As a resident of south Louisiana for the past 16 years, I have hung around for quite a few hurricanes. The first one was Andrew during my freshman year at Southern University. The university was without power for a few days and all they could feed us was sandwiches. Eventually I was able to find a ride home...thank God for Big Sam and his Ford Fiesta!
Fast forward 13 years to Hurricane Katrina. (Check out this blog post I did reflecting on my experience after Katrina "Who Is Mr. Eddie?") The Gulf Coast really suffered, though with all hurricanes, Baton Rouge usually only gets wind damage, which causes mass power outages, and minor flooding. Being without power seems to be a mere inconvenience compared to the loss of lives and homes in other places. Nonetheless, Hurricane Katrina would go down in the history books as the storm of the century...
...until Gustav came along.
Tonight we sit glued to the television, waiting for the inevitable landfall of Hurricane Gustav. About 24 hours ago, I decided to evacuate from Baton Rouge. Although we are 60 miles inland and were not under an evacuation order, I chose to leave because I knew that we would probably lose power for close to a week and I would rather spend the next few days in the company of my family in north Louisiana than in my house alone listening to Gustav tapping on my bedroom window and serenading me with his wind song.
While out shopping with my mom, I decided to do a photo journal documenting the storm. Here's the first installment:
"Hurricane Gustav - Day One (Sunday, August 31, 2008)"
The sunset along I-20 won't look like this tomorrow.
Evacuation buses have rolled in and stopped for supplies.
There were mostly immigrants on these evacuation buses.
Fast forward 13 years to Hurricane Katrina. (Check out this blog post I did reflecting on my experience after Katrina "Who Is Mr. Eddie?") The Gulf Coast really suffered, though with all hurricanes, Baton Rouge usually only gets wind damage, which causes mass power outages, and minor flooding. Being without power seems to be a mere inconvenience compared to the loss of lives and homes in other places. Nonetheless, Hurricane Katrina would go down in the history books as the storm of the century...
...until Gustav came along.
Tonight we sit glued to the television, waiting for the inevitable landfall of Hurricane Gustav. About 24 hours ago, I decided to evacuate from Baton Rouge. Although we are 60 miles inland and were not under an evacuation order, I chose to leave because I knew that we would probably lose power for close to a week and I would rather spend the next few days in the company of my family in north Louisiana than in my house alone listening to Gustav tapping on my bedroom window and serenading me with his wind song.
While out shopping with my mom, I decided to do a photo journal documenting the storm. Here's the first installment:
"Hurricane Gustav - Day One (Sunday, August 31, 2008)"
The sunset along I-20 won't look like this tomorrow.
Evacuation buses have rolled in and stopped for supplies.
There were mostly immigrants on these evacuation buses.
Many simply can't afford to evacuate.
I wonder if her smile will be found tomorrow.
Locals and evacuees raid the stores, preparing for the worst.
Carts filled with survival necessities...non-perishables, snacks...
...and water, water everywhere!
Gustav is approaching fast.
What will we see when we wake up?
What will she see when she grows up?
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