My dad has family in Thibodaux and near New Orleans. Thibodaux is on the lower south side of LA. Most of the family left the area. One of my uncles stayed. When the storm hit he headed to the high school. He said there was a wind gust of 165mph at the storms strongest point. A couple of my cousins lived in mobile homes, I'm sure they will come back to nothing with wind gust that high.
My uncle that lives near New Orleans was told his house is okay. No flooding, but wind damage is present. With New Orleans closed and roads out, he has no idea when he'll be able to get back home.
It's almost hard to imagine how truly devastating this storm was.

i have been watching the news at every chance i get over the past few days and some of the pictures and video that is coming out of that area is truly disturbing. I am not talking about the loss of property that can always be replased but i am talking about the personal stories of tragedy and heroism. I saw an interview with a man whose wife had been pulled away from him in the flood waters the last thing she said to him was take care of our kids and grandkids, then she slipped away and hasn't been found yet. the most disturbing thing i have seen yet i just saw a couple of minuets ago when they showed video clips of some New Orleans police officers looting a walmart How do they expect the people of New Orleans to feel safe and secure when they are acting in that manner it truly sickens me at how depraved alot of people in this world are.

There's been some pretty terrible stories that I've seen on the news. It's amazing the amount of damage that can be done by one storm. Very sad.

So Bobby, they named a town after you?

Yeah! It's a little po-dunk town in the swamps.

Heard on TV this morning, over a million people homeless.
I was thinking about this last night... A mjaor US city, and no one is going to work today, not including the emergency personel, but the general public.
Mississippi is 80% without power.

Best of luck your family Bobby.

I've seen tornados first hand, and I went to St. Louis to help rebuild after the Mississippi flooded in 92 or 93. I can only imagine the damage of both combined.

They have a long rebuilding process ahead of them.

Best luck for everybody!

Hope your family is okay Bobby!

I have a few friends living in New Orleans. I called them on Sunday morning. The phone lines were a mess. I got a text from them on Sunday night telling me that they're okay and are in Houston for now.

I was planning on going to N.O. for one of my friends bday but it doesn't look good now.

here in Richmond they're still picking up the pieces from the damage done by tropical storm Gaston. There are tall flood walls down near the banks of the James river in lower downtown Richmond that are supposed to hold the river back under high water conditions. They couldnt stop Gaston from dumping enough water to submerge the whole lower portion of downtown they call Shockoe Bottom. All of that looks like a tiny drop in the bucket compared to the devistation I have witness on TV the past couple of days. I've been a little distracted because my mother went in for bypass surgery. I watched TV at the hospital for a couple of hours this morning and it was truly heartbreaking to see this great city being washed away. The aerial footage of the water pouring past the levy walls tells me I never want to live ina place below sea level. I wish everyone with friends and family in the areas affected all the best and prayers for their safety and well being.

My grandfather had quadruple bypass, T-bat, I feel for you and wish her the best of luck. That's no easy ordeal.

Same goes for everyone caught in the storm. And even though there are some people that will take advantage of the chaos, there are more still that will risk their lives to save whoever's left.

Ever since I learned about what situation New Orleans has been in a few years ago, I always wondered when something disastrous would happen to make the city leaders start thinking about what they're going to do to stabilize their city's future. I had hoped I wouldn't see it in this lifetime, though .. But you know, people stand up after these kinds of things with a new hold on life, so I'll bet New Orleans will rebuild, newer and better.

Best of luck to your family, Bobby.

yea........they are transporting thousands to the Astrodome in Houston now......


I just finally got to sit down and watch tv tonight. Havent watched it a couple of days...been too busy, and Geeeeez.....what a mess....I've been listening to it on the radio at work, and it doesn't descibe it good until you actually see it on the news.....

The devastation in the Gulf coast is beyond comprehension. We hope all survivors are rescued promptly and that law and order is in place. To those with friends and family my familys prayers are with you. The United States in the only country in the world able to respond to a disaster of such magnitude, the men and women charged with rescue and salvage have a task unrivaled in current history.
God Bless....

Rcv'd msg's from LA.
Almost all of my family in Thibodaux has returned home. No outsiders are allowed in Thibodaux, you must show prove that you live there to enter. I'm sure it's this way in most towns around there. Power has been restored and all bldgs/structures are still standing, even the mobile homes. How they made it I have no idea.
My aunt & uncle that live in a suburb of New Orleans has not made it home yet, they're not even allowed to return. My uncle was told that only he can go back to the house to retrieve anything needed, like medications and to confirm damages to his house. He did not rcv any flood damage, it's all wind damage. He'll be returning to his house within the next couple of days to gather things and go then he'll head back to his daughters house, where they are staying.

Thank you all for the warm wishes, I feel very lucky that none of my family was caught up in the mess that used to be called New Orleans. It's very hard to watch the news and see what's going on down there. It's truly a horrible situation that I would not want to be caught up in. I can't imagine me and my family sitting on an overpass for 3 days with no food, water, or shelter from the elimates, and given nothing to look forward to.

What irks me alot is the fact that they were told to leave town that their lives were in danger and they ignored the warnings.

One other thing I heard today is that looting for survival supplies ie food water etc is currently legal it's the other goods that they are going to crack down on.

I also for see a small gun battle between the gang bangers and the national guard. And the guard will be bashed for killings fellow americans just watch.

That is because alot of the people left didn't have a way out of the city because they were from the lower class and didn't have cars. Yes i am sure that some stayed of their own free will but those were usually older people that did not want to leave the places where they had spent most of there lives you see that alot with natural disasters. There was also a limit to the number of people that could get into the superdome because they were having to hand search every single person for weapons and alcohol. The are also reports of a sniper outside of a local hospital firing at anyone that tries to leave or enter the hospital there reason why is unclear at the moment but i believe that it is someone who lost a family member and is blaming the hospital for not doing anything to help.

There's always a way. If you look hard enough that is.