Penguin
9/2/2008, 12:51 PM
Baton Rouge was devastated by Gustav. This is the worst damage the city has ever suffered. That includes Katrina, Andrew, Betsy, and the Battle of Baton Rouge.
Over 90% of the city lost power. Over 60% of the traffic signals have been knocked down or destroyed.
Check out this power outage map: http://demco.maps.sienatech.com/ This is from DEMCO, the 2nd largest electric company in town. As of this posting, only 4.35% of their customers have power.
I know my sister lost power very early on and then lost water when a downed tree destroyed the neighborhood's water main. I can't get thru to her today on the phone. I'm not overcome with worry, though. They were prepared. Also, her in-laws have a huge generator, so they have a air conditioned place to go to.
Luckily, most relief agencies were using Baton Rouge as a launch pad to help NO if needed, so I hope they stay in town and help.
One thing that really moved me is what I saw last night. I was watching a live feed from BR's channel 2 and they showed the Exxon refinery located north of the city. It was lit up like a Christmas tree, then the camera panned to the right where the city should be. Nothing. Pitch black.
Over 90% of the city lost power. Over 60% of the traffic signals have been knocked down or destroyed.
Check out this power outage map: http://demco.maps.sienatech.com/ This is from DEMCO, the 2nd largest electric company in town. As of this posting, only 4.35% of their customers have power.
I know my sister lost power very early on and then lost water when a downed tree destroyed the neighborhood's water main. I can't get thru to her today on the phone. I'm not overcome with worry, though. They were prepared. Also, her in-laws have a huge generator, so they have a air conditioned place to go to.
Luckily, most relief agencies were using Baton Rouge as a launch pad to help NO if needed, so I hope they stay in town and help.
One thing that really moved me is what I saw last night. I was watching a live feed from BR's channel 2 and they showed the Exxon refinery located north of the city. It was lit up like a Christmas tree, then the camera panned to the right where the city should be. Nothing. Pitch black.