High water tables, large trees, high winds and heavy rains combined with
(1) above ground electrical and communications infrastructure,
(2) Roads on bridges and causeways across swamp land, and
(3) lots of oil barge canals through most swamps south of Baton Rouge,
makes LA more vulnerable to hurricanes than a simple look at a map would indicate.

After Rita, high water table portions of Rural East Texas on the LA border were without electric power or land line phone service for weeks due to large fields of downed trees across roads and power lines, and that was without all the oil barge canals focusing flash floods and storm surges at transportation infrastucture.

Lay on to of that the traditional LA problems with political corruption causing sub-standard public infrastructure, and “laid waste” pretty much covers what LA Emergency Management expects.

My Mom is in a nursing home in St. Tammany. I expect her to be evacuated tomorrow unless there is a major change in the models. This is more precautionary because it takes so long to get our the special needs evacuees.