Hurricane Gustav

Though I have had LOTS of disussions about hurricanes since August 29, 2005, I've never actually been in one until recently. Jim, Isaac, Noah, and I were in Baton Rouge visiting Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw when Hurricane Gustav blew in. It hit land as a category 2 hurricane on September 1. Jim said it was the worst hurricane to strike Baton Rouge since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and in their area, the damage from Gustav was worse than from Andrew. His parents lost 2 trees, one narrowly missing Paw-Paw's truck and the other knocking down the service line to their house, causing them to be without power for several days. The damage from the wind was not the only concern; there was also the threat of flooding. The water from the nearby Comite River rose rapidly. We went to bed that night with a normal-looking front yard and awoke the next morning on lake-front property! We are happy to report that everyone now has power restored to their homes, though Joe and Kristy just got theirs back on this weekend.
Note the car in the back-ground of this photo; the water rose above the base of their door windows. This was across the street and down one house.