| Author | Message | ||
     Jerseyguy |
God help all the poor souls that got nailed by this storm. It seems like the flooding is much, much worse than predicted as of yesterday. Do you think that the rest of the world will help us out? Maybe the red crescent will step up like the red cross does. I'm not holding my breath..... | ||
| Xb12burner |
It would be nice to see the rest of the world help us with aid when we need it rather than just expecting us to help them all the time. I see lots of people putting America down all the time, but have yet to see a country turn down aide when we offer it. I have friends in Louisiana and I'm not really sure if they're still with us. Maybe I'll know soon. | ||
| Road_thing |
 Shell Oil's "Mars" platform in the gulf. That's 100,000 barrels of oil and 100 million cubic feet of gas a day that'll be off-line for a while. And that's just one field. This is going to be a genuine disaster, not just in terms of human life and property damage, but economically and strategically as well. rt (tpb) | ||
| Cajunrph |
My parents live in Houma Louisiana. They tried to leave but only travled 14 miles in 3 hours. A little over 4 miles per hour and the storm was going 12 mph. They turned around and went home. They were very lucky because the only dammage they had was an overturned shed. Little or no water except in the ditches. In the areas further south from them there was wide spread flooding. But New Orleans got it very bad. And it could have been much worse if it was a Cat 5 storm with a direct hit on the city. Get online at www.nola.com and check out some of the pictures. It is unreal. As far as the rest of the world helping us, good luck. The very ones who grip at us for not giving to the rest of the world when they give far less to the same cause, will turn a blind eye to us in this time of need. There time will come. | ||
| Ocbueller |
Jersey, Far worse than we can know. The effects will be far reaching. We will see lots of examples of the best and worst in humankind. SteveH | ||
| Smoke |
i was talking to the state police a little while ago when they brought their helicopter by for minor service. indescribable and very bad for the southeast louisiana and south mississippi residents. the hurricane jogged to the east at the very end and directly impacted at biloxi. it will be months to begin straightening out the situation and years before its squared away. when one of these things is headed your way, its best to consider leaving early with your life and family intact. that ride that cajunrph's parents started on was an 18 hour ride to go 200 miles to shreveport,la. not sure how long the ride to houston was taking. it will be weeks before they actually start letting people return to the crescent city. anyhow,us folk west of the mississippi and north of houma were very lucky with minimal effects of the storm. ride safe, tim | ||
| Road_thing |
My in-laws left NOLA Sunday at 0400, arrived in Houston Monday at about 0130. It was about the same last year when Ivan threatened. My mom lives in Robert, north of the lake, but fortunately she's in Washington state visiting her sisters. My brother-in-law and his family rode out the storm in their house in Mandeville. They'll be on their way to Houston as soon as the roads open. As far as I can tell, there is no phone service, cell or land line, to SE La. Here's a sample of what's going on, from http://www.nola.com/ : Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. Mayor Ray Nagin has announced that the attempt to plug a breach in the 17th Street canal at the Hammond Highway bridge has failed and the rising water is about to overwhelm the pumps on that canal. The result is that water will begin rising rapidly again, and could reach as high as 3 feet above sea level. In New Orleans and Jefferson Parish, that means floodwaters could rise as high as 15 feet in the next few hours. Nagin urged residents to try to find higher ground as soon as possible. This is going to get worse before it gets better. Levees have broken and water from the Mississippi River and Lake Ponchartrain is flowing into the city. Looting has started. There are news reports of bodies floating past the rescue workers, who are reportedly refusing to rest, even when ordered to do so.    rt | ||
| Coolice |
This is very sad. Glad Badweb families are ok. I have watched the news on tv, I am disgusted at the lack of immediate response with all our "modern" technology. I have searched a few websites and it almost seems as if the government has decided to let the city flood. The lack of support just doesn't seem right. What about some airdrops? Those people need water and food. God be with them and help them. A final thought-I hope that they DO NOT let them rebuild. We as a modern society think we can build anywhere-NOT! It is a flood plain, just like the Mississippi river floods earlier along Ill-Iowa, those towns were not rebuilt for obvious reasons. | ||
| Oldog |
Sad indeed, the feds have issued statements over the news outlets not to go there just yet but give to "charity" RT/Cajunrph we prayed for the people in the flood zone tonight I hope that your relatives are safe stay well Jim | ||
| Road_thing |
Thanks, Jim. Here's a few pics I got from a Halliburton hand. These are from way down in Plaquemines Parish, along the extreme south end of the Mississippi. The folks down here will need lots of help and prayer.      rt | ||
| Honu |
My prayers are for the people of LA,MI, and AL. My best friend left NOLA, eleven hours arrived here (Beaumont TX) normally a 4.5 hour drive. As of 10PM last night he was getting sporadic cell phone service to the area. | ||
| Jerseyguy |
OCBueller - My wife and I were watching FOX News last night and we both thought how that could be Ocean City, MD some day, God forbid. Let's hope it doesn't happen in our or our kid's life times.... | ||
| Cajunrph |
My parents are fine except for the lack of power. The parish president said power would be back up today. As far as not rebuilding that is horsesh*t. If that was the case everyone should evacuate all of the costal cities due to the threat of a big hurricane coming through. New Orleans is the largest port in the nation in regards to volume. It is easy for someone to say this if this is not their home. If we follow that thinking we should not rebuild New York, Get the heck out of LA due to a massive earth quake that will hit the city and we all should kill ourselves because the earth is not might but is going to be hit by an asteroid big enough to destroy it sooner or later. Don't rebuild what a looser. The city will be rebuilt and may come out of it better than ever. I personally would not live in the city due to the chance of this happening again but they are those who will take that chance and to deny them the opportunity to make a living where they want is asinine.  | ||
| Oldog |
Rt: had the tele on in my "office" today, man its bad Have you got friends in Oil? how bad are the refineries? and the equipment? if the pic you posted of the off shore platform is any indication of whats happened down there Man what a mess. More prayer is def-inately required! I have at least a clue, Wilmington NC had 6 hurricanes in 5 years, but nothing like that! If theres any bright spot the waters' stopped rising and the A.C.E.have stated that they have some other contingency plans, the "sacks" they have been talking about placing in the leeve breaches are getting larger last report was a massive 8k lb sack of sand gravel & stone I thought it was a Great thing that the Astrodome has been opened as a shelter the superdome is a mess from reports Things are bigger in Texas, hearts for one Cajunrph I am glad to hear that your folks are OK the power will be restored soon, when the first of 6 storms came thru here My home at the time was with out light/water/sewage for 3 days actually got to know my neighbours | ||
| Spiderman |
Anyone heard from Bigeasy??? | ||
| Cajunrph |
They now must evacuate the entire city. It will be 3 to 4 months until all will be able to return. Just think about all the people who will be out of work because their place of business is closed. It will be a long long long time before the city regains it's former glory. | ||
| Ocbueller |
Mother Nature is very humbling. I think of my mortality all the time, living on the coast. SteveH | ||
| Road_thing |
...friends in Oil... Dude, ALL my friends are in oil! The lucky ones weren't offshore when the evac order came. The REALLY lucky ones own a piece of some producing properties. Prices are gonna go through the roof! Pres. Bush acknowledged as much in his address this afternoon. This is going to spark a whole new round of consumer outrage---"Those greedy damn oil companies oughta give their assets away so I can fill up my SUV for fifty cents a gallon..."} rt(tpb) | ||
| Cajunrph |
Yeah the storm is because of the price of oil  | ||
| Phillyblast |
I'm seeing predictions of $4 a gallon. I'll give you a free pass on the robber-baron spiel, 'thang Just need to suck it up and conserve. Good friends of me and the missus live in NOLA, left for the house of another friend in Monroe, LA so they're alright, but their house isn't. I was just there in the spring for their wedding. In addition to the lives lost, the $$ lost or soon to be spent, there's a ton of history and beautiful architecture in the area that can never be reclaimed. | ||
| Cajunrph |
Yes, New Orleans is one of the oldest city in the nation with a ton of History. That is one thing different here in Texas, Texas is so new only Galveston has history dating back to the start of the 20th century much less history back to the 1600. Much is lost that can never be replaced. And as far as the looting those who steal non survival items are not the true representation of the citizens of New Orleans. The true citizens are all out of the city. If you want to get a local view go to www.wdsu.com they have a link to live coverage on the city. It is humbling. Love your family, because for the grace of God that could be you. I’m going home to hug mine. | ||
| Oldog |
RT: Missed the prez address, yesterday I sat and typed a lil rant at a @#$@#lame chain letter about boycotting the oil cos' I will pm it to you if you are intrested. My take we all are going to have to help pay for the repairs now plain and simple, I am a child of a former oil co employee, and having the "Bomber short course economics class" I at least have an idea. One last thought the gas retailers might want to post how much tax is charged on a gallon of the stuff, ( that will start a storm!) Thang may be you can tell me out of 55 gallons of crude how much gas is refined? do you get more than 55 gallons? if not then a lot of people should have it explained to them. If you don't mind can you tell me how many refineries are in the us? and of those how many are in the disaster area? Msnbc is reporting that the 3 major pipelines that run out of the area are shut down due to lack of power, and that the refineries are also shut down, Cnn was saying that No new refineries have been built in years, and that the existing ones basicaly run at full capacity ( the price of cheap gas ) I did not think about the "in oil" thing sorry about that, I hope that there are no repercussions the situation is no ones fault it just is, My advice to those who can If you don't want to pay so much for gas ride, I then smile and explain that a tank full of that expensive hightest for me is about 10$ and I can ride all week, I filled the new to me truck and parked it it will stay parked for a while thanks for the posts Good idea Cajnrph, good idea | ||
| Coolice |
Cajunrph I apologize if I offended you, I live in a river town and have seem many floods here and they are getting worse due to the Chicago/urban sprawl that is getting closer and closer. In the past 10 years after a serious flood the government did a one time flood buyout to get people out of a flood plain . It is now a beautiful park that is enjoyed by all the community and when it floods it no longer displaces people and costs $$$. I had read the elevation that NO was at and seen the feature several years ago about the pumps that run all the time, very interesting. But the "big" event has happened, and I was only expressing that maybe some of the area should not be resettled. And I'm sure the minds of all are working 24/7 to also look at the options as well. So I only wish good to all and material things can be replaced, although some cannot,its the families we all are hurting for now and hope this will benefit them by relocating them to move on with their lives and not have to relive this again. Peace | ||
| Trojan |
Our thoughts are with all the people affected by this terrible event. The news coverage we get over here in the UK is pretty extensive but probably doesn't even begin to describe the terrible conditions that the Southern States has been left in, and I for one am amazed and angry at the apparent lack of response from the rest of the world (and the US government itself it appears). Just because this has happened to a 'rich' country and not somewhere in the third world doesn't lessen the suffering of those involved. Why haven't the British/European governments sent Navy ships to the area to help and at least show solidarity, even if the assistance was just a drop in the ocean (You probably have more helicopters in the Louisiana National Guard than our entire Navy). I can't help wondering if this disaster had occurred in Washington, New York or LA wether the response would be different. | ||
| Honu |
OldDog Very rough numbers here, but a barrel of crude oil is actually 42 gallons to start with. Out of that about 20% is distilled to gasoline with the other products being Propanes,Butanes,Naptha(lighter than Gaso), Kerosene(Jet Fuel), Diesel, and than Bunker fuels/#6 oils/ asphalt componets etc.. That list is from the first unit that the raw crude hits, there are other units in refineries that specialize in squeezing more gasoline out of first run oils. Hydrocrackers,Fluid Catalytic Crackers, Decokers, Alkylation units and the list goes on. By no means am I a expert, I have been a process operator in a oil refinery for 25 years and I stayed in a Holiday Inn last night.  | ||
| Road_thing |
Thanks, Honu. I don't know enough about the downstream business to answer that kind of question (well, I do know that there's 42 gallons in a barrel, though!) Oldog: I don't know offhand how many refineries there are in the US, but I am pretty sure we haven't built any new ones in the last 20 or 25 years. That's part of the reason gas prices have risen so dramatically. I also know that there are several big refineries on the Mississippi between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, I can't believe they're operating at anything like their normal capacity after this storm, assuming they're operating at all. I've got all my in-laws safe in my home here in Houston. Don't know what they'll go home to when they leave, but that's kind of secondary at this point! rt | ||
| Honu |
8 to 10 refiners shut down due to Katrina infrastructures down- pipelines, terminals, truck-train-barge-ship loading facilities all will affect prices of said products. Just left two friends who are staying at a relatives house. One works at Shell's Norco LA facility and the other at Valero St. Charles/Norco facility. Both are to report back to work Saturday, to help access what needs to be done to start the refineries back up. | ||
| Lucas70374 |
Just so those who care about me, I am fine. I am located about 45 miles southwest of New Orleans. I had a tree knocked over in my yard and a couple shingles off my roof but other then that the family is fine and we made it thought this one. The Harley dealership was fine also, So I still have a job. My electricty came on last night from not having it for 3 days | ||
| Oldog |
day-yaam! A little dummy economics $70.00 for a bbl of crude, 42 gals, of that lets be optimistic and say you could get 30% as gasoline. That would be 12.6 gallons of gas per bbl and assuming that you take 30% of the cost of the raw material thats $21.00 for materials alone So $21.00 / 12.6 gal = $1.666 cost of raw mateials to make the gas from. Granted that other sellable items are also produced, each with a part of the total costs involved too. So how does the oil co pay, the employees, insurance, maintenance of facilities, additional energy to process the material, catylists for cracking, environmental protection, exploration with failures(an expensive hole in the ground), cost of transport and retailing and then taxes I see 2.75$ minimum add a tiny profit for all of the folks who handle it on the way to the pump the $3.00 ok, The Oil co's need to also make a profit to stay in business If I may, I was in Honduras before this happened gas there is $3.50 US, a tank of gas for a car there is a big part of a months pay, for the middle class there. The regular Joe either rides the bus, owns a 125cc 2 stroke bike, runs a taxi, or has a business vehicle, or walks, most folks don't own a car. RT & Honu thanks for the economics lesson and for sharing. I needed to get my head around the issue, perhaps its all bogus but it helps me to understand things like this I wish the best for those who have suffered in the wake of this event, and THANKS to the folks who make the gas and other things that we all need. I hope that their lives can return to normal ASAP | ||
| Oldog |
Lucas: Glad you are all right!!!! |
