The HP Technology Forum is officially postponed. The conference will be rescheduled by Sept. 9, and the show's organizers want attendees to know they can cancel their registration indefinitely.

The city is being evacuated completely this morning. A report from the NY Times:

The mayor estimated it would be one to two weeks before the water could be pumped out, and two to four weeks before evacuees could be permitted back into the city. Another city official said it would be two months before the schools reopened.

Peter Teahen, the national spokesman for the American Red Cross, said: “We are looking now at a disaster above any magnitude that we’ve seen in the United States. We’ve been saying that the response is going to be the largest Red Cross response in the history of the organization.”

Some of the best reporting is coming from the besieged New Orleans Times-Picayune, posting updates on its blog after it had to set up offices in a nearby city.

The Forum's organizers are also cancelling all hotel reservations made though the show's Web site without penalty, and will work to have air tickets bought through the Web site rescheduled to the new show date, also without penalty. There's no word yet on whether the show, when rescheduled, will take place in New Orleans.

We are working diligently to determine a time in the fall when we can host the conference. 

New details for the conference will be announced by September 9th, 2005.  We are extending the HP Technology Forum cancellation policy indefinitely.  When new conference details are available, you will have ample time to assess your schedule and make a decision on your attendance, without penalty. We are working with the major airline carriers to transfer any non-refundable airline tickets to the rescheduled conference.  We will provide an update on the airlines by Friday, September 2nd, 2005.