By: E&P Staff The world of blogging has gotten pretty bold and innovative in the three years since Hurricane Katrina struck but this just about tops the list: The Times-Picayune of New Orleans is blogging from a shrimp boat out in the storm near Lafitte, La.
In a note to E&P this morning, Managing Editor Peter Kovacs refers to him as "The Forest Gump of Gustav."
The Times-Picayune reporter is Chris Kirkham and the boat is the Mister Jug. And, yes, there is video.
The first few posts describing the "waiting game" and preparations and monitoring warnings.
Here's an excerpt from his latest blog post this morning. It's all at:
http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2008/09/winds_maxing_out_but_shrimp_bo.html
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The lights along the bayou finally flicker out, after withstanding a strong pelting from winds for at least three hours.
The running joke among the crew is a dysfunctional wind meter that tops out at 30 miles per hour. Huber laughs as the roar of a gust gives the boat a solid jolt.
"I think that's more than 30-mile-an-hour winds blowing, huh?" he asked.
Though winds have started blowing more from the south, the water in Bayou Barataria is still significantly down from where it was before the storm rolled through. Because of the winds that had been blowing from the north, much of the water was pushed further south toward Barataria Bay.
"It's got to come up four-and-a-half feet to be average tide," Huber said. "I don't believe it's gonna be as bad as what they think it's gonna be, to tell you the truth."
Randon Dufrene is taking a more cautious approach, as he peers out the eight plexiglass windows that give a full view of the bayou - and the rapidly increasing winds.
"You might have jinxed us," he jokingly told Huber.
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