back to n.o.

hey y'all
looks like i'll be headed back to the big easy tomorrow (friday) i've heard from several friends that power is on in my neighborhood (perhaps even that it never went out) and i know now there are several grocery stores and gas stations re-opened. probably will be even more by the time i get there tomorrow afternoon.
if you hear nothing else, i'll be on the road soon!
emily

quiet day

today was pretty quiet, compared to the excitement of yesterday. i went out with some friends to get an evacuation pedicure, which was lovely. i relaxed around the house and almost won a game of scrabble. everyone's been asking all day when we can get back to new orleans. they're doing the re-entry in phases so that all essential personnel will be prepared for the influx of residents. that includes not only first responders and utility workers but store owners, gas station people, etc. i texted a friend and he said he thinks that power never went out in my neighborhood, but it's hard to know for sure. entergy is working as hard and as quickly (and carefully) as they can, but we're not able to get very speedy updates. gustav is not quite letting go--there were still tornado warnings in the new orleans area, as well as up here in the jackson area.
will update as i have new information!
love, emily

not quite over

well, we have not seen the last of gustav. the outer bands were still causing tornado warnings and watches into this evening, as far north as here in jackson. i heard some tornado sirens, but nothing hit the immediate area that i'm staying in, praise the Lord! it looks like it's still raining in new orleans, so that hopefully won't accumulate too rapidly to cause flooding. c.ray says that new orleans residents will not be allowed to return tuesday, and maybe not even wednesday. he hopes to give an update tomorrow evening on our allowed return to the city. i wonder what the reverse migration traffic will be like!

i cannot say enough how much i appreciate all the love/concern/prayers/care that has poured in from all over the place. clearly i am not in evacuation with my own family, although i am with people who have become my extended family in new orleans. it was very encouraging to know so many people were thinking about us here in the path of gustav, checking in on what was happening. i dont know how to thank you all!!!!!!!!

til tomorrow =)
emily

praise the Lord!

looks like the worst of it is behind us--crazy the ups-and-downs of emotions that this kind of thing can put you through. as the storm continues inland, it will die down evenutally. everyone is saying the damage is not near what was anticipated and there was much less storm surge than was forecasted. there is still a need to keep an eye on those outer bands (n.g.v.--new gustav vocab) which have some pretty active tornadic (ngv) activity, but other than that we missed the worst of it. looks like the overtopping of the levees has stopped with a shift in the wind direction and the streets are no longer flooded. praise God!!!!! thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!

upper ninth

there is water lapping over the top of the levees on the industrial canal, causing flooding to the west in the upper ninth ward--my neighborhood!! please pray for the neighborhood, as it sustained much damage from katrina and the news just said there are still people there who did not evacuate. the neighborhood usually floods a good amount each time it rains, so flooding is not new to the area but we dont want the water to get too high!! the levee has NOT breached, and the army corps is saying they don't think it will, but the water levels are high enough to be overflowing. please pray with me!!!