A Year In The USA

So I've now been in the USA for a little over a year, and it's been one hell of a ride so far. Time has simultaneously and inexplicably gone fast and slow at the same time. I've had a ton of great experiences  during the year I've been here (most of which I've blogged about), met a lot of new people, and traveled to so many awesome places. Most importantly though, I feel like I have made some significant progress towards my postgraduate degree and to becoming a better scientist, largely due to my advisor, Jim, along with other faculty members at LSU. My knowledge base of most areas of ecology has broadened considerably while adding crucial detail to many more specific subjects, as well as gaining more valuable practical experience - but there is still so much to learn and do before I graduate! I can't wait to see what the next year brings, but right now I'm most looking forward to heading home for Christmas and seeing all of my friends and family. I miss New Zealand and can't wait to see it again!

Waiting For Isaac

Hurricane Isaac hit the Gulf Coast of the United States about ten days ago, leaving areas flooded and people without power for days, forcing many people to evacuate their homes, and costing nine people their lives. We knew the storm was coming to the general Gulf Coast area at least a week before it hit but initial weather models had it going through Florida, so most people weren't too worried. However, during the week, the models kept pushing progressively westward as the tropical storm built in strength. Around three days from its arrival it made a large jump west, causing major alarm in Baton Rouge and Louisiana and prompting the declaration of a State Emergency. All of a sudden Walmart and other big grocery stores were flooded with people, getting all the bread, water, ice, canned food, batteries, candles, and most importantly - alcohol that they could buy. Liquor sales really shot through the roof thanks to the number of hurricane parties being thrown as school was cancelled for three whole days! Petrol stations had lines of cars bumper to bumper down the street, and people were driving all over the place like madmen. And as the storm drew closer it only got worse, as people evacuated New Orleans, the place expected to be worst hit (and exactly five years after hurricane Katrina), to come to Baton Rouge to further clog the roads and clean out the stores.

Hurricane Isaac around 12 hours before making landfall 

All of Monday we kept hearing the hurricane was going to arrive early Tuesday afternoon. Come Tuesday afternoon, the sky was still clear with just a little breeze; turned out the hurricane had unexpectedly stopped in the gulf, right as it approached New Orleans. We spent hours during Tuesday night watching TV, and gradually seeing the conditions in New Orleans and surrounding areas become worse and worse - reporters were struggling to stay on their feet and often had to stop reporting to shield their face when the rain became too hard. Thanks to the $14 billion spent on the levees large parts of the city suffered only minor damage, despite Isaac dumping more rain and tidal surge on NOLA than Katrina did!

The storm finally hit Baton Rouge early that Wednesday morning. We woke to some pretty strong wind and persistent rain, which had knocked over some pots outside our front door. After waiting so long for the storm to arrive we now all waited for it to gain in strength...but it never really got too intense. There were occasional strong gusts of wind, and a day of steady driving rain, but most of the city was unscathed, with just a few windblown branches and debris along with minor flooding. At one point we were so bored at sitting around inside we went for a walk around the neighborhood in the rain!

Around 5 pm of the day of the storm, the power went out (we were one of over 900,000 homes to be affected in Louisiana alone. We were well prepared so it was no big deal, and cooked on a gas stove that evening. We thought the power would be out for a day at most, but it ended up taking three days for it to be restored. We were really lucky it wasn't so hot during the rest of the week and the temperatures inside in the evenings were bearable even with the AC off.

So below I've posted a short video of the storm taken from the front door of my house. It was captured around 2:00 pm on August 29, when the storm was more or less at its most ferocious here. Football season is upon us here in Baton Rouge now, and all are expecting LSU to make another bid for the national championship. Let's hope it happens!