There's a monster in the Gulf

[FLUX]

Just wanted to say I am thinking of those that will be in the path of Hurricane Katrina.  Was watching the weather channel this morning and the winds were something like 175 mph.  If anyone on here lives in the path of this storm good luck and god bless.  She's a beast of a storm.  I know she's already hit Floriday when she was a category 1 storm and I hear it's gonna be a 4 or 5 when it makes landfall.  I just can't believe how powerful this storm has become.   

[BigRay]

God watch over those people in the path of this monster...
We're thinking aout you and praying for you

[=JHF= -gHoTi-]

Us east coasters know, hurricanes are usually no joke.  Icky things.

Hope it's not too bad down there

[CupOJoe]

Us east coasters know, hurricanes are usually no joke.  Icky things.

Ain't that the truth.

Heard New Orleans may be under 20 ft. of water. That's really bad.

[Currahee]

not to be disrespectful at all, but a worst case scenario with Katrina & New Orleans would be a disaster several times worse than NY on 9-11.  in terms of loss of life, widespread damage, and displacement of citizens

God bless those folks in harms way

[Currahee]

well thankfully (hopefully) the loss of life doesn't look like it will be in the thousands, although I see its topped 100 already. 1 is too many though

when N'awlins is pumped dry and they can start cleaning up and starting over. It seems like a good idea to re-enforce & re-design the levee system. or perhaps better yet fill in the low area and build it above sea level.  I know this would be a tremendous undertaking &expense, but Katrina will not be the last cat. 5 hurricane to hit the gulf - or -N'awlins. The city was fortunate when Katrina veered east a bit,but  the levee break (and the need for a levy in and of itself) has probably contributed more to the destruction than the rain from the storm & the wind damage.  An engineering failure to the extreme. 

There is just no reason for 500,000 people to live in a "bowl" after this event.

[CupOJoe]

It is totally incomprehensible. I am still in awe of the destruction.

[FLUX]

I agree with you Currahee.  I also noticed alot of the looting and crime that's going on now.  What a shame.   

[Kilgore Trout]

I also think that the media tend to sensationalize these events. CNN with their reporters right in the storm, man!!!! It’s all about ratings?  Can you imagine if New Orleans would have been under supposed 20 feet of water?  I just don’t think that was really going to happen. That was absolute, absolute worse case. The problem with all this is that when we do have something really serious happen, how will we react to it?  Oh yah and gas going up 20 cents a liter, thats a liter, just because of this hurricane. Is this the first hurricane that has ever passed through the Gulf, I don’t think so.  There I’m done.

Trout

[CupOJoe]

At 2:30 PM, I filled my wife's van @ 2.79/gallon. At 4PM I returned to the same station to fill my car at 3.01/gallon. Rose .22 in 90 minutes. Looks like the Atlanta area will start experiencing shortages tomorrow. Some stations are already out and have been told not to expect a shipment in the next few days. Panic is now setting in...fueled by constant reporting from the pumps.

The two piplelines that run from TX to the northeast are down due to power loss in MS. A pipeline official on the news looked rather grim. He said this is the first time that BOTH pipelines are down at the same time with no estimate as to when one or both will come back up.

It's gonna get interesting around here. 

[=JHF= HaveSocks]

Been lucky so far out in Colorado.  Prices have risen, but not by much $2.70 as of last night.  But no lines at pumps have been reported.  Thankfully, most of our gas is refined locally and there is sufficiant stockpiles of oil here to keep prices stable for at least the short term.  It's amazing how much nature can cause havoc with the economy.  Hopefully, we can weather this storm (no pun is intended) and see some stabilization in the energy market soon.

[Currahee]

The problem with the fuel pricing isn't so much a lack of crude @ the moment but the capacity to refine it into a useable product. N'awlins was one of the major ports for receiving and refining,  and of course much of it (30%) I think came from the gulf itself. Those rigs are inoperable in the gulf and from what Ive heard,  some of them only became operable a few months ago agter repairs from Hurricane Ivan last fall... The United States has not built a new fuel refinery in over 30 YEARS! due to environmental concerns mostly I believe. (that's a whole new topic we prolly shouldn't discuss here b/c of the politics involved) Think of how many more people and cars we have now than in 1975. gas here was @ 2.42 monday, I paid 2.89 today and my C-store customers tell me that IF they can get gas for the weekend it will be over $3/ gallon.

supply & demand, nothing more

/off soapbox/

[=JHF= -gHoTi-]

I filled up an hour ago for $3.27.  It was the 8th station we passed, out of those, 3 had any gas at all and they had police and ambulances monitoring the long long long lines of people.

From what I've heard, no gas in charlotte, nc, very little in raliegh, and almost none in Asheville, NC (45 minutes away from me, the closest civilization)...

I parked my car and do not plan on leaving campus for a long time...

[=JHF= JimmyT (CDN)]

I filled up an hour ago for $3.27. 

You have a one gallon tank?   

They say my gas prices will rise only slightly (already about 3.50 a gallon) but back east in Toronto they are predicting a gallon to be over 4.00 by the end of the week!  Yikes!

-- JT

[Currahee]

look @ this

NASA Images of New Orleans