Hurricane Katrina

Our power was finally turned on earlier this afternoon, thank goodness!

Hurricane Katrina was very scary, and we received category 1 hurricane winds here in Alabama for most of Monday. In fact, our power went out at 5 am Monday morning. We had more than 12 hours of strong winds, but very little rain. There are the usual fallen sticks and a few large branches, but we didn't lose any trees this time. My parents lost their chimney and a pecan tree crashed into the roof of my in-laws home, which will require some extensive roof repair. I live on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, and there was some extensive flooding in areas resulting from storm surges. (The affected areas of our town, however, are owned by very wealthy people who live in incredibly overpriced areas, so it's hard to have a lot of sympathy for them. Of course, the damage in my area pales as compared to that in New Orleans and Mississippi.

Since the power was turned back on we have spent some time watching the scenes in utter horror. I am in shock that so many people neglected to evacuate from their homes in New Orleans knowing full well how that city floods. I am heart broken thinking about how so many people have lost not only their homes, but that they won't have jobs either due to the destruction. I haven't seen any pictures or heard much info about what happened in Gulf Shores, Alabama, but it sounds as though it could be comparable to the damage from Hurricane Ivan last year, because the storm surge pushed just as far inland.

Dh didn't go to work today. Only one lane of the usual five lanes of traffic from Baldwin to Mobile county is open today. One of tunnels is still closed and a four lane bridge is closed because an oil rig is wedged underneath it. (I am amazed that the storm was able to move it for miles and deposit it in Mobile.) Only half of the remaining tunnel is open today. I dread the commute for dh tomorrow. Schools should reopen here on Thursday for me to return to work.

I already had a drs appt and u/s scheduled for tomorrow, so I hope that the dr and staff will be in. It would really be great to have reassurance that all is well with the little one after all of the excitement.