I Waited Out Katrina And Gustav, Is Ike Next?

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Gustav approaches. WWL, our CBS affiliate, is devoted to hurricane coverage. I suppose it's petty to fuss that they cut off the US Open broadcast, but would they cut off a Saints game?

Forecasters say Gustav might veer west of New Orleans; they're predicting rainfall, storm surge, and high wind speeds. Their fancy TV graphics have arrows pointing everywhere. It's like a doctor saying: “These are the symptoms. You could have a brain tumor, fall down and die just like that,” before any test results come back.

The weather guy is jabbering too much too fast: he says Hannah might go north after hitting water that's “shallower, from a depth standpoint.” Let's get past Gustav before worrying about Hannah.

There have been press conferences all day: the governor, various mayors, Corps of Engineers, police chiefs, SPCA, Amtrak, anyone you can think of. Basically, no one knows what will happen. They're just saying evacuate, and they've got a plan. Bobby Jindal, the governor, will skip the GOP convention. Our intrepid mayor, Ray Nagin (I call him Gay Ray for his hyperbole and ad-libbing, not for being homosexual), is calling Gustav the “mother of all storms.”

I don't rely on Gay Ray for accuracy or restraint. His record is abysmal and he's a laughingstock among locals. Did he do anything to help this city after Katrina? He ranted and raved, sure. But he wasn't a leader when we needed one.

People started leaving yesterday and the highways are packed. There will be no shelters in the city this time—no Superdome or convention center. Mandatory evacuation will start at noon tomorrow and a curfew will be imposed. All traffic will be directed away from the city. Police and troops will patrol.

These things started happening after the last storm. Now they're happening before the storm.