I can't think of the people in the dome anymore---they are sitting ducks.

[Sannum]

These people, if there is a direct hit, will not have a very good chance of coming out. I don't care what they say. The building has not been tested. My god. I feel so sorry for these people. I just get such a morbid and sad feeling looking at the pictures. It is as if I feel that they are not going to get out. :cry:

God help them all.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

1. The dome is good to at least 200mph winds and by the time

K gets there it is expoected to be a category 4.

[AuntPatsy]

2. Posted by another poster on another thread, take a look tom.

http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl092304thanh.12956...

<snip>It appears a facility as large as the Dome could hold up in hurricane conditions but Bill Curl, spokesman for the Superdome, says that is yet to be tested and if there is no other choice then maybe the Dome could serve as a shelter.

“Only in dire emergencies. The Superdome is not a shelter,” said Curl.

According to Curl, the assumption that the Superdome can withstand hurricane force winds is just that: an assumption. He says more analysis is needed to determine what the Dome can actually withstand because previous wind studies have become somewhat irrelevant since they did not factor in the new high-rise buildings around the Dome.

“They create a wind tunnel effect and that needs to be tested. There were initial studies that indicated 130 miles per hour, but we don’t know,” said Curl. He adds that the Dome is not impervious to the same elements other areas would be exposed to.

[ohio_liberal]

5. I just read in another thread that it's good to 130mph

http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl092304thanh.12956

[crispini]

6. 404 bad link

[ohio_liberal]

8. Scrubbed already?

:shrug:

Here's the snip from the other thread

<snip>It appears a facility as large as the Dome could hold up in hurricane conditions but Bill Curl, spokesman for the Superdome, says that is yet to be tested and if there is no other choice then maybe the Dome could serve as a shelter.

“Only in dire emergencies. The Superdome is not a shelter,” said Curl.

According to Curl, the assumption that the Superdome can withstand hurricane force winds is just that: an assumption. He says more analysis is needed to determine what the Dome can actually withstand because previous wind studies have become somewhat irrelevant since they did not factor in the new high-rise buildings around the Dome.

“They create a wind tunnel effect and that needs to be tested. There were initial studies that indicated 130 miles per hour, but we don’t know,” said Curl. He adds that the Dome is not impervious to the same elements other areas would be exposed to.

[JuniperLea]

7. The storm surge will put them in water for sure

And how long can that dome withstand that force? The force number must have a duration tied to it don't you think? Where did you find that statistic? This could go on for 7 -13 hours. Scary as hell.

[serryjw]

9. .....and the TWIN Towers can never fall!

Would you want your family in there?

[BlueJac]

15. No Way

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

13. I give up. They're all gonna die, it's the end of the fucking world.

Run away!

Jesus. The weather forecasters are always right.

[AuntPatsy]

17. never ever give up, it's what has kept this species from becoming

extinct,;-) I know, all this gloom and doom today can get old. I like your thinking so I will adhere to your train of thought. All will be fine and the thunderdome shall remain unscathed as it sits stanchly above sea level, unlike the rest of the city keeping all those inside safe and sound...

No sarcasm here, I want to and will agree with you.

[MoonRiver]

20. The issue, imo, is flooding. Water will get into the building,

and it will rise. People will move further and further up. Can all those people squeeze into the upper area? I think many will fall into the flooded Superdome and drown. It's a horrible, horrible scenario.

[Faygo Kid]

3. They may make it. God help them all afterwards.

Save your sympathy for what they will face after they survive: Nowhere to live, no way to support themselves. Guess they should have contributed $100,000+ to Bush. Only way any of us get support.

[kahleefornia]

4. hey, the dome is about the most secure

shape of a structure that can be made. That's why eggs are, well, egg-shaped. Don't worry too much - I think it will hold just fine. If I couldn't get out of the city, that's where I'd want to be.

[AnnInLa]

10. I wish yall would stop these kinds of posts....really

In the Louisiana forum, under "Acadiana Thread"


Poster #1 (first post on DU) takes many of us to task about being insensitive to what's going on in Nola. He/she makes the point that the officials HAD TO DO SOMETHING. If there's just a teensy more chance that they will survive in the Super Dome rather than in their unstable home, why not try it? Honestly, there's nothing else they could have done with that many people. It's not a plot against the poor...it's trying something desperate that might work, might not.

((I'm still not sure what set off that poster, sure hope it wasn't something that I said.))

[AtLiberty]

11. What bothers me most about the dome is the logistics...

...of holding tens of thousands of people for an indefinite period of time. Days? Weeks? What food and fresh water people brought in won't last long. The power will likely be out. The toilets probably won't flush. No water from the facets. It'll be difficult to get food and supplies there. No restful sleep. Colds and flus will spread quickly.

A nightmare...

I suppose all this will be secondary to survival. I just wish so many didn't have to rely on it -- that's the heart of the matter.

[ohio_liberal]

12. Days and weeks...

...of sitting in seats, not being able to lay down with any kind of comfort. I can't imagine sick, elderly, and children living in those kinds of conditions.

[nonconformist]

14. Is the Dome held up by air pressure?

I really don't know much about the Superdome.

What I do know is that if it is an air-pressurized structure, I question it's ability to withstand this. I'm from Michigan, and our air-pressurized Silverdome has collapsed from time to time under conditions much milder than this.

[rockribbedliberal]

19. No, it's not ...

the whole thing is steel and concrete.

[CountAllVotes]

16. I agree with you 100%

and I share that same exact feeling. Sadly I am rarely wrong when just feelings hit me the way "the dome" does. Holy cripes! The shit is really going to hit the fan.

That "dome" has a bunch of huge high rise buildings all around it! Do these people not ever THINK? :think: ???? :scared:

[annagull]

18. I don't understand why they didn't set up for food and water

seems like yesterday they could have trucked in some emergency shelter supplies, I think it was a good idea to ask people to bring their own as well, but we don't know what is going to happen in NO, it may take a week to get supplies to them. Obviously you can't carry a weeks worth of food/water with you. Also praying the Dome holds up.

[Silverhair]

21. They should be OK.

Very uncomfortable, but safe.

The dome will be able to stand the winds. Flooding will only be a problem for the lower level, and the people inside can get above any waters.

Once the storm is over, there may be some really big problems if the city is flooded and a dike is broken. They may be trapped at the dome. (NOT in it, but at it.) The doors are high enough that after the storm surge is gone they will be able to get outside.

That's when the Nat'l Guard will really be needed.

[AgadorSparticus]

22. I didn't agree with you at first, but now that the reporter from TWC

has moved from the dome to higher grounds, I'm now quite worried about the folks in the dome. God be with them all.