"Ivan's monster waves - some up to 25 feet - were already destroying homes along the Florida coast Wednesday. Twelve-foot waves boomed ashore at Gulf Shores, Ala., eroding the beach. A buoy about 300 miles south of Panama City registered waves over 34 feet high. "
"Thousands of tourists were believed stranded in New Orleans, along with 100,000 mostly inner-city residents without cars. The mayor advised them to resort to "vertical evacuations," suggesting they take shelter in buildings taller than two stories. If that is not possible, he said, they should go into an attic and take equipment with them that would let allow them to cut through the roof and get out."
This above was in the late edition of the Richmond Times Dispatch, below was in Washington Post......
" NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 14 -- Walter Maestri, an emergency manager here in America's most vulnerable metropolitan area, has 10,000 body bags ready in case a major hurricane ever hits New Orleans. As Hurricane Ivan's expected path shifted uncomfortably close to this low-lying urban soup bowl Tuesday, Maestri said he might need a lot more.
If a strong Category 4 storm such as Ivan made a direct hit, he warned, 50,000 people could drown, and this city of Mardi Gras and jazz could cease to exist.
"This could be The One," Maestri said in an interview in his underground bunker. "You're talking about the potential loss of a major metropolitan area."
Forecasters said Tuesday night that they expected Ivan to veer at least 70 miles east of New Orleans before making landfall early Thursday, somewhere along the Gulf Coast extremities of Louisiana, Alabama or Mississippi. But Ivan has consistently drifted farther west than their predictions. This port city's levees are designed to withstand only a Category 3 storm, and officials begged residents to evacuate the area "if you have the means."
This could be very bad...........
