Gustav Blog

We are just getting into some heavy rain here in Baton Rouge. The storm has been stirring here for just over three hours, New Orleans has been dealing for about 10 hours. I think things are a little hairy over there but it seems like everything is holding together (ie. no levee breaches).

The authorities spent the last several days evacuating all of coastal Louisiana, including New Orleans. Something like 2 million people evacuated, which is about half the population of the state. It is almost surprising to see the plans and the coordination actually coming to fruition. I feel confident in saying that if anyplace is ready to handle a direct hit by a major storm it is Louisiana. We have been coordinating and planning for this eventuality for the last three years. The governor's office, the state, the local parishes, and the federal government have all worked out their differences since Katrina and are doing a tremendous job of working together to manage and mitigate the destruction from this storm.

My lady and I are safe in our Baton Rouge home, and we have three sleeping dogs, a case of water, some beans and tuna, and a batch of jambalaya leftovers to tide us over for the day. As of yet we have not lost power, but a couple of our friends have, so we are crossing our fingers. The worst of the storm still has yet to come through here but an unforeseen danger for us is a little case of cabin fever!

I will try to keep some updates going throughout the day.