Hurricane Gustav

I lived in Gulfport, Mississippi when Hurricane Katrina hit. I owned a home about 4 blocks up from the beach. 23 ft above sea level and it was built in 1947, and survived Hurricane Camille in 69 which had winds over 200mph when it broke all wind measuring devices. So my house was pretty solid.

However, more than 50% of my home was damaged during Katrina, and it took me about 18 months to get it repaired. In the mean time, my real estate company, "Gulf Coast Realty had about 2 months of very little activity and then tons of business came pouring in. The coast was devastated for miles south of the rail road tracks (which ran parallel to the beach ) which were about 5-6 blocks north of the Gulf.

Even today, 3 years later, there is still alot of emptiness and barreness. Business is coming back, but it would take another 10 to 15 years to get it back completely....

Now we have Hurricane Gustav potentially heading to the Gulf Coast. This is bad news for so many.

New Orleans being below sea level is really badly off, and everyone should evacuate.

The Mississippi coast, if it hits, will be a mess.

I ask all of you on AR to think about pitching in physically if they get a major hit. There will be a great need with helping to just throw out stuff, and remove junk from homes, so skill level isn't a problem.

Let's hope that Gustav just fades into a minor storm and does no damage, but if it hits hard, then think about going down to the gulf region for a week and helping out. Thanks

g