Live from Poydras Street, New Orleans!

Six blocks from the Mississippi River, on the 10th and 11th floors of a skyscraper a New Orleans blogger, Michael Barnett, has been holded up reporting on Kristina since the beginning. His five person staff has food, water, a diesel generator, a camera and they are armed. Their blog has been renamed: “The Survival of New Orleans Blog” (also here). During the aftermath of the storm’s fury they had a live Webcam running. There is a page of photographs. (CNet News.com)

Saturday 9:05 pm PDT: “Hmm. This could actually be a nasty storm.”

Sunday 6 a.m. PDT: “Come on with it then, storm. Bring me what ya got. Let’s see who wins.”

Monday Morning: “… as long as no flooding occurs, the city should be fine. There’s really nothing to say…Imagine a low rumbling turbine engine for several hours, lots of wind and debris… .”

Tuesday Morning: “I do not want to be an alarmist, but people who have the means to leave the greater New Orleans area need to do so. The infrastructure required to maintain a city is down. It could be a long time before it’s back up. There will be too many people fighting for exceptionally scarce resources.”

Wednesday Morning: The chaos began as he described the scene on the camcorder; “You’re watching the flood progress … and the looting of a hotel. We’re seriously considering trying to restore some order to this city since the government has totally given up (and probably couldn’t do anything anyway). The police have been looting according to reports, and the honest ones are under siege at their precincts as automatic gunfire was unloaded at one near the Quarter. I know it’s dangerous, … if there’s a chance of slowing down this Planet of the Apes deterioration, someone’s got to take the first step. I mean, it’s Lord of the Flies out there right now. There’s no order at all. No respect for private property, no respect for life.”

Wednesday Afternoon: “The police are looting. Some of the looting might be ‘legitimate’ …. They have broken into ATMs and safes: confirmed. We have eyewitnesses to this. They have taken dozens of SUVs from dealerships ostensibly for official use. They have also looted gun stores and pawn shops for all the small arms, supposedly to prevent ‘criminals’ from doing so. But who knows their true intentions.”

Thursday Early Morning: “Security has become a major concern now, because the NOPD is ineffective and the looters (and) terrorists are roaming the streets. It is a zoo out there though, make no mistake. It’s the wild kingdom…That doesn’t mean there’s murder on every street corner. But what it does mean is that the rule of law has collapsed, that there is no order, and that property rights cannot and are not being enforced. Anyone who is on the streets is in immediate danger of being robbed and killed. It’s that bad.”

Friday Morning: “This place is completely coming apart. The hopelessness on the street breaks the heart. The old, the tired, the sick seem resigned to their presumed fate. Death.”

Friday Late Morning: There are signs of relief. “This convoy coming down the street is loaded with supplies. I see MREs and water and I assume ice, …. OK, so the troops used to restore order went in first and now the supplies are coming …. Hope is on the way for the people at the Convention Center. Finally.”

Linked at basil’s blog “All Day Picnic“.