They aren't always Katrina and Camille. Sometimes they're Humberto or Florence or Andrew or Isaac. A hurricane doesn't have to destroy whole sections of several interstates to be a major hassle. Try going without electricity for three weeks. In August and September. That's what happened to some friends in Baton Rouge in 1992.
So welcome to Arkansas, y'all. We are happy to have you here. Many of our neighbors to the south will spend the next few weeks (or longer) in the Natural State to get away from things going on in the sometimes all-too-natural state of Louisiana. And not a few people from Mississippi will join in. We hope everybody feels at home. Outside a few weekends during football season, we're all friends.
The papers say that Ida was one of the most powerful hurricanes to ever hit the United States. But New Orleans didn't fill up and overflow like it did during Katrina. Word around the campfire is that the city's system of levees and barriers and pumps held up this time, having been expanded and hardened after 2005. So while Ida might have wanted to be Katrina, Homo faber, man the toolmaker, was a little more ready this time.
Doubtless many of our visitors are anxious to get back to their homes to inspect the damage and start the rebuild. There'll be time for that. Today is not that time. To quote an official from New Orleans: "If you evacuated from the city, take a breath. We're doing good here. We're doing well, under the circumstances. But it's not the time to return. There's not a lot open right now. There's not a lot of fuel resources . . . And I want to add, with covid, if you get hurt . . . hospitals are strained right now, so it's not a good time if you're out of the area to come back."
That's just New Orleans. Ida left a track of destruction from Houma and Thibodaux up to St. Francisville and both Jacksons, the one in Louisiana and the one in Mississippi.
Let the power come back on first. And cell phone service. And let the emergency folks fix the traffic lights and clear debris. For now, be safe here. We'll turn on a ball game and throw an extra few sausages on the grill. We can even take a crack at an acceptable jambalaya, and we're not too proud to accept pointers.
Speaking of getting the power on, Entergy Arkansas is sending more than 500 of its employees down south. The papers say upward of a million people are out of electricity there. This is what neighbors do. We remember all the electric company trucks we saw headed north during the various Arkansas ice storms over the last decade or so. We get by with a little help from our friends.
The 39th Infantry and the 142nd Field Artillery are sending 500 troops southward, at the request of the Louisiana National Guard. They'll be involved in traffic control, rescue and other operations.
Arkansas has another group of first responders called Arkansas Task Force-1, which includes members from fire departments and other emergency outfits. The state's Red Cross is in the action. Arkansas motor coach drivers have been called out.
Hurry home, but hurry carefully.