1.9.05
From our friend whose husband works in the insurance industry and has been traveling around parts of NOLA yesterday:My friends from English turn are doing the same thing - registering the kids for school in Birmingham AL and looking for a furnished apartment to rent.
He was in N.O. today - well mostly Metairie and Kenner and the Westbank. He went in with a National Guard convoy. He went by your sisters home and will send some pictures when we can, we could not remember the exact house - but looks good in general. He did not think there had even been water in the houses there although alot of downed trees and power lines. His mom was in a similar situation just further down the road past the Mall. His sisters home on the other side of I-10 and veterans had gotten about 2 feet of water by his estimation from the outside and some tree damage to the front of the house. And my brother who is right next to the 17th canal on the Metairie side was dry also. Neal walked up onto the top of the levee at the canal and said everything on the N.O. side was under water. It looked like a lake, but the water was running out of the canal toward lake P. He did not get Uptown, but will try again tomorrow or the next day as he was running out of gas and daylight. He did say some friends at the port right on the Mississippi are dry. He said people were being brought to the galleria by helicopter and then getting on buses heading out of the city. He said there was nobody but him driving around, several folks walking about, but no electricity, water or food in sight. Lakeside Mall took some roof and wind damage and so did the buildings up by the lake behind lakeside. He does not know how to get to his Dad's house in N.O. East, it appears to be completely cut off.