We're still in Memphis... the entire area is in shambles. I was obviously WRONG in my previous comment that New Orleans had avoided the doomsday scenario... it's happening NOW. The bridge over Lake Pontchartrain I drive on every day to go to work is destroyed, the city is almost entirely flooded, and the waters are continuing to rise still due to the levee failures. The city is really like a war zone. The only tiny bit of good news for me is that my office is just high enough so that I think it won't get water (though it's an office in the middle of a city with no power, no water, no sewerage, no access, and well no clients).
I'm quite worried about the strangers who had kindly helped me get our boat out of the water in Pass Christian... they mentioned they'd be riding out the storm there at the Yacht Club (which is, of course, right on the beach). If they did, they are dead. Not that it really matters considering the staggering scope of this catastrophe, but it's probable that our boat was destroyed and/or lost (the storm hit Pass Christian MUCH harder than expected). I was hoping that it could serve as temporary housing.
I don't know what damage imagery is more shocking to me... New Orleans or the Gulf Coast. The Gulf Coast was simply demolished, while in New Orleans, the destruction is painfully ongoing.
Information on my town of Slidell is very sketchy. Communication is down, and access to the area is very difficult. We heard the water tower was knocked down. We fully expect complete destruction of our house... high (4 - 5 ft.) flooding and a tree or two through the roof. Most information is just rumor... for instance, we've heard that a Catholic school down the street from our house got 8 ft. of water, and that it got NO water. However, we did get one small piece of solid information that has given us a slight glimmer of hope... a client in Lafayette sent me a couple of photos that, just by coincidence, were taken right around my neighborhood.
This is a highway that runs behind my backyard... this photo was taken about 1/2 mile from my house. Believe it or not, this qualifies as "encouraging" to me, as the power poles are mostly standing, and not all the trees have been knocked down.
Now, this one is VERY encouraging. This photo was taken very close to my house (if you were to turn to the right and walk through some woods and over a drainage canal, you'd be at the side of my house). In this photo, the water is only covering the streets and yards, but I'm sure it was taken after the water had receded. The encouraging part is that I THINK I see a waterline on the bricks of the mostly unobscured house (the darkened area), which seems to indicate we may have "only" gotten a foot or two of water in our house. Of course, we could still have a tree in our living room, but 1.5 - 2 ft. of water vs. 4 - 5 ft. of water will make a BIG difference in what our personal property losses are.
I was considering trying to drive back home tomorrow, even if just to briefly survey the damage, gather some belongings, then head back up here to Memphis. But so many roads are still impassable, and law enforcement is reportedly blocking entry anyway (though some people have managed to sneak in). I have a few neighbors who have taken refuge in Texas, and they're going to try to get back tomorrow and hopefully will be able to report out to us on the damage. If they're not able to reach us, I'll probably try to get down there myself on Thursday.
Wife and kids will stay here in Memphis for as long as needed (probably months).
--Mike
