Is it just me or does anyone else get a bad feeling about the Superdome?

[bribri16]

I am a nervous wreck...relatives with small child in NO and an invalid grandmother. Many will be housed in the Superdome...I am worried...can't exactly say why...but I am uneasy.

[etherealtruth]

1. It's hard not to worry about ...

... that many people in one place during a disaster ...

[tjdee]

2. I think it can withstand winds up to 200mph....

I'm hearing so many interviews now I can't say where I heard it...

Seems like a piss poor place to house people to me--but I figure they know more than I do. They have also said that they have other locations in mind.

[Bison William]

20. Yep! The dome is completely safe because engineers are

infallible and the Titanic was unsinkable and the Hindenburg, well you get the point

[salin]

3. yes, but what is the alternative for those who can not leave?

:cry:

[FloridaPat]

4. My first thought too. They said it was built to withstand a big hurricane.

Hope things go well there.

[Dem Agog]

5. well gee, until you mentioned it it was just you...

now you've got me worried...

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. Here is an article I found

I think it is from a Mexican newspaper?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4482577&mesg_id=4482577

[bribri16]

9. Damn, I never thought about using the military or Guard to get people out.

Why doesn't the governor ask for the national guard help or military help? Would that be illegal? I guess it might be. You know, using the military to actually help people.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Do we even have enough military or guardsmen to do this?

I lived here through the floods in 93 and I remember how we came to depend on the guard in dealing with that disaster. My friend who was in the guard at that time told me that every guardsman in MO was called to duty to help. But there were under 30 deaths. And we didn't have a bunch of guardsmen halfway around the world fighting in a war.

[Roxy66]

34. Are you in New Orleans right now??!!

[Horse with no Name]

17. The majority of the LA guard is in Iraq

Bush should have had the military in there getting people out. Period.

[gizmo1979]

19. They are all in Iraq

or at least their equipment is.

[catmandu57]

7. It's afterwards I'm worried about

If NO is a bowl then it'll be a bigass lake taking months to pump out a sea of toxic slime.

[ordinaryaveragegirl]

8. The water is the threat...

Not the wind, especially with a storm like this. I believe the levies can handle 15 ft, but Katrina is supposed to have a 25 ft storm surge, as of right now. It worries me too.

[KyndCulture]

11. It's not the wind... it's the debris the wind will carry.

The Navy observatory recorded at 259mph gust near the eye wall... I'm not sure anything can withstand wind that high..that's an F5 tornado.

[Lindacooks]

33. Good God! F5 tornadoes pull pavement off roads.

You're not even safe in a BASEMENT in an F5!

[qanda]

10. I just have a bad feeling about this whole thing all the way around

God help them all. I just heard the guy in the news conference say that people are having a hard time finding gas. How do you get out of town if your tank is on E?

[KyndCulture]

13. Me too. I woke up at 5am with the worst feeling in my stomach.

Before I came in here and found out about the hurricane... I can't shake this feeling.

[qanda]

14. That's the exact same feeling I had before I went to sleep last night

And I woke up to the news that it had reached a Cat 5. I was wondering why they hadn't acted sooner to get all the people out. I guess they didn't think it would get too bad since it was forecasted to hit at a Cat 3.

[TrueAmerican]

12. Could be the biggest mistake since the Titanic

They said the Titanic was unsinkable. I wouldn't put my trust in people who are always so sure of themsevles.

[Horse with no Name]

16. What is really scary is that Red Cross long ago determined

THERE IS NO SAFE SHELTER IN NEW ORLEANS.
They pointed out there won't be ANY utilities or services available possibly for weeks.
Can you imagine thousands in the Superdome in the heat without electricity or water?
This is going to be ugly.
I have the same bad feelings that you do.:cry:

[karlrschneider]

21. You're right...the logistics in just feeding all those people would be

a major nightmare...and people will become sick...how will they care for them and what about sewage? I doubt the toilets would even work. This sounds like a really bad idea to me. The thing is designed to accomodate a large number of folks for a couple of hours...if Katrina hits NO they could be stuck in there for days or weeks. Argh.

[Endangered Specie]

18. I can see being nervous in that situation, but...

I think the Superdome is probably the safest option for anyone staying in NO

[TankLV]

22. It's a lot older now. But depending on the competency of the NO building

department, as long as they've kept up maintenence and such, there should be no problem.

[rbjensen]

23. Damn yes

makes me quesy just to think about it. I hope they have adequate medical personnel there. They're going to need it.

[KC21304]

24. I'm so sorry for you and your family. I have no answers

but I do know we would all be better off if we were not in Iraq. Gas would be cheaper, Guard units would be here to help to say nothing about the loss of lives and the cost of that damn idiot's folly.

[The Traveler]

25. Hard to say with certainty

I think it will handle the loading due to wind velocity OK ... but there is gonna be debris in that wind. It'll probably hold up but apprehension is certainly understandable. Keeping fingers crossed ...

[bribri16]

26. Why the hell can't the military evacuate the infirmed? n/t

[sam sarrha]

28. National Guard is in Iraq........

[sam sarrha]

29. the Dome will come off and create a Tornado inside , it will be slaughter

185 mph winds now

[The Traveler]

37. If the dome is significantly punctured by debris

that is a real possibility. The right answer here is to organize military resources to get those people out of there.

[annagull]

27. A terrible idea, they should be bussing people OUT of NO

To a shelter more inland and higher ground, to put everyone in the Superdome is a disaster, the power will go out, 20 ft storm surge so water WILL get in, hopefully the roof will hold but this is an unusually powerful storm, if you can get your family to get a bus out, do it now, wire money, whatever you can.

[sam sarrha]

30. with what busses, all socialist programs have been cut and bled dry

[GreenPartyVoter]

31. We will pray for the best and hopefully whatever nearby states that still

have national guard units will moblize ASAP.

[Roxy66]

32. I'm big-time worried...

I know it can take 200mph winds....but gusts are supposed to be higher than that.

[Feron]

35. Anything south of Lake Ponchatrain...

is likely to become a giant lake.

Not to scare you ,but I would get my relatives at the very least somewhere north of I-12 if possible.

[Rainscents]

36. Once the power goes out, you're going to have huge mess in the

dorm... Kitchen will be useless for cooking, all the frozen foods will be going bad. Hopefully, at least, they'll have enough dry foods and bottle water on hands for people to eat and drink until things clears up. My feeling is... not good.