“So far, so good” for the weather report in good ol' southwest Georgia. We are seeing Katrina's outer bands blow hard and deposit some heavy rain as they whiz by at 35 to 55 mph this afternoon, with plenty of lightening and associated thunder. It only lasts for 15 to 30 minutes, and then it is fairly calm until the next band arrives; so the deluge has a chance to flow down to the lake, hence, no flooding here so far.
Here comes another one, with serious rain, and lightening.
It is amazing that one storm system is able to carry soooooo much water so far. The way it is POURING outside right now, one would think there would not be any rain left to fall by the time this behemoth gets to CVG. Y’all really need to be turning watershoes.

New Orleans does in deed sit mostly below sea level, with levees around it to keep the Mississippi River, Lake Ponchartrain, and the Gulf of Mexico out. They pump unwanted water out with electric motor-driven water pumps.

Curt thanks for asking. My feet are firmly on the shop floor (well, my buns are firmly in a chair) right now. We did OK, all we got here were the outer bands of Katrina; and while they were more than enough, there was no damage. A tornado zipped by about 12 miles east of our Daughter's home up near Atlanta (all OK).
The last time I heard from Ned, he faired the storms about like us, and was alive and well.

In the southern Indiana/ northern Kentucky area, lots of rain but not really a lot of wind.  By the time it got here, I believe it was barely considered a tropical depression.  I got some water in my garage, but then, I get water in my garage anytime it rains.