INteresting perspective from a Storm2k poster..........and I am sad to say he makes a ton of sense as the Mayor of NO did say there were gas leaks and live wires down. Combustible chemicals are bound to be leaking in various places in the city.
Here is the post from Storm2K:
"I'm sorry and feeling terrible right now, but I have to point out the obvious, because I've spoken of this the last 2-3 days on this board.
Anyone watch the video of the marina building in Baton Rouge going up in flames tonight, while flooded several feet deep with water?
Do you not understand why authorities are keeping people from returning to the Big Easy?
There were reports of at least five fires yesterday in NOLA before the peak of the hurricane hit. You may have noticed that the power was on in New Orleans, not until it was cut by planned actions of NOLA authorities, but was instead cut off by power outages?
In several buildings, maybe dozens or more, likely there are smoldering quiet combustions going on in saturated wood, or wall insulation, or in other combustibles. If you saw the the fire in Baton Rouge, then you should make the connection. It doesn't matter how much rain has fallen, or if much of the building was completely soaked. It's been proven time and again that fire trumps water. Have you seen large fires in big cities where there were water cannons and hoses pouring water on the fire? How many of those didn't result in total or near total destruction of the structure involved in the fire?
If in fact NOLA is still taking on water, it's only a matter of time till fire breaks out, from natural causes, or a drunk throwing a cigarette into a pool of water saturated with flammables, or from smoldering electircal combustion. It will very likely happen unless the situation gets under control in the next 48 hours, maybe 72, maybe only 24.
Fiire will begin in the city, and this critically depends upon whether or not NOLA authorities can stop the influx of water. If they cannot, there will be fires, and there will be no way of stopping them, other than letting the Mississippi into the city, and that will only increase the flooded areas and reduce the burnt.
Unless there is a firm handle taken on this situation, urban wildfire is almost a sure thing in the city, and it will burn every building close to another, and all will combust right down to waterline.
How many are in New Orleans right now? These people need to be evacuated within the next 48 hours. There are no options to fight wildfire in the city other than it's utter destruction by flood. You can't get river pumpers in, you can't get (if it is indeed continuing to flood) fire engines in, you cannot use fire hydrants to provide anything; because there's no power, and in a city where their water sources are just feet above city level, no pressure.
I'm proposing this as a very serious precautionary tale and not an absolute fact of what would be come history. But I want everyone from the authorities at the Federal, state, municipal and interagency organizations, to the people who decided to stay behind at the evacuation order, to understand that we are dealing with an ongoing life-threatening situation.
Do not create any sort of fire, no matter how much you want to do so, so that means no smoking, no flambe's no fire. For any reason.
And get out of town. Youre life could absolutely depend on it. If you want a lesson as to the history of this post, just Google "Grand Forks fire".
You'll see what I mean. |
