| Hurricane Katrina |
Local News from the Florida/Alabama Gulf Coast
Mobile County public and private schools closed until further notice
Baldwin County schools closed until further notice (An interesting note: Although Baldwin County, on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, and my area, is quickly healing, the schools are remaining closed because of the gas shortage in the area.)
Atlantic Marina Shipyards in Mobile, Alabama closed until further notice
The Port of Pensacola (Florida) is getting calls from across the world, requesting port access. The ships are already in the Gulf, but cannot go to their usual ports Louisiana and Alabama. As of now, the Coast Guard still has the Gulf waters closed, so the Port of Pensacola is unable to assist the ships who need a port.
7am - 7pm, FEMA will distribute water, ice, MREs (meals ready to eat), until supply runs out.
Hot meals distributed across Mobile County 11am - 7pm
Eastbound lanes of Mobile Causeway still closed. Parts of the road are washed out.
- Lori Seaborg 7:04 AM - Sep. 2, 2005 - comments {0} - post commentAidMany of you have written me, letting me know that you are seeing news coverage of our disaster. You are letting me know that your church is sending a convoy of aid to help us. You are sending boxes of donated items to me to pass out. Some of you are even trusting me, a stranger in cyberland, with cash to hand out to the hurricane refugees who need a tank of gas or a bit of traveling food so they can go back home to see the damage or so they can drive to distant relatives.
Thank you for thinking about us. Thank you to the Hollywood stars who are pledging donations to the Red Cross. Thank you to President Bush for sending troops and ships. We will most definitely shed a few tears when we see our military come into our waters. This is a military-loving area, full of patriots. Thank you to the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Southern Baptists, and Samaritan's Purse. Thank you to FEMA. On this, the fourth day, we are not seeing much of the aid yet. FEMA keeps trying, but they are running out of food, water and ice before everyone is served. The Red Cross is trying to open more shelters, but it is not quite enough. Right now, the aid is arriving mostly through the help of our own. One local man in Mobile waved bags of ice in the air until motorists arrived to take it off his hands. A man in Gulfport, Mississippi opened his produce warehouse and let the homeless hurricane victims in his town take it all. He said he could feed 40,000 people with that much food, if given the chance. Today, someone went to the Alabama-Mississippi border with purchased water bottles and passed them out to strangers. One man at Sam's Club in Pensacola, Florida, bought six generators and several gas cans to take back to his hometown in Mississippi. We passed a pickup truck heading to Alabama with a grill in the truck bed and a U-Haul trailer attached to it. On the U-Haul was a homemade sign on a florescent green poster: "Sarasota Hurricane Relief". That family, from Sarasota, Florida, knows firsthand exactly what hurricane victims need and want most: a hot meal. His grill will be put to good use in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Soon, we will receive your aid. Today, we are receiving our own. by Lori Seaborg 10:08 PM - Sep. 1, 2005 - comments {0} - post commentFOX News is in Town to Focus on Our Gas ShortageFOX News is in our county, showing live video of a mile of cars waiting for gas...that will come in the morning! It is 10pm now. They have a long wait ahead! This particular gas station is the only open station in Daphne, Alabama, they are reporting. Daphne is along I-10, where refugees drive on their way to this county or to Florida to find shelter.
In Pensacola, Florida, today, we were able to get gas after waiting in a line of about a dozen cars. We paid $2.79 per gallon. Not bad. In other places in Pensacola, we saw lines of cars that wrapped around city blocks.
We returned home today to Baldwin County, Alabama, just over the Florida border. We had gone to Pensacola after the hurricane since my parent's had electricity, but we did not. All of our utilities have been turned back on already! We are so, so blessed tonight.
On our way home, there were fewer and fewer open gas stations, until they were completely non-existent.
In Mobile County, Alabama (home to Mobile, and just across the border from Mississippi), there is such a great gas shortage that people are sleeping in their cars at night, hoping the stations will have gas in the morning. To make matters worse, much of Mobile County does not have electricity yet, and without that, the gas cannot be pumped.
The Mobile County United States Postal Service (USPS) is not operating yet, four days after the hurricane. They say that they could deliver mail to most areas, but their trucks need gas, too, and they have none.
Gas conservation is a necessity these days. Especially here.
- Lori Seaborg
8:17 PM - Sep. 1, 2005 - comments {1} - post commentDigital Images of Affected CitiesGo to Digital Globe for great photos of "Before" and "After" Hurricane Katrina.
Lori Seaborg 8:15 PM - Sep. 1, 2005 - comments {0} - post commentThe Aid is ComingIt is heartening to see on the news that President Bush is going to find extra help for us through former Presidents Bush and Clinton. It is heartening to me, because I can see the news. Because my house finally has electricity.
Many thousands, though, cannot see the news. They haven't yet seen photos of the devastation in New Orleans and in Mississippi. They have seen the damage along our own Gulf Coast, but they have not seen how widespread it is.
What we are seeing, is long lines at the few open gas stations, long lines waiting for ice, water, and food.
We are seeing people dumping the entire contents of their refrigerators and freezer because the food has spoiled without electricity.
We are seeing heat exhaustion. Our every day is like a heat wave. It is 95 degrees today, with 78% humidity. Today is actually a better day than normal, humidity-wise.
We are seeing desperation. Tempers are flaring because people are so hot and hungry and thirsty.
We are seeing our brothers and sisters in Louisiana and Mississippi come to us for help, but we don't have help to give them yet.
It is wonderful that the United States government is sending so much help to us. It is a beautiful thing to hear that other countries have pledged to help us.
It is beautiful to me...and to you....because we can see it on television.
But in reality, the aid is just not here yet.
by Lori Seaborg 11:59 AM - Sep. 1, 2005 - comments {3} - post commentWhere is the Aid?Michael Chertoff, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security is giving a live press conference right now. He says that millions of meals have been sent, water has been sent, thousands of National Guards have been sent to these areas.
Meanwhile, in Mobile County, Alabama, the lines to receive water, ice, and MREs (meals ready to eat) are literally miles long. The supplies are running out within hours, and we are being told to return tomorrow. And tomorrow. Tempers are rising, trouble is brewing, people are getting desperate.
Mobile County has around 750,000 residents of its own, and has been significantly damaged by the hurricane. Much of the county is still without electricity.
Mobile County is just across the border from Mississippi, so thousand of Mississippians are coming into Mobile County to find gas or aid. But we have nothing to give them, the homeless refugees, because there is not enough aid to go around.
When you hear the Department of Homeland Security say that so much relief has been dispatched to our area, it sounds like we are fine down here.
But when you see the miles of people waiting in the 95 degree heat for gas, water, and food, you have to wonder: Where is the aid?
10:50 AM - Sep. 1, 2005 - comments {1} - post commentAlabama Online InformationHelp Alabama This site is not particularly helpful, but you may want to look at it for a little information on Alabama. If you are curious how close my house is to the water, look for Clay City on this map, just up from Bon Secour Bay. The refugees from Louisiana and Mississippi in Baldwin County are currently being held at the Robertsdale Coliseum. I will be working there, on a shift with the Red Cross. You can see I-10 on the map also, connecting Florida to California. Thousands of refugees came to our area through that Interstate.
Serve Alabama : The Governor of Alabama's site for Faith Based and Community Initiatives. This site lists way you can volunteer or donate to Alabama hurricane victims
Open Your Home: On the day of Hurricane Katrina's landfall, a local radio station in Pensacola, Florida broadcasted calls from listeners. Callers were dialing into the station live, talking about the hurricane. One caller dialed in and asked if there was anyone willing to take him and his family into their home. He had fled Mississippi and had no where to go. He had dogs with him, he said, and the shelters do not accept animals. Within minutes, the radio station was overwhelmed by the dozens of people who called with open homes. Living rooms, extra bedrooms, and entire houses were offered. One woman even offered a corner of her FEMA-provided trailer. We all went through Hurricane Ivan last September, so this is a generous area. I just love it that so many are willing to offer homes to strangers!
Alabama's Governor Bob Riley : Messages from the Governor of Alabama about the hurricane, and about how Alabama is helping our own and other states.
Local Message Board : from WPMI, a Mobile, Alabama news station. People from Mississippi and Alabama often write, asking for information on loved ones.
See the stations below for photos and video footage on the disaster:
WKRG : Mobile, Alabama news station
WPMI : Mobile, Alabama news station
WALA : Mobile, Alabama news station
More links to come, I'm sure! Until then, thank you for reading and thank you for helping!
by Lori Seaborg 10:46 AM - Sep. 1, 2005 - comments {0} - post commentHurricane Katrina: How to Help UsThe local churches have opened their doors to Hurricane Katrina refugees from Louisiana and Mississippi. There are hundreds and hundreds of them. There is no places for the refugees to stay, so our churches have welcomed them, often with the help of the Red Cross. I am so proud to live in the Bible Belt, where there are many generous churches. We all went through Hurricane Ivan last September, which hit us dead on. We are a more generous community than I think we would have been a year ago.
Our area is affected by Hurricane Katrina, too, but we are already healing. Our electricity is being restored, a few gas stations are pumping, the phones are being fixed, and the stores are slowly reopening. The roads are being repaired. Some houses are totally destroyed, but we can rebuild. We have hope, unlike many of the refugees.
Tomorrow, our family will cross the Florida border into Alabama and return home after having been in my hometown of Pensacola, Florida for two nights to wait for our electricity and phone to be restored at home.
Tim still can't go back to his job, but we feel that we are needed back in Alabama to help the victims. Tim's place of employment is still flooded and the beaches where he worked are ruined. So, he is going to make good use of his free time, and take some tools, gas, Fix-A-Flat and water up and down I-10 (this road runs from Florida to California) until he runs out of gas or money. After Hurricane Ivan, we had 5 flat tires in just two weeks. There isn't a federal program for that!
A couple of you sent me money to help the refugees. I plan to volunteer at a local church shelter, and I will make sure your money gets to the ones who need it for gas and food to get back home to Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. We will also keep an eye out for those who may need your cash while we are on the road.
Some of you have asked what else the victims need. I'll first tell you what the organizations provided, based on my first-hand experience in Hurricane Ivan. The Red Cross provided shelters and food and water. The Salvation Army provided hot food and water. The Southern Baptists provided laundry services, debris removal, and hot meals. FEMA provided ice, water, and meals-ready-to-eat. After a couple of weeks, they provided trailers for those who did not have a home. Later, much later, they provided cash reimbursements for evacuating and for food loss, but the aid was sporadic.
Based on that, you can see a big gap. There is nobody providing diapers, non-perishable foods, shampoo, formula, body wash, cleaning supplies, toiletries, children's toys, and items such as those. Nobody has a program for handing out clothing.
If you want to get those items to me, I can get them into the hands of the churches (the Church of Christ is one) and organizations who will be willing to pass them out. I can also put the items into the hands of the refugees that I will personally see at the shelter.
If you want to donate cash online, see my donate link on the home page of this blog. Please don't apologize for a small amount. We are handing this out as cash, so any amount is helpful. Even $5 can buy a hot meal for one person.
If you want to mail a check or mail items, send them to me at:
Lori Seaborg 18930 Highland Drive Fairhope, Alabama 36532
I'm not a charity organization, keep in mind. But I promise on my Bible that I will be honest with your money and your donated items.
I think that with our first-hand knowledge of what hurricane victims need, and with your generosity, we can help quite a number of people.
Thank you so much! by Lori Seaborg 12:44 AM - Sep. 1, 2005 - comments {0} - post commentHurricane Katrina Aid UpdateIt's hard for me to even comprehend, when I visit the HomeschoolBlogger portal page, that many of you are able to blog about normal life. It's hard to conceive that everyone in America is not affected by Hurricane Katrina. This disaster feels so large to us, that we assume everyone is talking about it, blogging about it, thinking about it. I think we kind of hope someone would notice.
Do you all know that the mayor of New Orleans now thinks that there may be thousands dead? This is our tsunami, America!
It is amazing how little aid there is here, two days after Katrina left. In Mobile, hundreds of cars lined up for miles, clogging up the roads, to wait for water and ice. Hundreds of them were turned away when the supply quickly ran out.
The local police are working 12 hour shifts on and off. Nobody gets to take a day off. They are trying to maintain order when the traffic lights are not working, the few gas stations have miles of customers waiting in the roads, and tempers are flaring in the heat.
There is not yet any food being distrubuted here. It's "on the way," something we've heard for two days now.
The national news is not covering our tragedy 24/7, like they do other disasters. I wonder how many bodies will have to be recovered before they do?
On the positive side, you can count on the electric companies to pull together. Electricity is being restored. I just called our neighbor, on the Florida-Alabama border, and the power has just been turned back on at our home. We left home to come to Pensacola, Florida yesterday after feeling sick from the heat, with no power at home. Down here, we have a "heat wave" every day in August, so air conditioning is pretty important. Especially for babies. We weren't able to save all of our freezer food, though. That' s a lot of money lost. Almost every home here has that story.
President Bush is going to address the nation at 4pm CST today. Thank God for that! We want someone to finally notice us at the national level.
We hear that the federal aid is going to start.
The Navy is sending ships of supplies into our ports from Virginia. That kind of news brings tears to my patriotic eyes. We will love to see those ships come into our broken ports.
The president is going to release the Nation's gas reserves for us. We are so happy to hear that, because even when power is restored, we feared that we still would not have gas. Our oil comes from Mississippi and Louisiana, both of which can no longer supply us.
The Pentagon is sending 10,000 troops.
It's easy to get judgmental about why people didn't evacuate, but I can understand why. Many of the people don't have transportation, many of them are sick or elderly or weak, many of them do not have the money to pay for the gas to drive an entire state away because the hotels are filled. Many cannot afford a hotel. There are not enough shelters open in a storm. And there is not door-to-door free transportation to take one to a shelter.
I have many stories of broken families, and will keep you updated. One of the most heartbreaking was a man in Gulfport, Mississippi who was walking amongst the rubble. Our local news reporter found him.
He said, "I don't know what to do. I don't know where to go. I can't find my wife."
The news reporter asked, "You've lost your wife? Did she get separated from you?"
He said, "My house split in two. I was holding my wife's hand. She said, 'You can't keep holding me up. Take care of the kids. I love you.' Then her hand slipped from mine, and now I can't find her body."
"What are you going to do now?"
"I don't know what to do. I'm just....I'm lost, I guess."
A couple of you sent in some money due to my post on how to donate gas and food money to refugees. Thank you for that. On our way back home tomorrow, we will see many refugees on Interstate 10 and will get your money to them so they can buy enough gas to drive to relatives in other states, or so that they can get a meal from a restaurant.
You may also send non-perishables and children's clothing, and I will distribute them.
Mobile, Alabama is the biggest city on I-10 East of New Orleans, so thousands of refugees are here, in our streets, in our parking lots, and in our churches and shelters that are opening up for them. In Pensacola, Florida, (our home is between these two cities), hundreds of refugees have come. Our church, We will be hosts to the Hurricane Katrina victims from Louisian and Mississippi for many weeks to come.
by Lori Seaborg 7:43 PM - Aug. 31, 2005 - comments {0} - post commentHelp Hurricane Katrina RefugeesIn my other post, I mentioned that I could distribute cash from you to the thousands of Hurricane Katrina refugees in my area. Click here if you want to donate cash.
I could also distribute children's clothing, diapers, formula, or non-perishable foods, if you want to send them instead of cash.
Our mail system reopened today, so we can accept packages at :
Lori Seaborg 18930 Highland Drive Fairhope, AL 36532
by Lori Seaborg 12:40 PM - Aug. 31, 2005 - comments {0} - post commentCan You Trust Me? Help Hurricane Katrina RefugeesHelp Hurricane Katrina Refugees
Can you trust me?
I have been trying to think of how to help the hurricane victims.
People are flowing into our area, and apparently our counties and cities never considered this. For a reason I cannot understand, the Mobile Civic Center, home to many evacuees, closed its doors at 10am this morning and told the evacuees that they had to leave. There are excuses, such as that the parked cars around the Civic Center cause logistical problems for bringing food and ice to that area. That is just an excuse. It could be so easily solved. A woman who was told to leave the Civic Center said, "Where will I go? I have nowhere to go." She sobbed into the camera, pleading for information about her 8-year-old son who was left in New Orleans with his father. She kept saying, "I don't have anywhere to go, but I don't care. Just bring me my baby. I want my baby." Even the male news reporter had to choke up at that one. A man who had to leave the Mobile Civic Center, said, "We haven't had a meal in 2 days. We are out of gas money. How are we supposed to pay for gas? Where do we go, without a home?"
The Pensacola Civic Center is housing many evacuees, but they say that they will close their doors by this weekend. Events have been scheduled, and the Civic Center wants the evacuees out, so they can prepare.
We have evacuees lining our roads and waiting under our overpasses. They are in our store parking lots, waiting. And waiting. They will wait for a long time to come. it is unbearably hot here, 95 degrees with high humidity today. There is a shortage of free food, water, and ice.
FEMA only brought 2 trucks of water and ice to Daphne, Alabama today ("home" to many evacuees, on I-10, across Mobile Bay). By 9:40am, all of the ice and water was gone. Food will finally come today to hard-hit Mobile County, two days after the storm, but only to specific locations. When the aid comes, the lines to receive aid are literally miles and miles long. How are the refugees supposed to wait hours in their car, using up precious gas, for food and water? How are the refugees supposed to even find the aid in an unfamiliar town?
Keep in mind that many of these people are America's poorest. They somehow managed to find a car to get this far, but with gas prices so high, they can no longer pay for gas to go on down the road. They have no money for fast food, even when our restaurants are open. They only have the clothes that they brought with themselves, in the rush to leave their homes (we did not have more than two days warning with this storm). Many of these people, our poor, do not have credit cards to max out. They not only have no jobs now, but they were living paycheck-to-paycheck, so they have no money in the near future.
Tim and I have had many financial blows in our 13 years together. We have weathered many storms, had our electricity go out many times, lost possessions over and over. We know what it's like to be poor.
Do you know what it's like to be poor?
I am in a unique position to help, and I can do so, if you can trust me. We do not have electricity or phone at our house, we have four little ones, and Tim lost his job due to the hurricane (he worked in Gulf Shores, Alabama, which is still under floods), so the only way that we can help is with your assistance. But it may be a blessing to not be tied down to a job. We can, with your partnership, drive around and help these refugees in our area.
If you want to help, I'm setting up a PayPal donate account (click on the "Donate" button, above). I promise you that you can trust me. I will get your money into the very hands of the victims. I will ask the evacuees where they are from, and I will make sure they need help. And I will put your money in their hands and tell them it is from you. I'll blog their stories back to you. I will keep track, and return any money that is not used for the victims. I will stop accepting money as soon as there are no more victims to help. I will email you, if you'd like, to let you know what I did with your specific money.
If your children want to give, I will hand their money to my 10-year-old and 8-year-old to hand out to victims. We can email your children and let them know where the money went.
I will help the people who have evacuated to Pensacola, Florida right now. As soon as I can return home (we do not yet have electricity or phone at home), I will help the evacuees in Baldwin County, Alabama, and in Mobile County, Alabama, along Interstate 10, where thousands have come. I will go to the gas stations, where the refugees are trying to buy gas. Many of them are sleeping at the gas stations. I will go to the Red Cross shelters and find out who may need financial help to travel.
Your money will not buy these people lodging. There is no lodging available. But your money will buy them food. Our stores are opening, more each day. Your money will buy gas for them so they can return home, or so that they can continue to move down the road. Some of the evacuees want to go to see family far away, in Michigan or Indiana, or North Carolina. Your money will get them into the arms of loved ones.
I know I sound a little like an infomercial, and I wish I didn't. I'm just so desperate to help these people and feel helpless. I can't believe they are right here, in my hometown. I can't believe how desperate they are.
Please don't feel obligated. But if you want to help, click on the donation button above. It will go to Treasures Planted, which is my old PayPal account I used to use when I had a business website. I will give you an accounting of your money, but please be patient. We will be traveling throughout the area and may not be able to email you quickly.
Please email me at seaborgs@Bellsouth.net, if you have any questions, or post a comment here for a quicker response. by Lori Seaborg 11:38 AM - Aug. 31, 2005 - comments {0} - post commentHurricane Katrina AftermathI love a good storm, but this one.... no, none of us liked this one...
Hurricane Katrina
We are broken, wishing that what we are seeing is unreal. Wishing that they weren't telling us that they keep finding bodies, wishing that houses were still standing, and roads were already fixed. We are wishing the water would recede. We wish that the curfews would lift and that stores would open. We wish we could get gas. We wish that the businesses we enjoyed and places that we loved have not been taken from us.
At home, we feel that we weathered the storm pretty well. We lost some branches, the river flooded (Backwards! A very strange site, to see the river flow upstream, because of the storm surge, which is very much like a tsunami-type flood), and we did have hurricane-force winds. Tim can't go to work since he works on the beach, which is now covered in sand and floods. But we fared worse with a job loss last August (our sole income), with Hurricane Ivan last September, with the record flood in April, with Tropical Storms Arlene and Cindy in June, and with Hurricane Dennis last month. With all of that experience behind us, we feel that we did fine with Hurricane Katrina. Or maybe we're just numb.
Even in our town, others were not so blessed. Homes just five miles away are still completely covered in water. A church lost its roof. The farmer a quarter mile away lost huge portions of his barn. The main employer in town, The Grande Hotel of Pointe Clear, has had such major damage from flooding, that its 1,000 employees will be jobless, which impacts the community financially in days to come.
In our county, businesses are slowly opening. Today, as power slowly turned on, there were a few gas stations open. The homes are starting to get power turned on. Our house does not yet have power, so this afternoon, we fled 50 miles and used up precious gas to get to my parents' home in Florida. At home, we were losing all of our freezer and fridge food (something we can't afford) without electricity, and it was 94 degrees (all humid!) today - a hot day to not have air conditioning. I don't mind homesteading it a bit, but not in such heat with four little ones.
We cannot believe that only seven days ago, Katrina was just another unnamed tidal wave in the Atlantic. We can't believe that the water rose high enough to cause record flooding in nearby Mobile, Alabama, one of America's oldest cities. In Bayou La Batre, Alabama, the place where Forrest Gump finally got his shrimp boat, survivors are searching through the debris. Toady, a shrimper was helping another man search through the rubble. He was missing his brother. Dauphin Island, Alabama had miles of beach wiped off the map. A woman found out that the home that has been in her family for 47 years is gone now. Vanished. Others will find the same. Only 1 in 10 homes is still standing on that island. On the Mississippi coast, they are finding homes that look like matchsticks, and bodies in the debris. A five-year-old boy was standing in the debris, lost. Someone tried to help him, but the boy didn't know his parents name or his address. He did know his new teacher's name. Somehow, through that connection, they figured out where the little boy lived. When they reached the rubble of his home, they found his parents were dead. In New Orleans, the water keeps flowing. The city that we all love, the most unique city in all of America, with a deep history and a beautiful culture, is drowning. Under Interstate overpasses, hundreds of people are sleeping tonight. Like you'd see a homeless person do. Which is what they are now. They could not evacuate, many of them. They didn't have the money, or the transportation, or the strength. Now they are under an overpass, getting bitten by mosquitoes and trying to bear with the heat and the humidity. And the fear.
Evacuees from Mississippi and Louisiana are here, thousands of them, in South Alabama and North Florida. Our counties are trying to figure out what to do with them. There is not electricity in our areas, and there are not many volunteers since much of our area evacuated, too. But the evacuees can't get enough gas to go on down the road. Some of them stop at the one open gas station, and say, "We just can't put the children through this any more. Please find us somewhere to stay." The news reporters are being offered a handful of hundred dollar bills for a tank of gas. The hotels are filled to capacity for those who can afford to pay. Our civic centers are opening tonight for weary travelers. The Red Cross is opening shelters. On one radio station this morning, caller after caller offered their home, their living room, an extra bedroom, and even a corner of a FEMA trailer, to the evacuees.
We all went through Hurricane Ivan last September. We know how the refugees feel, so our desire to be generous is great. But, then again, maybe we don't know how they feel . We were able to get back to our hometown within 4 days of the storm. We only lost a couple dozen people in the storm. These refugees don't know when they will be able to return. Their devastation is worse than ours. Their body count is highter. The refugees are weary. They are worried about their homes. They are worried about their families and their neighbors, who stayed in the danger zones. We have to help them. And we will.
by Lori Seaborg
Our local news runs 24/7, trying to keep us updated on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. You can watch live streaming video online.
For more information on New Orleans and photos, visit this site.
You won't believe these pictures. This is where the eye of Hurricane Katrina hit, after it tapped the tip of Louisiana. I can't believe this happened in our country, much less in an area I know very well. This area of Mississippi was just beautiful, with historical plantation homes lined along the waterfront, live oaks in the front yards. It was a military area, home of the Hurricane Hunters (see my last post). It was also the home of Methuselah, the oldest live oak in America, believed to have been 2000 years old, and a survivor of Hurricane Camille in 1969. I don't know if the oak still stands.
12:37 AM - Aug. 31, 2005 - comments {0} - post commentHurricane Katrina LandfallHurricane Katrina is our unwelcome guest this morning. I can hear her fury against our windows and brick walls. We feel safe, in our brick home in a valley. The winds are mostly in the tall trees above us.
Our power is flickering, so I better keep this short so that you'll get it.
Thought I'd send you a photo. You'll see my chickens in the photo. They were on our front porch, but when the wind became too strong for them there, they went to lower ground and are staying near the azalea bushes.
The river is in the photo, too. It's a tidal river, so the storm surge has already raised it a bit and will do more today. We expect it to flood quite a bit, which is why the chickens are loose.
I'm a weary soul this morning, so forgive me for not being more upbeat.
Lori Seaborg
8:25 AM - Aug. 29, 2005 - comments {0} - post commentA Homeschool Lesson on HurricanesHurricane Katrina has already made a bit of an entrance into our lives this afternoon. We had a sunny, blue-skied morning, but around 11am I noticed obvious bands of white clouds in a large swirl. Those are the outer bands of Hurricane Katrina. Now, it is overcast and already breezy.
We should have tropical storm force winds later tonight and more tomorrow. Tomorrow, we may have hurricane-force winds, also, depending upon where landfall occurs.
I've already let the 19 chickens loose. They are happily roaming around. They've gone through 2 hurricanes and 2 tropical storms just in this year, so I know they will be fine. We've made other preparations, such as catching up on laundry, clearing the yard, moving the van next to the house, filling up water containers, etc.
If you'd like to study hurricanes with your children, I found some sites while gathering more information on Katrina:
Hurricane Hunters: These are the military men and women who fly into the hurricane every three hours to give us updates. We cling to their knowledge while waiting for a storm! This site seems written for children to learn, so it's a good one for you to look at with your kids. On the site is a neat feature: Cyberflight into the Eye
(note: The Hurricane Hunters live on and fly out of a base in Mississippi. They are themselves affected by this hurricane, Katrina. They've moved their airplanes to Houston, so this time, they are flying from there to track the storm)
National Coast Guard Storm Center
National Hurricane Center : Includes information on past hurricanes and statistics about hurricanes. We use this site often when a storm comes. This site is the first to post updates from the Hurricane Hunters as they land.
Hurricane Ivan from the Pensacola News Journal : This Category 3 (it was just a mile or two per hour below a Category 4) storm hit my hometown of Pensacola, Florida on September 15, 2005. The site has many awesome photos, which show how devestating Ivan was to all of us. We are still fixing things that Ivan broke!
Hurricane Katrina: local information on tomorrow's storm, Katrina
I'll let you know how we do! We always lose our power, though (I can't for the life of me figure out why they don't just put underground power cables all along the Gulf Coast!), so you may not hear from me for a little while.
by Lori Seaborg 9:30 AM - Aug. 28, 2005 - comments {0} - post commentHurricane Katrina is Coming
Hurricane Katrina is stalking us. If she affects our area (around Monday?), it will be three major hurricanes (Ivan, Dennis, Katrina) and two tropical storms (Arlene, Cindy) to hit us in just one year.
If you are keeping up with the news, and want to know just how much Hurricane Katrina may affect us, we are located on the Florida/Alabama border, just 10 miles or so north of Gulf Shores, Alabama and 4 miles from the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay (The Weather Channel is in town today!). Go to the National Hurricane Center website, if you want to turn this into a homeschool lesson!
You never know about hurricanes, whether they'll come or not; and if they do come, you don't know whether they'll affect you greatly or not. Still, you must get prepared.
On the positive side, there's something nice about all this preparation: the yard debris gets picked up and put away; the chickens get to roam freely, which they love (we live on a river and have to assume it will flood); the laundry gets done in case the power will go out; the pantry gets stocked in case we are stuck at home for quite a while. I posted once on preparing for a hurricane, so today I will look at that list and work on it.
Before I begin preparing for Hurricane Katrina, I wanted to let you know that I've posted a few more sites that have great forms for your Household Notebook. Go to the post on Creating a Household Notebook to see the list.
I'd like to work on these notebooks with you today, it looks like Katrina has changed my plans.
by Lori Seaborg 9:29 AM - Aug. 27, 2005 - comments {0} - post comment
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Description This is a blog on Hurricane Katrina, written by Lori Seaborg of the Keeping the Home blog. My family and I wtnessed the hurricane in our home on the Florida-Alabama Gulf Coast. Since my family is safe, and my home is undamaged, it is time to help others. I will keep you up-to-date on local information, and ways that you can specifically help the hurricane victims. Home User Profile Archives Recent Entries - Katrina Emergency Relief Act of 2005 - SurvivedKatrina.org - Rita - Hurricane Rita - Camping Out - D'Iberville (North Biloxi) Mississippi |
