Olwyn Mary in New Orleans

Hi Guys, I don't post here but Olwyn Mary -- who does -- asked that I post for her to let everyone know that she is SAFE and has had NO FLOODING. As some of you might know, she lives right in the heart of New Orleans (Lower Garden District off of Magazine). This part of town was built on a small ridge; add to that the fact that her home and the ones in her neighborhood are all built up off the ground a fair amount and you will understand why she has had no flooding. She did say that there is about a foot of water everywhere else so she feel quite lucky. They have had no power since about 3:00 AM Monday but they do have a battery operated radio and small telly. They have their phone land line and that is how I managed to contact her -- with absolutely NO problems which I found quite surprising! They also have their chest freezer loaded with water and a good supply of food so they are OK in that area for a bit. Of course, with no power, that will only last for so long!! She did say if is going to take too much time to get power restored, she and her DH will be leaving ASAP after the airport re-opens. I have posted to RCTN, RCTY and this group and will post to the AOL sewing group. If any of you know of a board that she posts to that I haven't mentioned, PLEASE post and let them know that she is OK. Thanks & CiaoMeow >^;;^<

Reply to
Tia Mary
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Thanks! Been thinking about her and worrying.

Jean M.

Reply to
Jean D Mahavier

Great news, I hope everyone else in that area is safe and well. Thanks for posting.

Reply to
BEI Design

WHEW......thats a relief. I was thinking of her. Thanks!

Michelle Giordano

Reply to
Doug&Michelle

Reply to
Siobhan McGrath

I pray for her and her family tonight as the levees broke and water is flowing all in that area. Downtown Canal St. looks like a canal tonight on TV. Both my sisters and DB, some nephews and nieces live on the West Bank, but all evacuated Sunday. One of them went to another sister's in Central MS and they had to be evacuated from there today because of damage from the storm. It went right through the center of MS before veering east. Even the people in Northern MS lost power, and phone service today. I am able to keep in touch with all the siblings, nieces & nephews from LA, and the Gulf Coast of MS, but have been unable to contact one sister in South Central MS. She is disabled and refused to leave home. Yesterday was her birthday, and I talked to her before the storm came barreling through. Later, someone else was talking to her, wishing her a happy day, when there was a loud sound, she said, "Oh, more shingles falling." Then the phone went dead and nobody has heard anymore from her. A grandson of hers is a deputy sheriff, but I couldn't reach the Sheriff's Dept today, hopefully tomorrow. Please remember her in your prayers. Emily

Reply to
CypSew

birthday, and

Emily, put your sister right on my list! Hope all is well with her, and that she is heard from soon.

The Gulf Coast while not flooded like New Orleans got hit badly with the storm surge and winds from Katrina and the images look pretty bad. We have some family down there my aunts have been trying to reach via telephone, but as you probably know one either gets a fast busy signal or the "circuits are all busy" message.

Again will keep your sister in our thoughts.

Candide

Reply to
Candide

Prayers for your family and I hope you hear from your sister soon. I have tried again to contact Olwyn Mary but have had no luck. I don't even get a busy signal just silence -- dead air. AT least we know she and her DH are safe and their home was OK. With this new flooding she might have some damage -- I just don't know how high her home is compared to the surrounding area. I heard there was to be a "mandatory" evacuation of the city. Does anyone know if this has actually been implemented? CiaoMeow >^;;^<

Reply to
Tia Mary

Hi Guys, Sorry to reply to my own post but I had some additional info I thought friends of Olwyn Mary might be interested in. She will HAVE to evacuate now since there has been a mandatory evacuation issued. I just got a look at a map and it shows the current flooding from Lake Pontchartrain is still on the other side of the Mississippi. The river weaves around so much it's hard to give a direction but the Lake is on what I will call the "Atlantic Ocean" side of the river and what most of us know as New Orleans is on the Texas side of the river. Olwyn Mary's home is in what I consider Old New Orleans -- with your back to the river on the Texas side, she is to the left of Canal Street. I am now watching a live report and it looks like the reporter is standing in the downtown area and there is no flooding. I'm not sure which intersection he's at but it IS in the area I consider Old New Orleans -- around Canal & Bourbon Streets -- I recognize the signs on the buildings. This means that there isn't any flooding in the area of Olwyn Mary's home as she is situated higher than all of the surrounding area. That is good news. I just wish I could speak to her but I doubt if that will happen. The phones were out when I tried to call last night but I will keep trying and you KNOW I will post if I hear from her. I made sure she had my phone number so she could call me if she needed. Since I live in the Atlanta metro area I have told her that she is welcome here if she can get to an airport that will fly her here. I know she will go to her family but she might have to go through Atlanta to get anywhere. CiaoMeow >^;;^<

Reply to
Tia Mary

Since there appears to be no water, electricity, or sewerage at present, and emergency services will need priority over whatever *is* available, shipping the folk out until it's healthy to go back makes a LOT of sense to me. Here's wishing her luck, and hoping that you get good news soon.

Reply to
Kate Dicey

Tia Mary, thank you so much for the update. I've been so worried about her, and finally got the idea to check here. I had a feeling she would at least try to let the newsgroup know, if she and her husband were okay.

The water is rising pretty high, some homes are up to their roofs now; I hope they stay safe, but I also hope they can get the heck out of there before they have a moat around their home.

Karen Maslowski in Ohio Wild Ginger Software Certified Educator

Tia Mary wrote:

Reply to
Karen Maslowski

Karen Maslowski wrote:

I'm safe, cool and dry in a suburb of Lake Charles, LA, right near the Texas border, staying with the friends we made when we evacuated for HurrixNE iVAN. (And I can't type worth a @#$% on this laptop when I'm used to a real keyboard). After the canal gave wAY, I decided to get out even though we were up high, just in case the moat effect did happen. There was(and still is) only one way out of New Orleans which is the Crescent City Connection. For those of you who have visited the city, that is the huge bridge which crosses the river just above downtown. From there, the only road available was U.S. 90. As DH has well controlled diabetes, plus a pacemaker which is rapidly approaching the end of its projected life, and as thehospitals were evacuating, I decided to get him out of there while I still could. I had started packing several days ago on the assumption we would fly out, but at 1 a.m. I heard about the canal walls and pumps failing. Woke up dh (he had had 2 hrs sleep, I had about 1/2 hr). We packed for a car trip instead, called a young, fit neighbor and cleaned out fridges and freezers for her to share with the nbhood, unplugged the appliances, turned off the water heater, and were onthe road by 3:30 a.m. Once out of the city, we stayed on U.S. 90 instead of trying for the interstate, and there was hardly a car on the road. Very foggy going over the swamps and bayous. I drove until dawn, then we stopped at a truckstop, waited for full daylight, called our friends here before they left for work. They were thrilled we had "come to our senses" and left a key under the mat for us. DH took over the driving. We finally got here in the early afternoon, and I am now severely jetlagged from lack of sleep. On the other hand, I slept in a bed last night, not on the floor of a shelter, praise heaven.

What the future holds, we have no idea. we have a few clothes and our important papers, and that is all. I didn't even bother bringing the family pictures, but they are on the second floor so they should still be there. One close friend of mine who live(d) in Chalmette - downriver from the city - e-mailed a news photo showing where her house had been. She has lost everything she ever owned, so I must count myself extremely fortunate. -

I have been totally awed and humbled by the outpouring of care and concern from al my cyberfriends. DH is just astounded - didn't really realise the bond which turns us all into family.

Are there any posters near where I am now? If so, please get in touch.

Now to figure out how to post this message on the other boards rather than typing it out again.

With love and very grateful thanks

Olwyn Mary NOT in New Orleans.

Reply to
Olwyn Mary

Wonderful news! Stay safe and well,

Reply to
BEI Design

Yes! So good to hear! I have kept telling DH about her; now we know!

Jean M.

Reply to
Jean D Mahavier

boards rather

I will check the other boards and if I don't see you post, then I will copy and past your entire post to the other groups :-)! If you need

*ANYTHING* you have my phone number. Thanks for remembering us and letting us know you are OK. :-)))) CiaoMeow >^;;^<
Reply to
Tia Mary

Good to hear from you. We just got a satellite phone call from my husbands Aunt Bessie who is 78, She is apparently stuck on the Mississippi side of the Ponchartrian with her nephew and his family but not doing so good.The bridge had collapsed in several areas and is un crossable ( I do not really understand the geography of the area at all. ) Uncle Ron 80, is in one of the hospitals recovering from a hip replacement and is in N.O. No word on him yet. The rest of the family down there is sending e-mails and such so the news is trickling in. Both of my sons are on their way to the area, the oldest is driving a transport for Ontario Hydro with repair equipment, his FIL is part of the relief team from here and asked him to help so he is taking time off his regular job to do so. My youngest handles cadaver dogs and is flying down on Sat with his ASL rescue squad and the pooches. All across Canada the borders are full of trucks taking supplies, equipment and volunteers to the area. Olwyn hope your home and everything is safe, but so pleased you were smart enough to go. Now to find my other friend Maggie whom I have not yet heard from.

Reply to
Nana

Olwyn Mary wrote: ...

If you haven't yet, go to Google, Groups, alt.sewing. You'll see your post. Can copy and paste from there. HTH

My brother (who has a stash of window-shaped plywood cut to fit) wrote this: Houston saw one afternoon of cloudy skies, and winds above 20 mph. No rain. We were damn lucky.

Now the city is full of refugees - hotels are full, lots more traffic with LA plates. But I'd far rather have these problems than what's happening six hours east.

Today in Grand Rapids MI it's 75 degrees, low humidity, sunny with huge puffy clouds. The Midwest Tandem Rally hits town tomorrow, and I get to sleep in my own bed! (I only mentioned this because someone posted "you don't have to shovel sunshine" in response to a question about why Floridians stay there.)

--Karen D.

Reply to
Veloise

Thanks for the good news. We all hope you don't lose anything at home, but the important thing is that you and yours are high and dry!!!

Reply to
Pogonip

I am so relieved to hear from you. So much devastation, and there isn't anything anyone can do to stop it from happening. But at least we can do our best to help everyone rebuild.

Stay safe and welcome back!

Michelle Giordano

Reply to
Doug&Michelle

Doug&Michelle wrote:. But at least

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