UPDATED: 6:58pm
It’s a cruel irony to be commemorating the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with preparations for what may be as devastating a storm to the Gulf Coast, Hurricane Gustav. We’re watching closely; our own guests, originally slated to visit Central Texas this weekend for fun and frolic, have officially been upgraded to evacuees.
Our friends coming in from Louisiana reported convoys of buses “in the hundreds” headed east as they made their way west across I-10 to Texas on Friday night. By now, contraflow is in effect, and the highways are packed.
We’re also experiencing a conflict of emotions over news
of friends and loved ones who have chosen to ride out the storm in New Orleans.
With a strange mix of cautious concern and beaming pride, we tell you about former Chronicle intern and current reporter for the Times-Picayune‘s NOLA.com, Meredith Barnhill. Meredith has signed up to stay in the newspaper’s bunker to witness and report firsthand. She and her remaining compadres will be posting regularly on the Nola View section of the site. And for the truly curious, check out Mer’s Twitter.
We’ll be following this story closely, and should Austin play any role in relief efforts, we’ll assess options and possibly resurrect our Hurricane Relief webpage that we had up during those first harrowing post-Katrina weeks.
This article appears in August 29 • 2008.