When I first moved to Louisiana, it was just after hurricane Katrina and Rita. Though I saw some remnants of those storms, I did not personally experience any. Honestly, I did always want to experience a hurricane, not a major one but the smaller ones. Although hurricane most often leads to detrimental impacts, understanding the science behind it and wanting to experience the might of Mother Nature can be very obvious (at least for the first time). Two and half years in the bayou, nothing happened; and now as I was packing to leave there was this hurricane Gustav (claimed as “Mother of all storms” by New Orleans Mayor before the storm made landfall) heading straight towards Louisiana. I did not like the timing of my first ever hurricane; perhaps Gustav wanted to give me a proper sendoff from the Cajun Country.
The forecast at that time was that it would make a landfall as a Category 4 hurricane (wind speed of 131 -155 mph). The closest (straight) distance to the Ocean, from where I live, was about 30 miles; if the hurricane made the landfall through there it would be catastrophic for Lafayette. I had to make a quick decision: am I going to relocate somewhere up north for a while or am I going to stay in Lafayette and face the music. View full article »