KATRINA

Mood Music.

From the Baton Rouge Advocate:

Kat could be big one in Big Easy

As Hurricane Katrina moved toward southeastern Louisiana and appeared to put New Orleans in her crosshairs Saturday, Mayor Ray Nagin urged residents in this sub-sea-level city to remain calm but take the powerful storm "very seriously."

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a test. This is the real deal," Nagin, flanked by Gov. Kathleen Blanco and other state and local leaders, said during an early afternoon news conference at City Hall. Workers boarded up windows at City Hall later in the day.

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Again from the Advocate:

Extended power outages expected in EBR

Parish officials warned the public Sunday that Hurricane Katrina will likely cause an extended period of power outages – something like that endured after 1992’s Hurricane Andrew.

Jay Grymes of the state Office of Climatology said Katrina is a lot like 1969’s Hurricane Camille, which devastated the Mississippi Gulf Coast – except Katrina is larger. Officials urged people who don’t have a reason to travel to stay off the streets from 7 p.m. this evening until the storm passes, which will likely be about sunset on Monday.

Basically, the parish will be shut down Monday and Tuesday, said parish Chief Administrative Officer Walter Monsour during a meeting of emergency response officials Sunday morning.

Residents are urged to be prepared to live without electrical power for a week or possibly longer in some cases.

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Consequently, expect Real Art to go dark for maybe a week or more. My Dad has strongly urged us to get out even though nobody else is: as a former phone linesman, he knows, so we're going. See you later.



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