Right Side of the Rainbow

This is serious:

I put the odds of New Orleans getting its levees breached and the city submerged at about 70%. This scenario, which has been discussed extensively in literature I have read, could result in a death toll in the thousands, since many people will be unable or unwilling to get out of the city. I recommend that if you are trapped in New Orleans tomorrow, that you wear a life jacket and a helmet if you have them. High rise buildings may offer good refuge, but Katrina has the potential to knock down a high-rise building.

UPDATE — From Jeremy Chrysler at Phog Blog (via Michelle Malkin):

As I write this, Hurricane Katrina is approaching New Orleans. New Orleans is about 12 feet below sea level and has always lived under a death sentence of a nightmare scenario which may very well unfold in the next 12-18 hours. Basically, if Katrina’s storm surge causes Lake Ponchartrain to flood the levees surrounding the city, New Orleans will be under 30 feet of water.

Experts say that such a scenario could lead to a death toll in the tens of thousands. Some place the toll as high as 50,000-100,000. The city has no natural drainage and some estimate that it could take up to 10 months for the lake of the dead to drain.

In short, tomorrow could be one of the deadliest days in American History. (Link)

I hope he’s overstating the danger. We’ll know in a few hours.

Hugh Hewitt explains why in the aftermath of Katrina we may be paying $4 a gallon for gas.

But right now I’m thinking about the people stuck in New Orleans, including my colleagues in health care. The doctors and nurses who were on duty when their hospitals declared an emergency would not have been allowed to leave at the end of their shift, at least not without losing their jobs and risking their careers. But they took an oath to care for their patients, and that’s what they’ll do, even though it means they can’t be with their own families or help them to evacuate. And now they’ll work around the clock, without relief. Pray for them.