Tropical Cyclone Yasi slams into Queensland, Australia

What is being called the "Cyclone of the Century," Yasi is now coursing its way through Queensland. It was reported to be a Category 5 storm as it approached landfall.  In its wake, it dealt a powerful "blow" to the midsection of the Australia sugarcane industry, causing world sugar futures prices to reach 30-year-high levels.  Australia is the 3rd largest exporter of sugar in the world.  I have had the good fortune of visiting Queensland twice during my career.  Between the two trips, I have been lucky enough to have traveled by road from Cape Tribulation near the top of Queensland, all the way south to Mackay, then by air to Bundaberg and eventually to Brisbane. Queensland is indeed a very large state.  So to see the size of Cyclone Yasi relative to the size of Queensland, for me, was amazing.  Yasi came on shore just south of Cairns where Dr. Anna Hale and I recently visited (see blog entry "Trip to Australia," dated 30 Aug 2009).  The life cycle of sugarcane in Australia in early February, would be equivalent to our sugarcane in early August.  Like our sugarcane, the greatest damage from a storm like this will probably be more from the water than from the wind, water that sugarcane farmers in Australia certainly didn't need, considering the extensive flooding that they have already experienced.  Something to remember when looking at the path of a cyclone south of the equator, is that the south side is the "bad" side, as it travels from east to west.  Intuitively, we would think of it as being on the north side,  but a southern cyclone spins clockwise, causing the surge of water to be on the opposite side from what we normally expect.  The last word I heard is that Cairns came through this major storm better than most expected.  Residents of Cairns and surrounding communities were benefited by being on the "good" side of the storm.  Further south at Mission Beach, which took the most direct hit, the devastation has been described as "apocalyptic."  The coastal town of Cardwell, a few kilometers south of Mission Beach, was described as having been "wiped off the map."

Remembering Katrina five years later

In one of my earliest posts after starting this blog, I promised to post some images I took while assisting in the cleanup in the New Orleans area.  I had at least six opportunities to go into New Orleans to assist in removing fallen trees, gutting ruined homes, and cleaning up debris in neighborhoods, following the big hurricane.  Some of the visual images of the devastation will stay with me for a lifetime.  Five months after Katrina, members of  our stake, including myself, assisted in a cleanup project in Chalmette (east side of New Orleans).  One month later, members of our ward, including myself, were involved in gutting Dennis and Michelle Pixton's home Chalmette.  They lost everything and moved to Houma to restart their life.  I have included a brief PowerPoint presentation of these experiences.

Chalmette

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Pixton home

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Update on Bonnie

Welcome news!  Bonnie looks to be far less of a threat to Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes than it was only 24 hours ago.  It is presently only a tropical depression after having passed across Florida.  Because of how fast it is traveling, and given its present trajectory, it will likely just barely return to tropical storm status before making landfall again.  It is now projected to make landfall at the Louisiana/Mississippi border.  We may get a little extra rain out of this storm system, and that's about it.  It remains to be seen how the oil remaining in the Gulf is affected by this storm.  Even though the storm is now projected to go north of the original source of the spill site, it really depends on where most of the oil is located as to whether the storm will help or hurt the situation. 

The big local story is that there will be a benefit concert on the Grand Isle tomorrow (Saturday, July 24), rain or sunshine, in lieu of the Annual Tarpon Rodeo (fishing event).  This alternate event will be huge for the beleaguered Grand Isle residents.  Too bad Lori and James couldn't be here for that.  They would have loved it.

My Bonnie lies over the ocean

My Bonnie lies over the ocean
My Bonnie lies over the sea

I can tell by the path she's a takin'
She wants to come visit me

The good news...Tropical Storm Bonnie will not likely reach hurricane status.

The bad news...Bonnie will disrupt oil cleanup operations, and may inflict further ecological damage beyond that which has already occurred as a result of the Oil Spill, if it continues to follow its projected path.

Gov. Bobby Jindal has already declared a state of emergency in Louisiana in preparation for the storm.  He is urging everyone in Louisiana to visit www.GetAGamePlan.org ASAP to make a game plan for their family.

Deep Horizon Oil Spill following Hurricane Alex

Even though Hurricane Alex was over 750 miles away, it had a substantial impact on the weather, the wind, and the wave action in the Deep Horizon Oil Spill-affected area of the Gulf.  I pulled up a map of the oil spill on Intellicast around 4:00 p.m. this afternoon (see pic) and noticed that the spill has moved onto the beaches of all four affected states.  On the Louisiana side, the spill has moved beyond Grand Isle toward Cocodrie.  Workers are doing everything they can to prevent the spill from going into Lake Bourne between New Orleans and the Mississippi coastline, then Lake Pontchartrain, the very large lake north of New Orleans.  They are doing everything they can to minimize impact to the Barataria Estuary on the other side of New Orleans.  The challenge has been the wave action and the storm surge of over six feet that Alex brought...as far away as it is.  If we have a hurricane season like 2005 or 2008, heaven help us.

It's official...our house is for sale

...and so is everyone else's...

Hurricane season begins tomorrow

Living in southern Louisiana has its positives and its negatives. Chief among its negatives are the unpleasant high-humidity summers and having to contend with another hurricane season which officially starts tomorrow. Remember Gustav last year? It went right through Houma. Not only did it leave the community in a mess, it wasn't too kind to scientists conducting field-oriented research either. Several experiments at our Research Unit had to be postponed for another year. During graduate school days in Minnesota, the main temperature effect we talked about was the wind chill factor or wind chill index during the winter time. If it was cold outside, the wind made it feel like it was a whole lot colder.

In southern Louisiana, the main temperature effect we talk about in the summer is the heat index. So if it is hot, and then you add humidity with the heat, the body responds as though it is a lot hotter than what the thermometer would indicate. As shown in the graph, it feels like 100 F or more during the hottest part of the day through the months of June, July, and August even though the temperature rarely reaches 95 F. Foremost in the local news is the urgent need for greater hurricane protection and coastal restoration projects. At the Houma Today website, one of the featured videos in the VIDEOS section entitled "America's Wetland," has some footage describing a rally that is being held at the downtown marina in Houma today to raise awareness about the serious loss of wetland along Louisiana's coastline. One of the comments was that "Some people call Houma ground zero. We call it zero ground, because this is THE place where the most land is being lost."

Army of LDS volunteers provide hurricane relief in and around Houma

We had an exciting weekend. Quoting HoumaToday.com, "A yellow-shirted army of faith came to Houma and neighboring communities this weekend, with nearly 1,400- volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveling to the area to lend a hand with hurricane-relief cleanup projects." Anyone driving along Hwy 311 may have seen tents on the grounds of the LDS Church near Savanne Road or at the Living Word Church still under construction near Interstate 30. Staging site for the event was at the Living Word Church. Prior to the launching of the work, volunteers got to hear from Elder John Anderson (a high-ranking representative of the LDS church), Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet, Louisiana Senate President Joel Chaisson II, and Martin Luther King III (eldest son of MLK Jr.). Kevin Voisin, VP of Motivatit Seafood, played an active role in organizing the Mormon Helping Hands volunteer event, and in identifying needs. When United Houma Nation Chief Brenda Dardar-Robichaux got involved, the effort took on a whole new dimension. The United Houma Nation is affiliated with King's Realizing the Dream campaign, which seeks to assist and empower disadvantaged communities. Brenda called King, who, in turn, sought help from the LDS Church because of their ability to organize large numbers of volunteers for efforts such as this on short notice, and within days, the large-scale project was organized with volunteers coming from throughout the southeastern U.S. for the weekend. On Saturday morning, I took some photos including the tents surrounding our Church and the activities going on at the Living Word Church staging site. Then it was time to roll away the camera, roll down my sleeves, and jump into the action. Early Sunday morning, there was a brief LDS service held at the Living Word Church, then volunteers continued their work throughout the morning, focusing heavily on areas further down the bayou (Dulac, Dularge, etc.). I was not involved on Sunday.

Hurricane Ike's devastation

Words cannot describe the devastation of storms like Hurricane Ike as well as pictures can. Check out the pictures of the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, taken mostly in Texas, that were and are continuing to be compiled by Gary and Teri Trayler of Corpus Christi, TX at their website. Thanks goes to my daughter Lori for bringing this website to my attention. Former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton have once again linked arms and established a fund, as they did after Hurricane Katrina and after the deadly tsunami that occurred in SE Asia. Supporting this fund, called the Bush Clinton Coastal Recovery Fund, will help communities and families living along the Gulf Coast that were affected by Hurricane Ike.

Making better use of disaster debris

In 2004, after Ivan the Terrible made landfall on the Gulf Coast between Mobile, AL and Pensacola, FL as a strong category 3 hurricane, I joined others in assisting in the cleanup in and around Pensacola. I couldn't believe the height that the tree debris was piled up on both sides of street after street as far as the eye could see. On some streets, I couldn't even see residents' homes behind the debris because it was piled so high. After Katrina, the sheer number and height of the piles of tree debris placed in open areas of New Orleans, such as in school football fields, was astounding. When I saw the damage done to trees in and around Houma after Gustav, there was no doubt that the same phenomenon of piling of debris was about happen once again (see above photo). I told some of my friends, watch how much debris gets piled on the streets in Houma, Thibodaux, and other severely affected areas. This leads to the question, "Where does all of this debris ultimately end up? Unfortunately, for the most part, no good use is made of it. Most of it is either burned up or removed out of the public eye to decompose. It is fitting that Biomass Magazine this month has a lead article that addresses this very issue, discussing the possible conversion of debris left behind by catastrophic events to more useful products. Detractors of biomass bring up energy costs associated with growing and harvesting biomass crops to convert to biofuels or to burn for electricity. In the case of debris, we have a readily available biomass source that is already sitting on the side of the road, waiting to be picked up and utilized, if we had appropriate infrastructure in place to deal with it. Another article in Biomass Magazine discusses a venture at Raceland Raw Sugars (a sugarcane milling operation located between Houma and New Orleans) to produce briquettes from excess sugarcane bagasse. Both articles directly address the all-important issue of transportion costs that currently prevents the utilization of potentially valuable biomass products that currently largely go to waste.

Ike's impact on Terrebonne Parish

While it is understandable that much of Hurricane Ike's impact in the gulf region is focused on Texas, it's impact on Louisiana should not be overlooked. In Terrebonne Parish alone, some 15,000 homes were swamped by storm surge created by Ike. Governor Jindal has been very vocal about the false economy of not taking action toward coastal restoration and strengthening the levee system, then spending fantastic amounts of money to repeatedly repair flooded homes and businesses. Rita was far more devastating in Terrebonne Parish than was Katrina in 2005. Similarly, even though Terrebonne Parish took a direct hit from Gustav, the flooding that was created by Ike will be harder to recover from. Imagine having a home flooded out by a hurricane, only to see it get flooded out again only three years later. Ike exacted a severe psychological blow to those living in vulnerable communities in lower Terrebonne Parish. Experts on coastal restoration point out that 40 years ago, Ike wouldn't have had anywhere near the impact that it did in 2008 in southern Louisiana. They also have pointed out that a stronger levee only two feet higher would have prevented almost all of the flooding that occurred in Terrebonne Parish.

Consider this. We will be paying in excess of $400 million to complete the 700-mile partially built border fence between Mexico and the U.S., not to mention the billions it costs each year to patrol the border. Perhaps we should take this money and spend it on coastal protection projects and let the illegals do the building. Sounds like a win-win solution to me.

Above picture was taken from the Houma Courier.

Post-Gustav Report

Here it is, Thursday evening, September 11, ten days after Hurricane Gustav roared through Louisiana, causing the largest evacuation of people in Louisiana’s history, and nearly half of the State to be without power. Although I evacuated to Thibodaux, only 25 minutes from Houma to be on higher ground, because Thibodaux is in Lafourche Parish, I could not officially return to Houma until Friday due to the curfew imposed on re-entering Terrebonne Parish to see what damage may have occurred to our property.

I stayed with our new Bishop, Chris Diket, and his family. I arrived Sunday morning at his house. By early Monday morning, we could hear the wind pick up, and by 10:00 am, Hurricane-force winds were slamming into Thibodaux. We could see the eye of the storm going over Houma on TV, and we knew it would be a matter of minutes before we would be without power. Chris’s daughters were looking out the front door when a carport ripped off from a house across the road and sheared an electric pole in half, causing the wires from the top half of the pole to dangle in the middle of the road, making the road in front of their house impassable. Large trees started falling on people’s homes. Shingles and other debris were flying everywhere.

After a few hours, the storm passed. It started raining fiercely, and the Diket home started springing so many leaks that there weren’t enough pots and pans to contain them. The wind was still blowing too hard for the Bishop and I to get on the roof to put a tarp over the most seriously damaged area. For the balance of the day, the Bishop was very busy answering phone calls. He had an hour-long conference call with New Orleans Stake President Scott Conlin and the other bishops in the Stake from 9:00 to 10:00 p.m. This was repeated every evening while I was in their home.

On Tuesday, the Bishop and I spent most of the day on the Bishop’s roof, tacking down shingles and tarpaper. I think we did a pretty good job of stopping the leaking.

On Wednesday, I sat in a line of cars for over two hours to get gas for the Bishop’s car, while the Bishop stood in a nearby line at Lowe’s to pick up some essentials. We rode around afterward to assess damage done at nearby members’ homes.

On Thursday evening, I found a back way into Houma and decided to see how well I could handle the night without air conditioning. I was amazed that there was no shingle damage at our house. Most of the neighborhood homes had shingle damage, some quite severe, but not a shingle was missing at our house. Staying overnight was pretty awful. I regretted that I didn’t stay a fifth night at the Dikets. My generator quit running properly after a while so I didn’t even have a fan running Thursday evening.

On Friday, I went to the work place, and was shocked to see the level of damage done to our greenhouses. I was equally shocked to see that six out of seven carts of breeding canes were healthy and green. How was this even possible, since we were all under mandatory evacuation? I fully expected the breeding canes to be dead or in very bad condition from lack of water. One of our senior technicians apparently stayed in the main building to ride out the storm, so he was on the premises to care for the plants. A big aluminum door that blew in from the front of the greenhouse damaged most of the plants on one cart. I helped move salvageable plants from this cart to an area where they could be hooked up to a watering system. I spent the balance of the day picking up glass after the above-mentioned technician had a shard of glass go 4-inches deep into the calf of his leg. Another scientist on site rushed him to the local hospital. Our Bishop found a used generator for me to use until we got our power back, which I was deeply grateful for. Nevertheless, I set up our tent in the evening and slept outdoors, and found the outdoors to be much more pleasant, because of greater airflow and temperature drop outdoors.

On Saturday, I learned of the severity of the damage done at the farm from Ed Dufrene. Apparently the shop area took a real beating. I went in to the work place for about four hours, spending the whole time picking up glass. After leaving work, I went directly to the church, amazingly getting there exactly when a shipment of supplies arrived from the Church, so I assisted in offloading the supplies from large trailer truck. In the evening, I slept in the tent again.

On Sunday, I picked up glass again at work for about 2-hrs, then cleaned up and went to church. We had church in a small room rather than in the main chapel area. We actually had about 1/4 our normal attendance. I was surprised that there was even that many people at church. I slept indoors this time with a fan blowing on me, and let some kids in our neighborhood sleep in the tent.

On Monday, one week out from Hurricane, we no still no power. We were given the entire week off at work, but several people volunteered to come in, to assist in the cleanup. Most of us spent the day picking up more glass. I stayed over at a friend’s house, to do my laundry, to watch Monday night football, and to have a comfortable night’s sleep.

On Tuesday, power was back. Hurray! No more generator noise! Blue tarps are everywhere on people’s roofs. Streets are 6-ft deep with piles of wood on both sides of the road for long stretches. Stores are crowded and half empty. We made a few crosses at work, worked on the automated irrigation system to accommodate the plants re-located a few days earlier.

On Wednesday, I picked Judy up at the airport. It’s good to have her back. Things are definitely starting to feel more normal now.

On Thursday, I finally have Internet service back. The wind is blowing at tropical storm strength outdoors to remind us that there is another hurricane out there in the gulf called Ike, and that we just barely passed the peak of the hurricane season.

Hurricane Gustav heading for Louisiana's Gulf Coast

To follow what I am following to keep up with the status of Hurricane Gustav, I recommend the following sites: National Hurricane Center; BoatUS (shows current wind fields); WDSU (New Orleans TV Station) videos (especially "Forecasting Hurricane Gustav").

As of 4:00 p.m. (central time) today, Terrebonne Parish, where we live, is under a mandatory evacuation order. Those of us who stayed beyond 4:00 p.m. are entirely on our own. At the same hour the National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch to Gulf Coast residents in eastern Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, meaning that residents within this cone are potentially within 36 hours of hurricane conditions (winds & storm surge), with the projected path currently aimed slightly west of Houma. If the path holds, almost all of Terrebonne Parish could be under water, since we would be on the bad side of the storm. With continuing coastal erosion, much of Terrebonne Parish is under water to begin with.

I have been debating whether and where to go to get out of harm's way all morning, and there are several options that I vexed with. Needless to say, it probably seems pretty crazy that I would wait this long to make up my mind. Remember the uncertainty of the storm. Officials don't have the luxury of last minute guesswork; they are under obligation to play it way safe, especially after the Katrina fiasco.

1. I could stay here, and weather out the storm. Upside: I would know exactly what is going on at home, and could possibly lessen damage at home, such as moving critical items to the attic, if necessary. I know I have neighbors who are brave or dumb enough to stay put that I could lean on, since several have indicated they are staying. Downside: If the hurricane causes extensive damage to the house, my life would be in jeopardy, or at the very least, pretty much unbearable over the next several days.
2. I could stay at our LDS Chapel. Upside: It's only 1 mile away, a very sturdy building, and on slighly higher ground from where we live. Downside: No one else is planning to stay there as far as I know, so I would feel pretty isolated, and have the potential problem of being without electricity & water, and not able to go anywhere for several days because of extensive flooding.
3. I could stay at a friend's house who lives less than a half-hour away, but in little safer area, someone who is well equiped to cope with the storm. Upside: It's still close to home, I would have friends to be with, and life probably wouldn't be as extreme, as long as they have electricity, even if with a generator. Also, I can wait an extra day before deciding whether to leave Houma. Downside: Not too much, but obviously this option requires someone to extend the offer. (As it turns out, our newly-called Bishop, Chris Diket, offered his home for me to stay at, which fits the bill. He lives on at one of the highest elevation areas in Thibodaux, a college town (Nicholls State Univ.) located about 30 minutes from Houma. At the moment, this is the option that is most appealing to me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate his offer!)
4. I could stay with friends further away. Upside: Still with friends, less hardship. Downside: Greater distance from home. Several have offered, and I appreciate greatly their offers.
5. I could stay at one of the New Orleans Louisiana Stake designated evacuation shelters, namely either at the Alexandria Louisiana Stake Center or the Jackson Mississippi Stake Center. Upside: I would be with other saints in the same situation. Downside: Considerable distance from home, lack of privacy, still pretty much fending for myself.
6. I could stay with my nephew Blaine Tew. The only relative I have living within 5 hours from Houma, extended an offer for me to stay with him and his family. They live in Crestview, Florida, near Pensacola, just barely outside the cone of danger. While this offer has great appeal, and while I know they would be wonderful hosts, the distance is pretty extreme. All of the contraflow will shortly be going in the wrong direction, both on I-10 and I-12, so at this late date, this option doesn't look very viable.

From vacation to hurricane watch

Judy and I just completed a two week vacation out west (Utah and Idaho), which explains the blog break. Judy went on to Indiana to spend a few days with Julie, Matt and our grandchildren. As it turns out, her decision to extend her stay away from Houma couldn't have been more timely. As everyone knows by now, we in southern Louisiana have the eminent threat of a hurricane (Gustav) to contend with. Terrebonne Parish may have a mandatory evacuation in effect by noon Saturday. Terrebonne Parish is one of the most vulnerable counties/parishes in the U.S. to storm surge, which is the result of being on the bad side of a hurricane coming through. To illustrate, though Katrina was much closer to Houma exactly three years ago to the day, it was Rita that did by far the most damage because of the extensive flooding that resulted from storm surge. We are even more vulnerable now than before Rita, and this one could be closer, so a lot of local people are getting very nervous. Good thing Judy bought me a kayak last Christmas. And just think, Judy and I were picking wild huckleberries in Idaho's mountains near Cascade (where Judy grew up) with hurricanes being the last thing on our minds on Monday this week. What a change!

Hurricane on the Bayou

As everyone knows, Hurricane Katrina was life-changing event in southern Louisiana. Images of New Orleans under water are some of the most vivid. I had the opportunity to go into New Orleans several times to assist in the clean up, and will share a few of the images I captured in future posts. Houma was just far enough to the west, actually about 60 miles southwest, to have been spared from the extreme wind and water damage that occurred especially on the east side of New Orleans and the coastal areas of MS and AL. Hurricane Rita impacted Houma more than did Katrina, with hurricane force winds occurring as nearby as Morgan City, and coastal flooding severely impacting Houma on the SE side of the Intercoastal Waterway that intersects the city, and points further south in Terrebonne Parish. The sugarcane belt was far more impacted by Rita than Katrina, a sizeable portion of it being severely flooded with water high in salt content.

Judy and I were invited to attend a preview of the IMAX film, "Hurricane on the Bayou," prior to its general opening in New Orleans. Amazingly, much of the footage of this film occurred before Hurricane Katrina, with the anticipation that something like a Katrina was well within the realm of possibilities because of coastal erosion and a relentless loss of vital wetlands. Ironically, from the perspective of the producers, the timing of Hurricane Katrina was almost as though it were on queue. This film is a must-see, if you have any interest whatsoever in Bayou Country and the potential far-reaching impact of not taking decisive action to protect Louisiana's wetlands.