HumidCity

Aggregating info and media from a variety of sources. If you use twitter, flickr or other social media use the tag “gustav” to assist in data aggregation. The Gustav Information Center

Okay folks, wile I am still not convinced that Gustav will smite New Orleans many people are still exercising justifiable caution and getting the hell out of dodge. This article by Web 2.0 Security expert W. David Stphenson is a must read. His tips on utilizing cameraphones, twitter, flickr and other online tools to communicate during a Hurricane or evacuation are a must read. Lives could be saved by this information.

In his words:

Looking ahead to the likely landfall of Gustav next week, I want to reinforce how critical it is to know now how to creatively use your personal communication devices and Web 2.0 apps in an emergency when conventional communications may be disrupted.So here, drawn from the VITA Advisory tips I created for the Wireless Foundation and my “21st-century disaster tips you WON’T hear from officials,” — and some new ones to boot! — are IMHO the key things you should learn now to be prepared if and when disaster strikes

Go. Read. Use. Share.

-Loki, HumidCIty Founder

Dear New Orleanians,

While the Corps of Engineers refuses to give up its storm surge prediction results, other branches of the government are not nearly so stingy.

The U.S. Geological Survey USGS), obviously a far more open, service-oriented organization, is setting up real-time surge level monitors on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain and other places around the New Orleans area starting tomorrow (Aug 30) as Gustav approaches. The public will be able to track what happens in the lake and elsewhere across the metro region in real time.

Not only that, but they are making the data available to the entire world via a super-easy Google Earth interface, available here.

There’s more detail in this USGS press release.

Here’s the USGS’s complete Gustav page.

Meanwhile, here’s the Corps’ online efforts in advance of Gustav, a self-congratulatory newsletter of use to no one.

Tonight I will be on BBC 5 Live’s Up All Night program. It begins at 7:30pm this evening Central Time and may be tuned in over the internet here. I’ll be talking about Hurricane’s Katrina and Gustav and will be sharing commentary from other New Orleanians gathered through use of Twitter, LiveJournal, and other social media platforms.

I know it’s tradition here at HumidCity to only do one post, the black image that says “Remember:, on the Anniversary, however the advent of the hysteria surrounding Gustav has forced us to break that rule.

-Loki, HumidCity Founder

Mandatory Evacuation will be called for St. Bernard Parish on Saturday afternoon.  Residents with special needs can contact the following number to register for the City Assisted Evacuation plan.  These residents with special needs will be bussed to a triage site and then taken to special needs shelters in the state of LA.  Those without transportation or resources to evacuate may also call this number to register. (504) 278-1593 Via Alli

I realize everyone is busy making plans for their safety in case Gustav does impact New Orleans….but I wanted to pass this along in case anyone is in a position to help or knows someone who is…

Dear Corps officials, (as well as government representatives, New Orleanians, and media representatives),

I am writing you to make a request. In light of the possible effects of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Gustav upon the Greater New Orleans area, I would ask that the Corps and its partners at LSU and the Universtity of North Carolina make public the results of storm surge model runs which are (or soon will be) created as part of the Lake Pontchartrain Forecast System (LPFS).

As I understand it, the Corps has contracted with UNC’s Institute of Marine Sciences (contracts W912P8-06-P-0334 (from 2006, for $279,117) and W912P8-08-P-0082 (from earlier in 2008, for $101,512)) and their partners at LSU to provide forecasts of surge levels within Lake Pontchartrain when tropical systems are approaching New Orleans. This enables the Corps to determine when to lower the gates at the three interim closure structures along the Lake Pontchartrain south shore. The system is explained on a few webpages at LSU:

http://www.cct.lsu.edu/site38.php

http://www.cct.lsu.edu/~estrabd/LPFS/

http://www.cct.lsu.edu/~estrabd/LPFS/distributed-lpfs.pdf

http://www.cct.lsu.edu/~gallen/Preprints/CS_Allen07a.pre.pdf

In light of the Corps’ “12 Actions For Change,” specifically Action Number 9, “Effectively Communicate Risk,” it would be tremendous goodwill gesture to the public across the country to know what the Corps knows about the surge risk before the storm makes landfall.

Doing so would be in the same spirit that allows the National Hurricane Center and other organizations to make the results of hurricane track and intensity model runs available to public. Doing so allows government agencies and members of the public to plan more effectively, and allows the media to get more accurate information out to the public as they plan.

As part of your public outreach during the coming days, I urge you to upload the model results to your website so that everyone can be apprised of this vital information which will inform your decisions.

Best regards,
Matt McBride

Via Weather Underground: Track Fay Here.

-Loki HumidCity Founder

Damn it! Hurricanes, Tropical Storms and varied weather systems are such a bloody joy. Ladies and Gentlemen, Undecideds and� Others,� allow me to present Fay.

Fingers crossed, weather open in another tab always, canned goods, extra cat food, medieval weaponry, stocked bar. Yup, we’re good to go.

So it�s August and the big anniversary is coming up. Me and the family usually head to Gulf Shores, Alabama to lie on the beach, count our blessings, and forget. We really don�t need a flashy annual reminder of what turned our lives upside down.

I understand the desire to commemorate what happened, and to pay tribute to the lives that were lost. But that�s really not us, y�know? This is the land of jazz funerals; where the usual drill is to look death in the eye, thumb our collective nose at it, and strike up the band. All this commemoration stuff is a just a flat-out bummer, and it�s out of character.

This year, let�s do what we do. Turn the beat around. Take a sad song and make it better. Transform our blues into a turbo-charged, sugar-frosted luv-mo-sheen. Let�s take the anniversary of the worst thing that�s ever happened to this city and make it a day that promotes change for the better and celebrates the power of redemption over catastrophe. Let�s be a city of wise-aching smart alecks. Yes, this is what we do.

I have a proposal for my fellow New Orleanians.

This year, on August 29, instead of mulling over our misfortunes, let�s take a cue from the president. Let�s follow his lead � with an act of solidarity and tolerance that will push the boundaries of human comprehension.

This August 29, let�s shuffle off the collective gloom by having a citywide party that celebrates the birthday of John McCain.

Huh?

Pop quiz: Where was President Bush when the big storm hit, on August 29, 2005?

Answer:

(actual photograph taken on August 29, 2005)

He was in Arizona having a piece of birthday cake with his buddy, John McCain.

The president didn�t get caught with his pants down, the storm did not take him by surprise. Everyone saw it coming, knew exactly when it would make landfall. The president�s master plan for zero hour was, apparently: Gotta get me summa that cake!

I�m not sure if I blame the president. Think about it. John McCain, in effect, lured a mentally-disabled manchild to Arizona with the promise of a tasty hunk of birthday cake. How can we expect a feeble-minded person to resist such yummy temptation?

I�m not sure if I blame Senator McCain either. When you reach his age, you really have to celebrate each birthday as if it might be your last � bodies floating down the streets of a major American city be damned!

So this August 29, let�s follow the example of these two great Americans � one who is president, and the other who will be the next president if we�re not careful.

Let them eat cake. And let�s have some, too!

Start making plans. I want to see McCain birthday parties popping up all over the city this August 29. It will be a chance to turn a frown upside-down, and to provide the sort of high-minded, outrageous political mockery that New Orleanians have always been famous for.

Start blogging about your McCain Birthday Bash plans, set up websites, and spread the word!

Come as you were: life preservers and air-mattress-as-flotation-devices are optional but recommended! Don�t forget those pointy little paper birthday hats � and be sure to bring lots and lots of candles!

If our citywide McCain Birthday Bash makes the national news (as it should!), it will be an opportunity for us to remind the rest of the country (in a very important election year!) what Candidate McCain really thinks of American citizens who are staring down the darkest moment of their recorded history: Not much!

He didn�t let us ruin his party, so let�s not let him ruin ours!

If we play our cards right, we can: pass a good time, make a point about the common-decency-deficit in the Republican party, help get Senator Obama elected, let the world know we�ve still got a sense of humor, and wish an old man a happy birthday.

Everybody wins!

That�s right, New Orleanians, this August 29th we can save the human race with a good old-fashioned hunk of birthday cake. It�s not been done before, but there�s a first time for everything�

- Louis Maistros

http://louismaistros.com

These things may not be right, but they are true

*

The Sound of Building Coffins Louis Maistros is due for release by The Toby Press in March, 2009

A reader in Cincinnatti, OH who used to live in New Orleans Pre-Katrina graced my in-box with the following email message. I will write about this later once I have more time. In the meantime the RadiantAchangelus pretty much sums it all up:

Wait, Washington D.C. is below sea level? And filled with historic monuments? And barely protected by crappy old levees? Gee, sounds like a city I know. But quick - don’t fix the levees - they should just move too!!

Gaps in aging levees leave D.C. landmarks exposed - Yahoo! News

Of course if that is not enough here is a teaser from the article itself:

The small berm is part of an inconspicuous levee system designed to protect world-famous museums, the National Archives and federal office buildings from flooding.

But the nearly 70-year-old levee is at risk of failing during a major storm � a catastrophe that could swamp portions of downtown in up to 10 feet of water and cause $200 million in damages, according to federal officials.

Dozens of communities coast to coast are facing similar warnings as authorities re-examine the nation’s outdated flood-control infrastructure.

And one final ominous bit of foreshadowing I was heretofore unaware of (emphasis mine):

During six previous floods, officials placed sandbags on 17th Street, which cuts across the National Mall near the Washington Monument. Had there been more serious flooding, plans called for erecting an 8-foot earthen embankment with dirt taken from the grounds of the Washington Monument, said Steve Garbarino, the Corps’ project manager for flood protection in the Washington region.

This is Your Nation. This is Your Nation surrounded by failing levees. Any Questions?

Thanks R! We miss you down here!

Once more HumidCity is proud to syndicate the emails of engineer Matt McBride, the man who formerly helmed Fix The Pumps.

Dear New Orleanians,

A couple of weeks ago, I sent out an email about a report the Corps is holding back. It is the final report for the London Avenue canal load test, and it has been delayed for months. In fact the test took place last August. After I sent that email, I heard they are planning to release it before June 15th. We’ll see.

While members of the public and their appointed representatives on the East Bank Levee Authority cannot yet see the report, the Corps is all too content to trumpet the success of the test to their contractors and fellow employees.

Last week, at the Midwest Levee Conference in St. Louis, the lead Corps engineer and project manager from a Corps contractor for the load test gave an extensive presentation about the test. The Conference was co-sponsored by the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). SAME is the Corps’ professional organization for their engineers - kind of their private clubhouse.

You can see the June 3rd presentation on the load test here:

All the presentations are available here.

What I find interesting are the following:

1) No mention of the the external peer review of the test is mentioned, nor of the Levee Board’s insistence on including testing for seepage effects (originally, the test was only going to measure whether the wall moved, not whether water would move underneath it). In fact there’s absolutely no information whatsoever on the locals’ key involvement in ensuring the test was properly vetted. The presentation gives the impression that the Corps did everything themselves, and that they should be congratulated (Actual bullet point from the last slide: “Test was a success. No water through the wall!“). The fact is they had to be pushed into the peer review on the test.

2) Page after page of actual test data are displayed. None of this data has been made available to the public in New Orleans.

3) The last line of the presentation is a laugher: “Detailed results are available for additional study to enhance the engineering understanding of I-wall performance.” Available to whom, precisely? Other Corps engineers and their contractors? What about making the results available to the public whom the Corps is supposedly protecting before they present them to their buddies?

This is just more evidence of the tin ear the Corps has when it comes to dealing with the public. There’s no way this presentation should have taken place before the report was released to the greater New Orleans community.

Matt

Once more HumidCity is proud to syndicate the emails of engineer Matt McBride, the man who formerly helmed Fix The Pumps.

Dear New Orleanians,

Apparently the Corps New Orleans District is trying to allay fears about leaks through their levees, according to a press conference held today.

“‘We want to put to rest the concerns with seepage,’ Durham-Aguilera said…’We are talking about a way of working collaboratively with the levee authority to decide how to implement peer review, whether to use individuals from academia or a think tank.’”

One of the best ways to do that would be to force the public release of the final report on the London Avenue canal load test, held last summer. That report has already been through independent peer review.

The report’s release�has been delayed repeatedly since at least March of this year. At the May 15th�East Bank Levee Authority meeting, a member of the�Authority asked about the report, and was told by Colonel Bedey it would be out by June 1, which is three days away. Is the Corps holding the report back? Probably so.

The report undoubtedly contains a great deal of information about seepage in existing floodwalls, as that’s what the load test was all about. Getting it released would definitely shine light on what the Corps currently knows about�leaks through levees and floodwalls, much more so than a press conference and vague promises of future reviews. They’ve already got the information, so why not put it out there?

Matt

“See, Sonny? They’re all a bunch of ignorant illiterates down there.”

-Loki, HumidCity, Founder

EDIT: In additional news Twitter seems to be doun again today.

This is notable because when you click through to the main article downpour is suddenly spelled correctly. You’ve gotta be careful guys, you represent us to the bloody planet when you venture onto the net.

This post is dedicated to all of the soulless cretins who denigrated my neighbors and I for moving back to New Orleans. This ones for you!

Most of America has “Katrina Fatigue.” They’re sick of hearing about the minor issues that have displaced half our city. It almost makes me wish I was sadistic enough to revel in this news article, but I’m not and I can’t.

You see the Army Corps of Engineers is not just the source of an overflowing cornucopia of woes for the Crescent City, oh no! Their pernicious incompetence ranges far further than that, at least if you believe….MSNBC:

ST. LOUIS - Across America, earthen flood levees protect big cities and small towns, wealthy suburbs and rich farmland. But the Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency that oversees levees, lacks an inventory of thousands of them and has no idea of their condition, the corps’ chief levee expert told The Associated Press.

The uncertainty, amid an unusually wet spring that has already caused significant flooding across many states, is creating worry even within the corps.

“We have to get our arms around this issue and understand how many levees there are in the country, who’s watching over them, what populations and properties are behind them,” Eric Halpin, the corps’ special assistant for dam and levee safety, said in an interview last month. “What is the risk posed to the public?”

Critics are troubled that the government doesn’t know the answer.

Its disturbing on a level that New Orleanians are all too familiar with. And it makes me come back to an old mantra of mine I have not voiced in awhile: “We must not let this happen to anyone else.”

If there is a lesson to be learned from the Levee Failure that followed Katrina it is one that has been lost to the members of modern American sound-bite culture. Not everyone, but enough of a percentage that I run across them frequently whenever I travel north and visit anyplace else in the country.
Go read. Especially if you are from somewhere else. Trust me, you do not want to experience what we did in August of 2005.

Really, you don’t.

Extreme Weather, dammit! Details here, read before leaving home.

Jazz Fest 2008 by Often Absurd in the Humid City, on Flickr

The Following is the text of an email I received today. I was carbon copied along with the TP at my request. Since this very subject was the topic of much conversation during the afternoon torrents I felt it deserved to be shared. What are your thoughts? -Loki, HumidCity, Founder

It is 4:30 and I am writing this letter from the WWOZ hospitality tent (because I happily plunked down $380 to go to jazz fest and support WWOZ). For me to stop listening to the music to write the TP is phenomenal, but this time it has gone too far. I have been going to jazz fest for 40 years (1969 Congo Square before it was jazz fest). I worked there seven years for free and another eight for minimum wage. The last years I was the day fair book keeper and I know better than most how expensive jazz fest is to produce. So I have defended jazz fest when they added corporate sponsorships, when they sold areas for private parties, and when they increased their daily cost.

But today at 4:00 pm on my way to Bobby Lounge, I looked up at the grandstand and it was empty. Maybe 20 people inside away from the rain and another dozen on the balconies. In the pouring rain????

Well this year, the jazz fest closed the Grandstand to everyone but the Foundation and the Big Chief Experience People. So if you came thinking that you could run to the Grandstand if it rains, next year you will have to pay $500 or so to get in. Or you will have to have a friend on the Foundation willing to share the perks and highly expensive catering they enjoy. Shame on the Foundation, shame on AIG, and shame on FPI who was forced to sell their soul to the Foundation and AIG.

How many seats does jazz fest have to sell at $500 to make up for the $50 tickets that were locked out of the Grandstand today? Think about it.

Pat Williamson

This content is syndicated from the email by Matt McBride, formerly at the helm of Fix The Pumps. -Loki

Dear New Orleanians,

The Corps has released the preliminary version of their category 5 study:

http://lacpr.usace.army.mil/default.aspx

or the direct link:

http://lacpr.usace.army.mil/default.aspx?p=LACPR_Draft_Technical_Report

They had promised this to the public (after missing their 12/31/07 deadline) on February 8th, as seen here:

http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/Video/WLAE_Col_Lee_080115.wmv

I went and checked on March 7th, and it hadn’t yet appeared on the LaCPR site. But it’s there now.

By the way, the study doesn’t actually make any recommendations. In fact, here’s an excerpt from the end of the report:

“Efforts to date do not point to a single effective risk reduction strategy. No single strategy for comprehensive hurricane damage risk reduction, other than entirely abandoning communities in South Louisiana, will guarantee safety for the population along the coast.”

Basically, what this study has done is just collect all the alternatives, so that more meetings can be held. The Corps has placed a paragraph in the report meant to blunt criticism that the public was expecting recommendations from this report, and there are none (and, yes, I am aware that was reported earlier, but that doesn’t mean that every member of the public in South Louisiana will remember or care about it):

“Congress also directed a technical report rather than a reconnaissance or feasibility report as described by normal USACE policy. The technical report will contain many of the same components as a reconnaissance or feasibility report, such as presenting the results of the formulation and evaluation of alternatives. As outlined by the Congressional direction, the technical report will contain a ‘comprehensive hurricane protection analysis and design…to develop and present a full range of flood control, coastal restoration, and hurricane protection measures…for comprehensive Category 5 protection.’”

Expect to see that argument when people start asking, “why are there no recommendations other than, ‘have more meetings?’”

Matt

From those of us familiar with both rising water and levee failure I extend our deep regrets to the people of Fernley, Nevada. According to the AP story carried in the Times-Picayune they suffered a situation all New Orleanians can sympathize with.

A canal levee ruptured early Saturday after heavy rainfall, pouring more than 3 feet of near-freezing water into hundreds of homes and stranding 3,500 people across a square mile in their desert agricultural town, authorities said.

According to the full article the suspected cause was burrowing rodents. I echo dethcherub on LiveJournal (who brought my attention to it):

So that’s what we can call the COE now…burrowing rodents…

Would it be in bad taste to remind people once again about the Corps report from last February about the 122 Levees at risk across the nation? Tough, I AM bringing it up.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Mayor Approves Parking on Neutral Ground

NEW ORLEANS, LA (October 22, 2007) - Due to severe flooding conditions that are expected to persist throughout the remainder of the day and later in the evening, New Orleans City Hall and all city government offices will close at 3 p.m., today. Essential offices will remain open.

New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin has granted permission for the citizens to park on the neutral ground this evening. Citizens will not be ticketed for parking on the neutral ground and the city will not be liable for any damages to private property due to expected flooding or storm related hazards. Normal parking enforcement will resume at 9 a.m., Tuesday, October 23.

The National Weather Service reports that the city can expect a lull in the weather until approximately 5 to 6 p.m. This will provide the time for the Sewage and Water Board pumps to clear the streets. The pumps dispense one inch of water in the first hour and an half an inch every hour after. The city can expect another round of bad weather from approximately 5 to 10 p.m. During that time we can expect one to two inches of rain per hour. So far, the city have experienced anywhere between 3-6 inches of rain with the chance of 10 inches of total rain before tomorrow morning. The EOC is at a level one activation (OEP Staff Only).

As of 1 p.m. this afternoon, the Sewage and Water Board reported that all pumping systems are fully operational and working properly.

The Mayor’s Office of Emergency Preparedness recommends the following:

* You should monitor forecasts and be alert for other warnings.
* Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop.
* Ensure ditches and catch basins are cleared of debris.
* If you have to drive in a flooded area take care. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DRIVE THROUGH WATER IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF THE DEPTH.
* Don’t drive through fast-moving water, such as at a flooded bridge approach - your car could be swept away
* Drive slowly and steadily to avoid creating a bow wave, and allow on-coming traffic to pass first.
* Keep the engine revving by slipping the clutch otherwise water in the exhaust could stall the engine.
* Modern vehicles are fitted with catalytic converters in the exhaust system. The catalyst normally works at high temperatures and may crack if it is submerged in water. Replacement catalysts are expensive.
* The air intake on many modern cars is located low down at the front of the engine bay and it only takes a small quantity of water sucked into the engine to cause serious damage. All engines are affected but turbo-charged and diesel engines are most vulnerable.
* Be considerate - driving through water at speeds above a slow crawl can result in water being thrown onto pavements, soaking pedestrians or cyclists.
* If your car stalls, immediately abandon it and climb to higher ground. Watch your footing. Just six inches of fast-moving flood water can sweep a person off his or her feet.
* Test your brakes as soon as you can after driving through water.

A bit wet today in the uptown area.

Could be that some of the drains aren’t up to the rains.

At least it makes driving fun!