I'm watching the webcast from WWL right now, and this is really the first time in my 28 years that I've seen a newscast so serious about a storm. I don't mean that they're never serious, but everyone is being very blunt and direct about this one. There are constant warnings that southeastern Louisiana will
not avoid this storm. This storm is
not going to completely miss the area. New Orleans will
not be spared miraculously again. It may not be a direct hit, and they make sure to say that they don't know yet, but something is definitely going to happen in New Orleans. It's not a matter of whether the storm will affect the city; it's a matter of how strongly the storm will affect the city. I have never heard a newscast urge everyone to evacuate like this. It's 4am here right now, and I meant to go to bed two hours ago, but I can't stop watching this. I think my family down there has evacuated, but now I'm just watching because New Orleans still feels like home to me. I'm so scared that I can't sleep, and I'm over a thousand miles away. Like I said earlier, I had only evacuated once in my entire life, and to be honest, my wife had to drag me away (she's originally from Memphis, so every nearby hurricane spooked her, since these were new experiences for her). I've never really been scared of a hurricane before. This morning, I am.
Please, everybody down there, leave. Urge your extended family and friends to leave. I know the people on this forum are taking it seriously, but please do everything you can for the people you love. I know that there will be people who just won't go, but maybe hearing from the right people will help them make the right decision. I am really scared for my hometown right now, because many people there don't know how to handle this. They think they know, but they don't know. Too many years and too many storms have led to that "crying wolf" effect that LloydLungs mentioned, but now is not the time to be brave. Now is not the time.
