We want our many friends in the path of Hurricane Katrina to know that our hearts and prayers are with them in this perilous time.
The direct hit expected at New Orleans will likely claim the home of Brian and Lisa Manzella, which is located approximately 700 yards from the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain and its expected 28-foot storm surge. The good news here is that Lisa is now safely north in Baton Rouge, and with our Three G.O.L.F. Guys And You workshop concluded today, Brian is here in Atlanta with us.
I've not been able to contact Rob Noel, Tom Danos, Chris Wertz and Buzzy Brown at the Rob Noel Golf Academy in Abita Springs, located approximately forty miles north of New Orleans, and David Laville in the city. Also, James Leitz in Slidell, literally in the direct path of the storm, and V. J. Trolio at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Mississippi. Though I'm sure each has heeded the warnings, the personal and economic impact of this coming storm will no doubt be felt for months, if not years.
Hang in there, guys. If there's anything we can do to help, let us know and we will.
I've been through 1 hurricane in my life and that was 1 too many. One word describes how I felt then and how I have felt over the years watching others go through it---HELPLESS. Hang in there folks. For the rest of us, if you are so inclined, perhaps NOW would be a good time to take a minute and have a little talk with the big course ranger up above. Dave
Brian and his wife Lisa are fine. Their house is gone. Their home-- their family and many friends -- is alive, well and in full support mode.
The irrepressible Brian -- the model for the Energizer Bunny -- is doing all he can to put a new personal infrastructure in place. I am privileged to have been able to offer my home in Atlanta as an 'eye' in his personal storm from which to conduct his operations. As usual, he has been impressive to watch.
Stay tuned for a post from The Italian Stallion himself.
That storm was bad. Now they are saying that tornados could appear due to the unstable air mass.
Its just not during the storm that is bad, its the aftermath thats worse. Flooding and the rise in bacteria levels....etc
Good luck Brian..........r
New Orleans is mostly below sea level and protected by levees or embankments.
Nagin said the levees had given way in places to Katrina's storm surge, including a 200-foot (60 meter) breach near the city center through which waters from Lake Pontchartrain were pouring in.
"There's a serious leak and it's causing the water to continue to rise," he said. Adding to the problem were malfunctions in the system the city uses to pump out floodwaters.
So far, Nagin said, the historic French Quarter and central business district had not been badly flooded.
But Tulane University Medical Center vice president Karen Troyer-Caraway told CNN the downtown hospital was surrounded by 6 feet of water and considering evacuating its 1,000 patients.
"The water is rising so fast I cannot begin to describe how quickly it's rising," she said. "We have whitecaps on Canal Street, the water is moving so fast."
Louisiana emergency-preparedness officials said plans were in the works to fix the broken levee.
The high waters flooded thousands of homes and forced many people into attics and onto roofs.
"HORROR STORY"
Police took boats into flood-stricken areas to rescue some of the stranded. Others were picked up by helicopter.
People used axes, and in at least one case a shotgun, to blast holes in roofs so they could escape their attics. Many who had not yet been rescued could be heard screaming for help, police said.
"This is a horror story. I'd rather be reading it somewhere else than living it," said Aaron Broussard, president of New Orleans' Jefferson Parish.
In Mississippi, water swamped the emergency operations center at Hancock County courthouse and the back of the building collapsed.
"Thirty-five people swam out of their emergency operations center with life jackets on," neighboring Harrison County emergency medical services director Christopher Cirillo told Mississippi's Sun Herald newspaper. "We haven't heard from them."
The storm revived memories of Hurricane Camille, which hit the region in 1969 with winds up to 200 mph (320 kph) and killed 256 people.
Before striking the Gulf coast, Katrina last week hit southern Florida, where it killed seven people.
Katrina knocked out electricity to about 2.3 million customers, or nearly 5 million people, in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, utility companies said. Restoring power could take weeks, they warned.
On its way to the coast, the storm swept through oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico where 20 percent of the nation's energy is produced.
At least two drilling rigs were knocked adrift and one in Mobile Bay, Alabama, broke free of its mooring and slammed into a bridge.
New Orleans is mostly below sea level and protected by levees or embankments.
Nagin said the levees had given way in places to Katrina's storm surge, including a 200-foot (60 meter) breach near the city center through which waters from Lake Pontchartrain were pouring in.
As I write, Brian Manzella is headed for the Atlanta Airport to catch a seven o'clock flight to Baton Rouge. There he will reunite with his wife, Lisa, and family and begin the reconstruction of his life.
He went to sleep last night thinking that all might not be lost. After all, Fox News was reporting from Bourbon Street, and the pavement appeared as it does after a hard rain. We awoke to this morning's news that the 17th Street Canal had broken, and that 80 percent of New Orleans was now under water. He had mentioned to me yesterday that his home was located near the Canal, and when we heard today's news, I asked him how far his home was located from the breach:
"No more than 150 yards. I could hit a nine-iron to it. My home is gone."
In other words, the storm surge from Lake Pontchartrain entered New Orleans through Brian's front door.
Linear Mode
