They're All Going to Visit Relatives?

CNN reports that the Astrodome is full and is not accepting any more refugees.

A reader asked a question a few minutes ago that seems to me a very important one: How can she help plot escape routes out of New Orleans given the information available on the Internet?

Could you direct me to a blog or outline a process whereby I might assist my sister and brother-in-law plan/plot a car route out of NOLA in the next few days?

They are on the "Esplanade Ridge", right below the Fairgrounds, and have not been flooded, thankfully.  I'm trying to keep an eye on the flood levels to be able to inform them from this end (New Jersey).

Which is the best satellite source for monitoring daily levels?

The first post-Katrina satellite maps came out only in the last day or so, so real-time satellite monitoring of flooding is probably out of the question. A really detailed topo map would help, but would work better in combination with access to recent satellite photos that would tip you off to missing infrastructure. I've heard that the water in the city moves with the tides, so tide charts would be helpful: cover lower-lying areas at low tide. Other ideas?

Living Next to the Levee
Also in my email this evening, I got this note and picture:

I just want to say thank-you for posting the Levee Break pictures.

In 1998 I was Director of Telecommunications for Entergy.  I rode out Hurricane Georges in the house located at 6812 Belaire Dr. NOLA.  In the attached picture you can see our backyard being the spot where the Levee broke at the 17th Street Canal.  The picture is oriented with East being the top.  There is either one or two houses complete gone just north of our house.  Directly across the levee is Bucktown to the west which looks now relatively dry, but was flooded during the storm based on other satellite photos.

Today on CNN, they were dropping sandbags directly in our backyard trying to fix the break.  The Levee has been completely built up since we left in 99. You see see the Levee wall is relatively new cement.

It is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts are with all of our friends in Nawlins.

Fritz

And here is the picture that came with it:

Wow.

Not the Rapture
To anyone from the Washington Post reading this, can you PLEASE can the moralizing in the photo captions of your otherwise excellent photo galleries?

How can you even consider publishing passages like People who had resisted early evacuation orders, including many elderly and infirm . . . ? Age, infirmity, and poverty are lifestyle choices? This is a natural disaster, not the Rapture.

9/5 UPDATE: Boingboing reports:

The Coast Guard has set up links on its Homeport website so that people can request a rescue for a specific missing or stranded person in the area affected by Katrina.

Wow. That's great. I hope the rescues actually take place if you request one. But that's a huge improvement on the previous situation.