn said. "There will be debris flying around, and you're going to be in the water with snakes, rodents, nutria and fish from the lake. It's not going to be nice."

If the storm makes a direct hit on the city we could be looking at 40,000 to 60,000 casualties according to one official making comments on The Weather Channel just moments ago taking cue from FEMA computer modeling scenaria for a slow moving Category 4 or 5 storm submerging New Orleans.

New Orleans would not be the only city impacted but the surrounding communities inland, towns and smaller cities, perhaps far north as Tennessee or Virginia, may well feel the deadly impact from the hurricane spawing tornadoes, torrential winds and winds, though much diminshed when the eye of the hurricane goes inland and loses strength. Currently the two biggest cities at risk for destruction are New Orleans and Biloxi.

The last time a Category 5 hurricane hit land fall was the 1992 Hurricane Andrew. Only 3 Category 5 hurricanes made landfall ever since records were kept.

Only 3 Category Five Hurricanes have made landfall in the United States since records began: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, Hurricane Camille (1969), and Hurricane Andrew in August, 1992. The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane struck the Florida Keys with a minimum pressure of 892 millibar--the lowest pressure ever observed in the United States. Hurricane Camille struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast causing a 25-foot storm surge, which inundated Pass Christian. Hurricane Andrew of 1992 made landfall over southern Miami-Dade County, Florida causing 26.5 billion dollars in losses--the costliest hurricane on record. In addition, Hurricane Gilbert of 1988 was a Category Five hurricane at peak intensity and is the strongest Atlantic tropical cyclone on record with a minimum pressure of 888 millibar.

Please folks, this is the real deal here. Nothing to get excited about and we are praying for the people that they will survive the storm if they cannot get out in time, or simply cannot leave because they have no means or money to do so. Take refuge in large structure such as the Superdome. As for evacuation numbers, we're talking about millions of people trying to move out the way to the North, East or West. Officials even predict that part of East-West I-10 highway will be submerged by the surging coastal waters coming as high as 25 feet as a worse case scenario. This is a storm not to be laughed about or wished upon. No hurricanes or storms should be rooted for but people do that nowadays with sickening appall. If the storm hits New Orleans or Biloxi, the city and surrounding areas will be unrecognizable. Everything just scoured and peeled away. This is a storm that is expected to bring 18 ft high ocean surges, dangerous flooding, catstrophic wind speeds, and spawned tornados.

Batten down the hatches (better yet, move!) for the people of the coastal states from Louisana to the Florida pan handle. This includes people far inland as well! This sucker is huge! We're praying for you folks. Please, take this seriously! JUST GET OUT OF THE WAY!



Hurricane Katrina. Category 5. August 28, 2005. ~7AM EST