CNN reporting that the military is sending quite a bit of help towards NO. Hospital ship from MD, Iwo Jima and 4 support ships, 4-6 minesweepers being sent in for SAR (recovery, at this point), USAF SAR copters, 200 National Guardsmen already at the SuperDome (I bet their sort of nervous), 500 Coasties are being activated from the area, and more.

Also sending in additional Navy SeaBees to assist Corps of Engineers. Carrier JFK may get sent as well.

Also reports are in that one of the fires blazing on the West side is an area heavily populated by chemical plants and refineries.

I guess my original fears about what hazards the flood waters and fires may cause are coming to fruition. I totally forgot about the human element where looting and riots are concerned, though.

This is a nervous time for NO on so many levels. Locally (Charleston, SC) we're working with a few charities to get canned goods and bottled water assembled and sent of to a staging point. It is a small effort though, compared to what needs to be done (I think).

On the WX side of things, it is interesting that Time magazine has a lede story about global warming. (CLIP: One especially sobering study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that hurricane wind speeds have increased about 50% in the past 50 years. And since warm oceans are such a critical ingredient in hurricane formation, anything that gets the water warming more could get the storms growing worse.)

Maybe Mother Nature is speaking her piece?

Such a tragedy.

/Anton
that MIT study is not reputable. if you want a realistic perspective, read any of bill gray's season forecasts. he knows hurricane climatology better than most anybody. -HF