General Chat

I second that Veronica as one who knows what it is like! We didn't get electricity back for 6 months!! We did have water back after a week which was lucky as we had run out of saved water! The roof, well, we got that back just before Christmas last year. Hope you don't have too much rain up there Veronica..stay safe! Jacquie xxxxx

It is certainly one of the most difficult Petunia...we are coming up to the year anniversary of Ivan and there are still people here with no proper home or tarpaulin still covering the roof!! Of course Grenada isn't America!!! Jacquie xxxxx

That poor chap on tv news who couldn't hold on to his wife any longer and has lost her - he will have nightmares for the rest of his life I should think, and his children too if they saw it happen. I got hold of my friend in N. Miami Beach earlier and she and her family are ok thank goodness. How cruel life is to people who don't deserve it. Losing all you possess including your home must be the most difficult thing to deal with.

From BBC news site: Up to 80 killed in US hurricane A huge rescue operation is under way along the US Gulf Coast after a hurricane killed up to 80 people in a single county and swamped New Orleans. Harrison County in Mississippi bore the brunt of Hurricane Katrina as it slammed into local towns Biloxi and Gulfport before heading inland. Mississippi media earlier recorded a death toll of 54 for the state. Thirty people are said to have died in one block of flats in Biloxi which was hit by a 9m (30ft) water surge. The town's actual death toll may be 'in the hundreds', municipal spokesman Vincent Creel told Reuters news agency. nell

Situation in New Orleans is bad, about 80% of the city is under water. There have been at least 80 deaths, there are about 10,000 people sheltering in the Superdome, with no electricity or running water, in temperatures in the 90s. There are people in the hotel here in Dallas from the stricken area, goodness knows what they will find when they go back. There's not a lot we can do faced with wind and water on this scale. My thoughts go out to all those affected.

For Mary Anne whose son is in Baton Rouge. If you are still looking in. Go to www*2theadvocate*com or wafb*com for news and hurricane info. coming directly from the area. Patty x

One of the pumping stations in New Orleans has just failed… but the good news is that Katrina has moved slightly Eastwards, thus sparing the city from a dead hit. It’s now the Western edge of the storm, and the weaker edge that is over the city, but it’s still going to be bad. Parts of downtown are already under 8 ft of water. Further East in Mississippi, the main coast highway is under 7ft of water. As soon as it hits land it starts weakening, the further over land it gets the weaker it gets. RG

according to sky news tv its been downgraded to a cat 3 hurricane. Alough on sky news online its put at cat 4. E x

New Orleans is going to be devastated. The entire city is completely below seal level and relies on pumps, sandbanks and marshes to keep the water out of the city as it is. As a category 3 storm Katrina dropped 15 inches of rain over Southern Florida in just a couple of hours, it's now a category 4/5. Michigan and the Great Lakes area is braced for 'heavy thunderstorms' and 'severe rain' starting this Wednesday, before it moves into Ontario. It's worth bearing in mind that although this storm is really bad, it's actually not as bad as Hurricane Andrew that hit Florida in 1994. Scary stuff. RG

Jan...it has already passed the Bahamas... it went passed there on Wednesday...little damage is reported. Jacquie xxxx

It does sound a bad one - hope everyone is safe out there. If it's gonna hit the Bahamas too, I hope my cousin and her family are safe. My Aunt is already here on holiday, thankfully. Jan xx

Just heard on CNN that the roof of the Superdome has started to peel off and there are about 10,000 peiple sheltering in there!

My cousin and his wife live in Nworlins (as they pronounce it). Hope they'll be OK, looks like a biggie! CB >|<

Hi Oleander - Canadian Hurricane centre in Halifax is tracking this storm and currently forecasting 'a weakened Katrina' to hit Canada 'as early as Wednesday' Storm expected to 'track thru southern Ontario moving along St. Lawrence river thru Quebec' but stress, 'still too early to pinpoint' Love Patty x

It must be horrifying for them. 11th september 1997 we were in baton Rouge and 12th september in N Orleans. I feel for the people as if the water rises as much as they say it is going to it will do a lot of damage. I do hope theya ll stay safe. What awful storms we have had in 2005? Has it been a worse than usual year? Ann Glos

We're in Dallas at the moment and (luckily) outside of the predicted damage zone. The eye of Katrina is going to hit south Louisiana / Alabama later today. It's a category 5, it looks bad from the pictures on the Weather Channel here. The effects will be felt all up the eastern side, through the Appalachians, for several days. No doubt we will hit the tail end of it when we fly back to DC on Wednesday. Hoping everyone affected keeps safe.

The next one could be on it's way!!! 920 WTNT33 KNHC 290838 TCPAT3 BULLETIN TROPICAL DEPRESSION THIRTEEN ADVISORY NUMBER 3 NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 5 AM AST MON AUG 29 2005 ...DISORGANIZED TROPICAL DEPRESSION THIRTEEN EXPECTED TO PASS WELL NORTH OF THE LESSER ANTILLES... AT 5 AM AST...0900Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL DEPRESSION THIRTEEN WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 16.8 NORTH... LONGITUDE 49.4 WEST OR ABOUT 795 MILES...1280 KM... EAST OF THE LESSER ANTILLES. THE DEPRESSION IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 14 MPH ...22 KM/HR...AND THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 30 MPH... 45 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. LITTLE CHANGE IN STRENGTH IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 1007 MB...29.74 INCHES. REPEATING THE 5 AM AST POSITION...16.8 N... 49.4 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...NORTHWEST NEAR 14 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS... 30 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1007 MB. THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 11 AM AST.

They could eventually feel some effects from this as far up as the Great Lakes!!!! It has dropped to Cat. 4 but is still very powerful!

Our thoughts are with our neighbors accross the Canada/US border. In Louisiana, most especially New Orleans. In Mississippi and all along the Gulf Coast. We pray for your safety dear friends. Patty and family.

HURRICANE KATRINA TROPICAL CYCLONE POSITION ESTIMATE NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 5 AM CDT MON AUG 29 2005 AT 5 AM CDT...1000Z...THE CENTER OF MAJOR HURRICANE KATRINA WAS ESTIMATED BY AN AIR FORCE RESERVE UNIT RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT AND NOAA/NWS LAND-BASED DOPPLER RADAR TO BE NEAR LATITUDE 28.9 NORTH...LONGITUDE 89.6 WEST. THIS POSITION IS ABOUT 35 MILES WEST-SOUTHWEST OF THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND 35 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF GRAND ISLE LOUISIANA...AND ABOUT 85 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA. DURING THE PAST HOUR...GRAND ISLE LOUISIANA REPORTED SUSTAINED WINDS OF 87 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 114 MPH...A FLORIDA COASTAL MONITORING PROGRAM WIND TOWER IN GALLIANO LOUISIANA REPORTED SUSTAINED WINDS OF 79 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 100 MPH...AND A GUST TO 85 MPH WAS REPORTED AT NEW ORLEANS LAKEFRONT AIRPORT. FORECASTER STEWART