Oh, this is so awful. I just saw a weather forecaster comment that the roof of the Superdome has never been tested like this...terrible to think of what could happen with all those thousands of people in there.

My thoughts and prayers and with all of you in Katrina's path.

Jumping forward without reading this post.

God Bless All of you in harms way. It is truly mother earth shouting down. I pray for your safety. You are in our hearts and minds! Please checkin! Hugs, Gyppie

My Husband, myself, and OD with friend were just in NOLA three weeks ago! It is so sad to think that damage could come to that wonderful town. There are so many unique and amazing things there that may never be the same: the cemeteries, Cafe Du Monde, the Dday Museum just to name a few things. Our beautiful hotel room in the Chateau Sonesta was on the second floor and the thought of it being under water breaks my heart. And what about the pets, dogs, cats, and strays. What about the horses at Jackson Square?

This just makes me sick. Just having been there and loving to see my 18 year old daughter and her friend discover this magical city for the first time was such a delight for me to see. And we really enjoyed the lovely friendliness of the people there.

God bless the city and whole area. Maybe Katrina will lose some speed, some power, swerve to the left or right. I don't wish any hardships on anyone, but NOLA will not withstand 20 feet of water.

I do hope God has mercy on New Orleans and all you people in that area.

GoTravel, this storm is now at least twice the size it was when it approached Miami. Back then, it was "minimal" as hurricanes go. It's a relative comparison. It doesn't mean that any hurricane is "safe" or that we should ignore any of them. I've been in a category 1 and there's no way I'd be staying around for the current incarnation of this one.

The Weather Channel compared the dimensions of hurricane Charley (45 mi. diameter) to Katrina (251 mi. diameter)!! Now, THAT'S serious!!

Belle

<I would imagine that Bourbon Street will be Rockin' with some of those "It can't hurt us" crowd.>

I actually know someone who is doing just that and she's not even a resident of the city. She's decided to ride it out in a corner suite at the Crown Plaza mere blocks from the water when she could have left with my sister yesterday. She obviously not the brightest crayon in the box.

I am so glad that my sister and BIL got out yesterday to return home instead of waiting until today. The normally five hour drive to Houston took them 10 hours, but they finally arrived home at 11 p.m. last night.

I have not been able to tear myself away from the news coverage all day and I'm sure I'll be up half the night watching, as well. Being a hurricane veteran on both the Gulf Coast and in the Caribbean, my sympathy and prayers go out to all those in harm's way. Patrick said it right..."surreal."

And special prayers for those whose job it is to stay. The police, hospital staffs, paramedics, etc. Also, the staff still working in the hotels which have been given permission to stay open and have accepted locals in available rooms.

How many of you saw the movie "The Day After Tomorrow"?

Barbara, that is what it made me think of too. But instead of the New York Public Library, they are going to ride it out at the Superdome. Just like that movie. I never saw that movie in the theaters, but on HBO last month and really liked it.

Yes, God look out for all of those that have to stay. I am way too chicken.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by this horrible storm.

Prayers with all those in the path of this horrible storm.

Everyone wanting to ride out the storm..please reconsider.I live in NC..when Fran hit in 96 it was VERY,VERY scary and it was not the size of this storm.I would move to higher ground if you are in NO.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone of New Orleans.Be careful not careless.

Thoughts and wishes to all in harm's way. . . here's a link for live feed from NOLA.

http://www.nola.com/paradecam/index.ssf?video

A message from California...our thoughts and prayers are with those in Katrinia's path.

And I sure add my prayers and good thoughts from California. Reading about people going into the Dome with walkers, people that do not have cars to escape NO etc breaks my heart. It sounds like a nightmare. Special prayers to all.

We are from Northern California and New Orleans is one of our favorite cities in the whole world! We are feeling very very sad right now and praying a lot!

sending prayers and good thoughts to those in katrina's path.

elle

currently opened that website in another window. thanks. will keep monitoring. looks quiet and streets are bare now. i know the feeling from iniki in '92, also a cat5. feel totally helpless now as i did in '92.

God bless all of you in the gulf coast.

Heavens, animals have a much better instinct about these things and will move out of harms way.

Saw a documentary about the tsunami and a gentleman who gave elephant rides had his chained elephants stampede up the side of the mountain saving the lives of all the guides trying to stop them minutes before the tsunami hit.

Barbara, I've been through many hurricanes and tropical storms and I understand the severity of a hurricane. My beef is that the media kept using the term MINIMAL hurricane. There is no such animal. That is like saying minimal catastrophe.

My sister in Miami, freinds in the keys, and mother in Key West all were caught with their pants down on this storm. Everyone expected it to hit Ft.Lauderdale and go away. Didn't happen.

OMG. CNN is reporting that massive pieces of the Superdome roof have peeled away and the building is leaking. They aren't sure if the roof will hold with all the torrential rain. They are presently moving everyone to one side of the building where the roof is drier.

It's east of NO. And it looks like the surge will be the worst and most destructive part this time, for property and for human life.

I keep thinking about the wonderful people in Biloxi, especially at Jefferson Davis' home and at Mary Mahoney's who repeatedly were so very kind to us and gave us such extended time. I sure hope they went inland too.

Well those buildings have stood for almost 2 centuries and 18 hurricanes up until now because they are on stilts and the surge goes under them. Hope they hold this time as they are in the very worst east wall of the eye.

The pictures taken inside the dome in NO this morning look like parts of the stands have leaking on them. They say the generators are giving light but too little power to run the ac now.

The offshore rigs are going to be offline for quite a while, and this means gas will go up 30 cents more a gallon this week; that's the estimate. They are telling people in the Midwest to fill up today as the price will be sky rocketing by Friday.

I sure hope the flood is such that all humans and their pets can get up high enough for the next 3 days. The estimate is 30 foot water in NO by Tuesday. It's so darn low there! With the malaria etc. I never could understand why they kept building in a swamp because of the sickness involved, apart from the storms/flooding.

Maybe the prayers did help as Katrina did not come right up the delta; they have been talking about that worst case scenario since I was a girl.