Palixia
11-09-2005, 20:06
(OOC:It's Kinda involving Katrina but I've had this idea for a while...)
Hurricane Robert has slammed ashore and charged toward Brinxton with 180mph winds and the threat of an extremely dangerous storm surge.
Robert edged slightly to the east shortly before making landfall near Fallston, Harford, providing some hope that the worst of the storm's wrath might not be directed at the vulnerable city.
The northern part of the eyewall came ashore at about 5am central time (7pm AEST), said Martin Nelson, a meteorologist at the Palixian National Hurricane Centre.
Katrina's fury was quickly felt at the Brinxtonia Field, normally home of Brinxton Ravens, a football team in the PFL, which became the shelter of last resort for about 9,000 of the area's poor, homeless and frail.
Electrical power at the Field failed at 5.02am (7.02pm AEST), triggering groans from the crowd. Emergency generators kicked in, but the backup power runs only reduced lighting and is not strong enough to run the air conditioning.
Its winds, tides and heavy squalls had already started arriving before nightfall on Sunday.
The storm had weakened slightly from the morning, when it boasted 175mph winds, but it remained a savage category five storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.
Mayor Bob Robert's warned the hurricane's storm surge of up to 8.5 metres could topple the levees protecting the city, which sits in a bowl-shaped area, and flood its historic Dutch Centre.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I wish I had better news for you but we are facing a storm that most of us have feared," Mr Robert's told a news conference after reading out a mandatory evacuation order.
"This is a threat that we've never faced before."
An estimated 1 million of the area's 1.3 million people were believed to have evacuated, emergency officials in nearby Harford Country said Robert's.
Some of those unable or unwilling to flee piled into the Brixntonia Field, Brinxtons' enclosed sports stadium.
Mr Robert's, appearing on Jon Tasselmayer Live on PNN, said about 25,000 people had gathered in the 72,000-seat stadium, which he called "the shelter of last resort".
"This is an unprecedented storm with incredible power," he said.
Several roads were turned one-way outbound to speed the evacuation and Brinxtonians lined up at petrol stations and convenience stores to buy water and other supplies.
In the Dutch Centre, shopkeepers sandbagged art galleries and boarded up bars and restaurants in preparation for the storm.
Police and fire officials took to the streets with bullhorns, alerting residents of the coming danger.
Only two of the dozens of bars along notorious Cenle Street remained open, serving stragglers who wanted to squeeze in a last bit of revelry before Robert barrelled in.
Offshore, the hurricane forced energy companies to evacuate personnel and shut platforms in its path.
The Palixian Gulf of Brinxton is home to 25 per cent of the nation's domestic oil and gas output and widespread damage to facilities was possible.
Palixian crude futures had jumped about 5 per cent to $69.65 a barrel after briefly touching a record high of $70.80 as traders reacted to lost production and fear of damage.
Robert also endangered the port serving Brinxton, one of the most important in the world, and could do billions in damage to the city's tourism infrastructure.
Tourists on the Gulf Coast scrambled to join the exodus but many were left trapped as rental cars were snapped up quickly.
Authorities in Brinxton said they would commandeer vehicles and private buildings if necessary.
Palixian Prime Minister Robert Plant declared an emergency in Cecil, Worchester and Harford and a major disaster in the Capital Area, where a weaker Robert caused damage around the Clamptown area last week and killed seven people.
Brinxton has not been hit directly by a hurricane since 1965 when Hurricane Betty blew in, flooding the city and killing about 75 people in Palixia.
The last category five to strike the area was Hurricane Marlboro in 1969.
Marlboro just missed Brixton but devastated parts of Harford, Cecil and Clamptown killing more than 250 people.
Hurricane Montel, which destroyed the city of Homestead south of Clamptown in 1992 and ranks as the costliest natural disaster in Palixian history, was also a category five.
Hurricane Robert has slammed ashore and charged toward Brinxton with 180mph winds and the threat of an extremely dangerous storm surge.
Robert edged slightly to the east shortly before making landfall near Fallston, Harford, providing some hope that the worst of the storm's wrath might not be directed at the vulnerable city.
The northern part of the eyewall came ashore at about 5am central time (7pm AEST), said Martin Nelson, a meteorologist at the Palixian National Hurricane Centre.
Katrina's fury was quickly felt at the Brinxtonia Field, normally home of Brinxton Ravens, a football team in the PFL, which became the shelter of last resort for about 9,000 of the area's poor, homeless and frail.
Electrical power at the Field failed at 5.02am (7.02pm AEST), triggering groans from the crowd. Emergency generators kicked in, but the backup power runs only reduced lighting and is not strong enough to run the air conditioning.
Its winds, tides and heavy squalls had already started arriving before nightfall on Sunday.
The storm had weakened slightly from the morning, when it boasted 175mph winds, but it remained a savage category five storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.
Mayor Bob Robert's warned the hurricane's storm surge of up to 8.5 metres could topple the levees protecting the city, which sits in a bowl-shaped area, and flood its historic Dutch Centre.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I wish I had better news for you but we are facing a storm that most of us have feared," Mr Robert's told a news conference after reading out a mandatory evacuation order.
"This is a threat that we've never faced before."
An estimated 1 million of the area's 1.3 million people were believed to have evacuated, emergency officials in nearby Harford Country said Robert's.
Some of those unable or unwilling to flee piled into the Brixntonia Field, Brinxtons' enclosed sports stadium.
Mr Robert's, appearing on Jon Tasselmayer Live on PNN, said about 25,000 people had gathered in the 72,000-seat stadium, which he called "the shelter of last resort".
"This is an unprecedented storm with incredible power," he said.
Several roads were turned one-way outbound to speed the evacuation and Brinxtonians lined up at petrol stations and convenience stores to buy water and other supplies.
In the Dutch Centre, shopkeepers sandbagged art galleries and boarded up bars and restaurants in preparation for the storm.
Police and fire officials took to the streets with bullhorns, alerting residents of the coming danger.
Only two of the dozens of bars along notorious Cenle Street remained open, serving stragglers who wanted to squeeze in a last bit of revelry before Robert barrelled in.
Offshore, the hurricane forced energy companies to evacuate personnel and shut platforms in its path.
The Palixian Gulf of Brinxton is home to 25 per cent of the nation's domestic oil and gas output and widespread damage to facilities was possible.
Palixian crude futures had jumped about 5 per cent to $69.65 a barrel after briefly touching a record high of $70.80 as traders reacted to lost production and fear of damage.
Robert also endangered the port serving Brinxton, one of the most important in the world, and could do billions in damage to the city's tourism infrastructure.
Tourists on the Gulf Coast scrambled to join the exodus but many were left trapped as rental cars were snapped up quickly.
Authorities in Brinxton said they would commandeer vehicles and private buildings if necessary.
Palixian Prime Minister Robert Plant declared an emergency in Cecil, Worchester and Harford and a major disaster in the Capital Area, where a weaker Robert caused damage around the Clamptown area last week and killed seven people.
Brinxton has not been hit directly by a hurricane since 1965 when Hurricane Betty blew in, flooding the city and killing about 75 people in Palixia.
The last category five to strike the area was Hurricane Marlboro in 1969.
Marlboro just missed Brixton but devastated parts of Harford, Cecil and Clamptown killing more than 250 people.
Hurricane Montel, which destroyed the city of Homestead south of Clamptown in 1992 and ranks as the costliest natural disaster in Palixian history, was also a category five.