Bracing for Katrina

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Ladies and gentleman, we are facing the storm that we have long feared." ~Ray Nagin, Mayor of New Orleans

Last night when I went to bed, she was a category 3 hurricane, and they were predicting she'd be a category 4 (or a slight possibility of being a category 5) by the time she made landfall. This morning when I got up, she was already a 5. While a category 3 hurricane is considered to cause extensive damage and a category 4 hurricane is considered extreme, a category 5 hurricane is considered to cause catastrophic damage. Katrina went from a 3 to a 5 overnight. Maximum winds right now of 165 mph. Wow. Walmart and Target are cleaned out of bottled water, camping supplies, and other essentials. If you're not already stocked up with supplies, then good luck! President Bush has already declared Mississippi and Louisiana in a state of emergency. New Orleans, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and the rest of Mississippi are gonna get it good. My parents boarded up their house today (on the water in Pascagoula where a storm surge of 20-25 feet is expected), loaded up their belongings, 2 dogs, and 2 cats in 2 vehicles, and headed for my Grandmother's house in Decatur, MS. Right now, Katrina is headed straight for New Orleans, but often, hurricanes make a last minute shift to the east or the west, so we're just waiting to see what happens. That last minute shift before it makes landfall is what saved Pascagoula and the MS Gulf coast from hurricane Dennis in July when it made a sudden shift to the east and hit the Pensacola area. Being on the west side of the storm is always better than being on the east side because the east side gets the storm surge, and that can be bad. For those of you not in Mississippi, be thankful! They are predicting tropical storm and up to hurricane forced winds as far north as Jackson. Along with with that is a good possibility of tornados. So it is a good possibility that I may not be able to blog for the next few days because I have no electricity. Landfall is expected early tomorrow morning, so it will be bad in Jackson probably starting around lunch-time or early afternoon. This is big, folks. Everyone around here is running scared. There have only been 3 recorded category 5 hurricanes ever to hit in the Gulf... Hurricane of 1935, Camille in 1969, and Andrew in 1992... Camille having the worst effect on Mississippi. This storm is the same strength as Camille, but larger.
I really hate it for New Orleans. I love that place, and I've been dying to go back this year, but from the looks of it now, it'll be a long time before I'll be able to go. New Orleans will probably be under water tomorrow. Since it is below sea level, the whole city will be flooded. That really sucks. The Superdome is the only place in New Orleans even capable of being a shelter for people there who are stranded and can't evacuate.
So here I am, just sitting, waiting, and watching The Weather Channel just like every other person around here is too, I'm sure. I'm nervous.... about what will happen in the Jackson area, and even moreso about what will happen on the coast, mainly Pascagoula. Although my parents aren't there now, their home and theirs' and some of my belongings are... and almost as close to the water as you can get. But all I can do is just get myself ready for the storm and the likely power outages that will come along with it here in Jackson, and just hope and pray that everything will be as okay as it possibly can.