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 | Posted on Sat, Sep. 03, 2005 | ||||||||||
IN MY OPINION Memories of these storms last foreveraveciana@herald.com Sometimes I can still hear the wind. The sound of a hurricane barreling through a house is like no other. A howl. A bang. A rip. An infernally long shriek. Thirteen years after Hurricane Andrew I cannot forget. I know the Gulf Coast victims of Hurricane Katrina won't, either. News and video of the cataclysmic devastation is heart-wrenching, and for me, of special interest, not only as a survivor of a Category 5 but also because my best friend from childhood -- the girl who shared my first make-up, my first confessions, my first disappointments -- lives on the outskirts of New Orleans. Hours before Katrina swept through the area, we spoke about the impending catastrophe through the marvels of cell phones. We in Miami had experienced Katrina as a Category 1, and that was scary and vicious enough. What more would the storm do now that her force had multiplied? The possibilities cast a long shadow over our late-night communication. My friend described a tearful car trip north with children and pets, knowing that in all likelihood her home, or at the very least what she knew of it, wouldn't be there when she returned. She was right, unfortunately so. Katrina battered 540 miles of coastline across four states, as Alabama and Mississippi recorded wind blasts in the triple digits. Buildings imploded, boats were hurled inland, windows were smashed, whole neighborhoods flooded. As of this writing, the death count was still mounting. Even without the benefit of photographs, I can close my eyes and see it all. Again. The wrath of nature leaves a permanent imprint like nothing else. Just ask the survivors of the tsunami. Or an earthquake. Or any volcanic eruption. The worst is over, one newspaper blogger reported after the winds had subsided. Poor fool, I thought when I read that statement. The worst comes in many guises. It will be days before we know the real extent of the damage. Weeks before these pummeled cities pump out the water. Then months for the clean-up. And, finally, years for the rebuilding. I dare not give a time for the scars to heal. They are too many, too varied, perhaps too deep, to invite predictions. As millions of people try to cobble their lives back together, modern lives eased by electricity, refrigeration and satellite communications, they will nevertheless experience an ancient feeling, a very human emotion that no generation has managed to escape despite technological advances. It will be one of awe and fear. When they survey the landscape of shattered glass, broken trees, and flattened buildings, they will marvel, with a horrific shudder, at the absolute majesty and power of something that we, for all our knowledge, have not quite managed to tame. They will stare open-mouthed and wide-eyed, as I once did, at how a few hours -- sometimes minutes -- can so alter years and years of building. They will feel puny. They will feel violated. They will feel insignificant. They will recognize that there is something so much bigger than they are, and it chooses to remind us of this vulnerability always so inopportunely. It is a humbling experience. But those feelings will also be tempered with gratitude. Yes, believe it or not, thankfulness. There is a cleansing that comes from such catastrophe, a readjustment of priorities and thought, of visions reassessed. Sooner or later, the beleaguered residents of the Gulf Coast will admonish themselves for having wasted time and worry on things that, in the end, did not matter. If there is a ray of hope I can give my friend in this dark, dismal hour, surely it would be that nugget of knowledge. | |||||||||||
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Let's just hope the estimates of 40-50,000 dead are just that...estimates. A major American city destroyed, 50,000 or more dead and 25% of our energy reserves destroyed. Basically, all the worst parts of the Bible.
Aug 31, 2005, 01:36 PM
The governor has declared an energy emergency for the state of
Michigan,saying the state needs additional fuel supplies to meet driver
demand. Meantime, gas prices soared even higher as stations hit $3.19.
The worst absolutely appears to be ahead of us. Production is still
stopped,
s hipping lanes are still blocked, t hat means the supply of petroleum
is
starting to dry up,and soon drivers could be facing not only higher
prices,
but also a shortage of fuel at the pump. In the wake of the storm,oil
production in the gulf has come to a standstill.
Dan Webster Avery, oil owner: "T here are 8 refineries down because of
the
hurricane, 2 more running at diminished capacity."
Dan Webster heads an oil distribution company in Mason. Because of the
cut
in gulf production,distributors are making cuts of their own.
Dan Webster Avery: "Normally we take a transport into 1 location.
Today, we
took it to 4 stations just to keep them going."
That means stations that normally get 14,000 gallons got just 3,500
gallons.
That kept the stations in mid-Michigan open for business, b ut soon
distributors say even that might not be possible.
Dan Webster Avery: "There is a possibility of some outages at certain
stations."
And while distributors are watching supply,drivers are keeping their
eye on
the price. It was $3.19 in Lansing a nd higher in some places around
the
country, a ll because oil companies are demanding higher prices for
distribution.
Dan Webster Avery: "Yesterday it was up 46 cents a gallon, highest I've
ever
seen in 28 years."
Combine increasing prices with decreasing supply and the likelihood
that
refineries in the gulf won't come back on line any time soon,and
distributors say the price likely still hasn't hit its high.
Dan Webster Avery: "With the tightness of supply, you're going to see
prices
keep increasing."
There is a little bit of good news on the fuel front. The President
plans to
increase the supply by tapping into a reserve. Of course only time will
tell
whether it will be enough to curb the skyrocketing price.
www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=3790153
----------------------------
School Buses May Stop Because Of Gas Shortage
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Orange County School district canceled busing for
all
extracurricular activities Wednesday, including sports, and may have to
cancel all busing Friday.
It's all because of fuel shortages caused in the hurricane's wake, WESH
2
News reported.
"Hurricane Katrina has impacted central Florida more than we know,"
said
Orange County Schools Superintendent Ron Blocker. "I'm temporarily
terminating or canceling the transportation we normally provide for all
field trips, and after-hour events."
That means band members and football players will have to find their
own
transportation to games. So will athletes in all other Orange County
school
sports.
The nation's 12th largest school district is getting barely enough
diesel
fuel from suppliers to run its 1,100 buses a day.
It's gotten so bad for several local school districts that some drivers
are
pulling up to regular fuel stations to get their diesel.
Driver Juan Diaz found out Wednesday he is only allowed to fill half
his
tank because buying from retailers is more expensive. It could add 50
percent to 75 percent onto the regular cost of running buses.
And it could get much worse. If Orange County does not get its regular
diesel delivery Thursday, the district may cancel all busing to and
from
school as soon as Friday.
"If the supplies do not come through, I want to give our parents,
specifically our community in general, as much notice as possible that
there
will have to be adjustments in how our students come to school,"
Blocker
said.
In short, without buses, students will have to walk, ride bikes or get
rides
to and from school.
Other school districts in Central Florida are wrestling with the fuel
crunch. Seminole County has canceled busing for field trips and will
decide
Thursday if sports and other transportation will be cut.
Lake, Marion, Volusia, and Brevard counties are monitoring the
situation but
have made no changes as yet.
--------------------------
CRISIS - Florida: Katrina's Effect on Power Means Rationing and
Brownouts
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.orlandosentinel.com/n...ines-state
KATRINA'S AFTERMATH
Katrina's effect on power means Fla. brownouts
Robert Perez | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted August 31, 2005
Florida utility companies began rationing power Tuesday to hundreds of
thousands of customers because of disruptions in natural-gas supplies
caused
by Hurricane Katrina.
Utility officials, who asked all customers in Florida to conserve
electricity, warned that shortages could affect the state's ability to
produce power for weeks and possibly months.
The brownouts are targeting homes, businesses and government offices
that
participate in voluntary energy-management programs. Power is being cut
temporarily to air conditioners, water heaters and pool pumps during
peak-demand periods.
Power is not being shut off completely to anyone and those not in an
energy-saving program are unaffected.
But all customers are being encouraged to eliminate non-essential
electric
use by turning off unnecessary lights and appliances and avoiding use
of
dishwashers, pool pumps and other appliances during the late-afternoon
and
evening hours.