Katrina, the second strongest Hurricane in recorded history, is barreling towards the city of New Orleans.

http://www.uploadhouse.com/images/694144882Katrina.jpg

Due to New Orleans' location, and the fact that the city itself is below sea level, this could end up being one of the biggest natural disasters of our time. 

The US has only seen three other Catagory 5 Hurricanes in recorded history- Andrew in 1992, Camille in 1969, and an unamed storm that rampaged Florida in 1935. 

My prayers go out to all the people who are trapped in the city/region and won't be able to escape the storm, and also to those that may loose their homes and belongings. I think that we should all remember the folks that will have to brave this monster out.

I'm with you there Duke.  August 29th, 2005, a date that will live in infamy in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.  The Big Easy and the Ragged Soul of the Louisiana boot is facing the nightmare scenario dreaded for years.
In 24 hours there may be 25 feet of water in New Orleans with no place to go.  The city is in a geographical bowl.  Every drop of water must be pumped out of the city.  The rain, the winds, and the storm surge may destroy what can never be replaced.  New Orleans is a poor city with a rich history. 
My thoughts are foremost for the lives of the people.  Bodily injury and death transcend class.  However, though the wealthy sustain property damage and lose valuables, it is the thousands of poor folks who fare the worst in the aftermath.  They have no generous insurance policies, no savings in reserve, and no capital with which to bounce back.  Long after the camera crews left the swamps of south Florida after Andrew wreaked havoc in 1992, the poor remained in desperate straits.
In downtown New Orleans there are historical markers on every corner.  You can replicate 19th century structures, but you can never replace their authenticity, their spirit.
The so-called "ragged soul" of the Louisiana coast has been disintegrating and sinking for decades.  Katrina just may accelerate the inevitable.  Among the myriad of bayous, inlets, islands, and deltas survives the Cajun culture so treasured for its dialect, its music, and its cuisine.  Will it ever be the same without its home in the ragged soul?
At this hour it is too soon to tell exactly what will happen and how bad it will be.  Katrina was barely in my thoughts yesterday morning as channel hopped while eating my toast.
Then I saw that menacing graphic on all the channels, a category 5 in the gulf aiming for the American coastline.  "Surely it won't be a category 5 when it makes landfall,"    A category 4 with a 10 to 25 foot storm surge to follow is the coldest comfort there could be.

My prayers go out to all the folks in the area as well.

I recently read the death toll could be catastrophic by modern standards, but fortunately the storm is beggining to loose strength as it moves inland.

It turns out, it is about as bad as they expected.  The news down there isn't good at all.  I just hope they get some help down there soon, before the death toll rises even more.  :\'( 

At least now, the worst is over. I hope the death toll isn't too high. My prayers go out to the families of the surviving and dead. Let's also hope that our President will show compassion and forget the damage to his precious oil rigs and reach out to those people that really need help. (Not likely >:()

Even though I myself have never been to that part of the country, my prayers go out to everyone who lives in the area. :-[ :\'( I have been hearing about it all over the news the past few days.

I hadn't seen any of the newcasts, so I just sat down and turned on the news.  It is an absolute horror.  I don't know how they will ever recover from this. From Louisiana to Mississippi it is total devestation.  New Orleans will never be the same. 

I have a friend that lives out there, fortunately he and his family have gotten out safe, I was talking to him through emails this morning. Hopefully he and others will have houses to go back to.

My prayers are with all those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

A three-foot shark was seen today swimming down the interstate.
This is one of the biggest natural catastrophes--in America--of the last one hundred years. 
There are people still in their homes in Mobile, New Orleans, and other locales.  If I were in their waterlogged shoes, I'd be trying to get out as soon as I could.  Here comes typhus, dysentery, malaria, and god knows what else.  There's petroleum waste and industrial toxins sloshing throughout the mess.  I'd want out.  Looters be d*mned.  In the midst of tropical illness, you'd be happy to trade the family silver and the plasma TV if it would make the fever, vomiting, chills, and projectile diarrhea stop.  Look at it that way.

Best of all, the National Guard who is supposed to be on hand for disasters just like this one is off fighting the war in Iraq!
::)

It will take a couple of months for the full extent of this calamity to be calculated in full, and it ain't gonna be nice.
If you haven't been graced with $3.30/gallon gasoline yet, you're sure gonna be within fourteen days!
:o

Another point of view on store looters:

Most of the product in retail stores will be written off and thrown away.  Somebody might as well get some use out of it.

If you haven't been graced with $3.30/gallon gasoline yet, you're sure gonna be within fourteen days!
:o


It went up twenty cents overnight (from $2.69 to $2.89). :o

I can't believe the destruction in New Orleans. I am just in total shock. I'm also worried about my best friend's family. They live in Mobile. :-\\

At least now, the worst is over. I hope the death toll isn't too high. My prayers go out to the families of the surviving and dead. Let's also hope that our President will show compassion and forget the damage to his precious oil rigs and reach out to those people that really need help. (Not likely >:()




The worst is still yet to come.   

The weather is optimum conditions for decomposition rapidly...the bodies that are being pushed aside to find survivors will swell, and then burst,  and continue to float whereever they may go.    Spreading disease wherever they go.

With no power, no running water, and low food, the people that are still there will look for alternate ways to feed their families.  The looting has begun already.  People are carting away flat screen tvs and as much clothing as they can carry out of stores abandonded by Katrina.

There is NO place for those who did evacute to return to.  Power is off in many places for days, even weeks. 

Last night I read reports of prisoners rioting, and one person committed suicide at the Superdome.  The SuperDome itself has no running water, and with 12,000 people in a space for what may be a week, or 2, with limited bathrooms, and no way to clean...well, you can imagine.

The aftereffects of this storm are as bad, if not worse than the storm itself. 

Last night, here, gas prices rose from 2.47 at 10:15 p.m., to 3.07 by 12:15 a.m.    I was called at work by my husband, and the entire coast where I am at was out trying to fill up before the prices went up.    Me and the delivery guy went and filled our work trucks, and personal vehicles as fast as we could. 

The effects of this storm are going to be far reaching for a long time to come.

The worst is still yet to come.     

The weather is optimum conditions for decomposition rapidly...the bodies that are being pushed aside to find survivors will swell, and then burst,  and continue to float whereever they may go.    Spreading disease wherever they go.

With no power, no running water, and low food, the people that are still there will look for alternate ways to feed their families.  The looting has begun already.  People are carting away flat screen tvs and as much clothing as they can carry out of stores abandonded by Katrina.

There is NO place for those who did evacute to return to.  Power is off in many places for days, even weeks. 

Last night I read reports of prisoners rioting, and one person committed suicide at the Superdome.   The SuperDome itself has no running water, and with 12,000 people in a space for what may be a week, or 2, with limited bathrooms, and no way to clean...well, you can imagine.

The aftereffects of this storm are as bad, if not worse than the storm itself. 

Last night, here, gas prices rose from 2.47 at 10:15 p.m., to 3.07 by 12:15 a.m.    I was called at work by my husband, and the entire coast where I am at was out trying to fill up before the prices went up.    Me and the delivery guy went and filled our work trucks, and personal vehicles as fast as we could. 

The effects of this storm are going to be far reaching for a long time to come.

It depends on how well and when FEMA can get its act together.  There were dire predictions of disease outbreak after Andrew, but the worst was staved off.  Unfortunately, Katrina is a d*mned sight worse than Andrew.  There's much more water involved.  The hurricane hit more urbanized and populated areas than Andrew, and our federal resources are seriously comprimised by the war in Iraq.
Time will tell.
:o

In all honesty, this storm has all but spelled out "The End" for the big easy.  The city is pretty much just a contaminated body of water...dead bodies floating around, sewage chemicals being dumped, snakes, alligators, and who knoes what else swimming down what use to be streets, looting, etc. 

It's almost like the modern Atlantis.

Even if New Orleans does somehow manage to rebuild, it will never be quite the same.       

In all honesty, this storm has all but spelled out "The End" for the big easy. The city is pretty much just a contaminated body of water...dead bodies floating around, sewage chemicals being dumped, snakes, alligators, and who knoes what else swimming down what use to be streets, looting, etc.

It's almost like the modern Atlantis.

Even if New Orleans does somehow manage to rebuild, it will never be quite the same.
It's truly sad....and as usual the SNERTS on the AOL news message boards are posting their hateful stuff about people in the South rather than expressing condolences...I'm beginning to think some people on those boards are subscribers to A$$es Online! My condolences to those,here on the Decades board as well as in general,who have friends and family members affected by Katrina.

"New Orleans is sinking, man, and I don't wanna swim." - good song.

Devastating trajedy  :\'( Hasn't been a good year for natural disasters (tsunami and now this) ...and as sad as it is to accept: expect more of the same in the years to come.  :\'( :-\\ :-X

Our thoughts are with people affected during this time.  :)

It depends on how well and when FEMA can get its act together.  There were dire predictions of disease outbreak after Andrew, but the worst was staved off.  Unfortunately, Katrina is a d*mned sight worse than Andrew.  There's much more water involved.  The hurricane hit more urbanized and populated areas than Andrew, and our federal resources are seriously comprimised by the war in Iraq.
Time will tell.
:o


And true to form they aren't doing to well.  Today Bush said that the reason why it has taken a minimum of three days to get necessary food and water to New Orleans is because "no one knew the levees would be breached". Well no one absolutely knew, but there was alot of speculation that they would be.  People without the means to leave were left out.  I sat up last night watching the newscasts and it seems to me that the news stations should be put in charge of the disaster relief since they were mobilized and into the areas first.  Rescue efforts have been downgraded for an emphasis on stopping looters,  forget the looters, who cares if WalMart is being stripped to the aisles, help the people.

this is a good source for breaking news out New Orleans

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/

this one is being kept up to date by a guy inside a large data center in New Orleans

http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/

Did you know fats domino is missing?

I saw this today.

Did you know fats domino is missing?


I Googled that, I hope he's ok. 

they found him... there's still several other notable people still missing though.  There's also a lot of people who have died.  Amazing at how long it takes the federal government to mobalize a response to a nationa disaster.  A real embarrasment.

Obviously we are watching it from afar down here - but the footage on our TV screens is just abysmal.

To see such an iconic city all but destroyed - and reports (dont know how factual) that it may not be rebuilt - utterly tragic. Not to mention the other areas that were also wiped out.

It seems to me (and please correct me if I am wrong here) that if you had the money and the vehicle - you were able to evacuate. But no money and no car - equaled no choice but to stay put in the city and sit it out - so many it that sports dome - I heard there were 25000 in there ?

Footage of "refugee" camps on the highways is astounding.  Its just not what you expect to see in news footage coming from the US. I guess there is an automatic assumption that the richest nation in the world would have a government that moved a little faster to help its people. (Not saying that to start any kind of political arguement).  They need to bring in hundreds of freighter ships (or all the big cruise ships that hang out near florida) and fill them up with people and get them somewhere clean and safe.

How many displaced persons will we be talking about ? Hundreds of thousands ? or millions ? I dont know what the populations are there.  Where exactly will they all go ?

I wanted to visit New Orleans when I lived in the US in 88 but didnt get around to it - more fool me.  While I knew it was on the coast - I never knew about its actual topography until the hurricane warnings explained it was in a basin 2 metres below sea level.

Do we have a list of our members here who live in the affected areas ?  Maybe we could look at setting up a Penguin fund via paypal or something - in case we find out there are some who may have no insurance. 

The Australian Governmen sent 10mil to the US Red Cross today for immediate use. I hope it gets to the people who need it most.

My thoughts to anyone here who is affected by this natural disaster or who have family and friends in the area.

It really blows that some little street thugs have to shoot at police helicopters >:( Elizabeth and I donated some stuff at the local Red Cross today. I also think it's great the Steve McNair and Brett Favre are helping out...along with I'm sure, many others.

It really blows that some little street thugs have to shoot at police helicopters >:( Elizabeth and I donated some stuff at the local Red Cross today. I also think it's great the Steve McNair and Brett Favre are helping out...along with I'm sure, many others.


Oh, and it gets worse.

Yesterday there were hundreds of boats waiting to get in and rescue people.  They stopped, because people were shooting at them as they tried to come in.

And breaking news as of this hour, armed gunmen are holding a Fire Station hostage.  Firemen, their families, and others from the area took refuge in the station in the wake of the hurricane.  Local gangmembers are shooting into the station.  Attempts earlier by Sheriff Deputies have not been successfull in lifting the seige.  At least 1 Fireman and 2 Deputies are reported dead in the gun battles.

I guess those rifles stollen from Wall-Mart are being put to good use.

Oh, and it gets worse.

Yesterday there were hundreds of boats waiting to get in and rescue people.  They stopped, because people were shooting at them as they tried to come in.

And breaking news as of this hour, armed gunmen are holding a Fire Station hostage.  Firemen, their families, and others from the area took refuge in the station in the wake of the hurricane.  Local gangmembers are shooting into the station.  Attempts earlier by Sheriff Deputies have not been successfull in lifting the seige.  At least 1 Fireman and 2 Deputies are reported dead in the gun battles.

I guess those rifles stollen from Wall-Mart are being put to good use.
That's just sick! What a sorry bunch of losers >:(

I just can't believe the mentality of some people! There are people risking their lives in order for them to be rescued....and they actually have the nerve to SHOOT AT THEM!!?!?!! WTF? I have also heard that some people that were being sheltered at the SuperDome were bitching about how they wanted to leave there and go home....um, what homes?  Nearly everything was destroyed!  I have heard of people from other states, opening up their homes for these victims...but unfortunately in this society, you have to be half afraid to just let anyone in your home, without fearing if you are going to be the next one to get robbed/looted. It's such a shame.



Erin :)

     I've been out on the road all week, and have been getting my information concerning Hurricane Katrina mainly through satellite radio. Occasionally when my co-driver and I would stop at a truckstop to eat or get fuel we'd catch a quick glimpse of CNN or Fox News on TV, but only now have I had a chance to sit down and really watch the devastation and the suffering of the people of New Orleans (and the other affected areas). As the events unfolded throughout the week, my co-driver (who is a staunch Republican) and I were both throwing our hands up in disbelief at the ridiculously slow response by our government and our military to the catastrophic situation in New Orleans. I was heartened to hear that the National Guard had finally broke through today and brought much needed supplies to the thousands trapped at the convention center, and I know that tens of thousands of lives have been saved because of this, but I wonder how many more thousands of lives could have been saved had they acted sooner.
    I keep hearing our leaders talking of rebuilding New Orleans, but when one considers that most of the houses and bulidings in the flooded areas (which is about 80% of the New Orleans metropolitan area) will have to be bulldozed due to contamination from human waste, dead bodies, and other pollutants, I honestly wonder if that city will ultimately have to be abandoned. I wonder if it would really make sense to spend what will probably amount to trillions of dollars to rebuild a city that lies 10 feet below sea level and, unless radically redesigned, would still be susceptable to similar future natural events. Has the unthinkable just occurred? Have we just witnessed the loss of a major American city?  :\'(

Has the unthinkable just occurred? Have we just witnessed the loss of a major American city?  :\'(
If there were ANY justice in the world, innocent people that died would've survived and all the little gang thugs would have been banished to the burning rap-crap house in hell >:(

this one is being kept up to date by a guy inside a large data center in New Orleans

http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/


Chucky thanks for posting that link. I spent last night reading his archives back to the first hurricane warnings. The amount of info he has put on there is amazing - and his photos really told the true story - unlike the sensationalism of most media outlets.

I feel so bad for people. Another e-mail:



Hurricane Katrina's toll on communities, homes and lives has devastated the nation. Now victims must face the daunting question of where to go next—and we can help.

Tens of thousands of newly homeless families are being bused to a stadium in Houston, where they may wait for weeks or months. At least 80,000 are competing for area shelters, and countless more are in motels, cars, or wherever they can stay out of the elements. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross are scrambling to find shelter for the displaced.

This morning, we've launched an emergency national housing drive to connect your empty beds with hurricane victims who desperately need a place to wait out the storm. You can post your offer of housing (a spare room, extra bed, even a decent couch) and search for available housing online at:

http://www.hurricanehousing.org

Housing is most urgently needed within reasonable driving distance (about 300 miles) of the affected areas in the Southeast, especially New Orleans.

Please forward this message to anyone you know in the region who might be able to help.

But no matter where you live, your housing could still make a world of difference to a person or family in need, so please offer what you can.

The process is simple:


You can sign up to become a host by posting a description of whatever housing you have available, along with contact information. You can change or remove your offer at any time.


Hurricane victims, local and national relief organizations, friends and relatives can search the site for housing. We'll do everything we can to get your offers where they are needed most. Many shelters actually already have Internet access, but folks without 'net access can still make use of the site through case workers and family members.


Hurricane victims or relief agencies will contact hosts and together decide if it's a good match and make the necessary travel arrangements. The host's address is not released until a particular match is agreed on.



If you can or know anyone who can, please help. I will probably by donating to Mercy Corp for the effort.




Cat

And true to form they aren't doing to well. Today Bush said that the reason why it has taken a minimum of three days to get necessary food and water to New Orleans is because "no one knew the levees would be breached". Well no one absolutely knew, but there was alot of speculation that they would be. People without the means to leave were left out. I sat up last night watching the newscasts and it seems to me that the news stations should be put in charge of the disaster relief since they were mobilized and into the areas first. Rescue efforts have been downgraded for an emphasis on stopping looters, forget the looters, who cares if WalMart is being stripped to the aisles, help the people.
The people who are trying to stop looting should be helping out with the relief effort instead...the chain stores will bounce back....they do have contingency plans to deal with such a thing. SOME of the stuff being looted is needed items!
And why did no one EVER know the levees would break...Do they not know about the flooding in Missouri during the 1990's when just that happened? 'Oh yeah, we don't want to spend the money, the levees will hold...and we don't want people to PANIC...'

I read that an 8 year old girl was raped and killed in the Superdome while 2 babies had thier throats slit :\'( Those gangs are nothing more than animals >:(

There are three planes full of refugees headed to Utah right now.  The first is scheduled to land a little after 7.  People here are offering rooms and a rental management company is offering apartments. 

I read that an 8 year old girl was raped and killed in the Superdome while 2 babies had thier throats slit :\'( Those gangs are nothing more than animals >:(
This is disgusting...criminals don't put aside being thugs no matter how truly BAD a disaster is...those nasties should do time in a prison BOOT CAMP!!

They showed the first planeload arrive on the news.  Most of them seemed upbeat and happy to be here.  Can't blame them, though.  Now they can get on with some type of normal life.  One lady broke into tears when she was talking about finally getting out of the hell she was in.  I cried.  I wanted to be at the airport to hug every one of them to let them know that people care.

Well this just puts everything into prespective. One minute you can have everything and the next minute you can have nothing as witnessed by this hurricane. I am happy for the people that were able to leave the Southern States before the hurricane hit. Its is really bad that some people were stuck with water up to their necks from the stories I have heard. Its really bad for people to loot around New Orleans. That is not going to help matters. I am happy for the MLB, NBA, and also Nissan Motor Company for donating money to help the hurricane victims. This is like September 11th us Americans have to gather together and mourn or at least think take a moment to think about this horrible event. Alot of people died and some of the southern states especially Louisiana it will take a real, real, real long time to recover from this. Also, some of the survivors and some of the people that left the southern states before the hurricane basically have to start their lives over again from scratch. Imagine that you have no job, and no house or no apartment to come back too. I remember when we had hurricane Floyd in Central New Jersey in 2000. One town had alot of flooding and alot of people lost alot of things. On a side note I have been listening to Michael Basedan's show(Love, Lust, and Lies) on Kiss 98.7 out of New York all week. Big ups to Michael for keeping us up to date on what was going on with the hurricane and also I believe he is doating some money. I know he has sent 1,000 dollars to one woman. Michael was also talking with people who have family members in Louisiana. Some people don;t even know if their relatives are still alive and cannot get into contact with them. Lastly, from what I heard they had people from Lousiana on buses going to Houston and even San Antonio I believe. When I was listening to "Love, Lust, and Lies" this week there was a woman callar who left before the hurricane hit. She now wants to move up north and tried to find a job.

My little 14 year old sister was watching the news and told me that a man said to all the people, like a shout out. "Don't let them sit there, get there god damn asses up and help us!" Poor man! :\'( :\'( :\'(

Some good news.  One of the residents of NO that is here has not known where her kids were since they were separated during the hurricane.  They found the kids and showed her talking to them on the phone.  It is so nice to see some good news come out of this.  When they cut back to the anchorman, he was wiping his eyes.  Really tugs at the heartstrings.

It really blows that some little street thugs have to shoot at police helicopters >:( Elizabeth and I donated some stuff at the local Red Cross today. I also think it's great the Steve McNair and Brett Favre are helping out...along with I'm sure, many others.
So are a lot of NASCAR drivers as well as fans!

So are a lot of NASCAR drivers as well as fans!
:)

There now sending the homeless to Georgia and the Carolinas because the Texas Astrodome is full. 

They are still looking for people willing to house some of these refugees. We are seriously thinking about doing that but the fact that we are so far away, I don't know how feasible that will be.





Cat

Pro-Wrestler John Heidenreich still hasn’t talked to his father since his hometown in Louisiana was devastated by Hurricane Katrina Monday. Heidenreich is also furiously trying to re-connect with his wife and kids, who he last talked to on Saturday before the devastating storm hit.

Heidenreich, who is currently staying in a hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, has managed to receive some second-hand reports that are encouraging. However, he plans to get some answers for himself very soon, regardless of how dangerous conditions have become in New Orleans.

“I’m going down there Wednesday come hell or high water,” Heidenreich said. “I believe the Baton Rouge airport is open. I’m flying to whatever airport will land me, taking whatever rental car will drive me and I’m going to buy a gun for protection. If there’s no law down there, I’m not going to have some moron running around shoot me. I have a father, wife and kids to track down.”


Desperate Acts.


I think the Body retreival is going to start soon. I shudder to think just how many fatalities are going to be clocked up.

They are still looking for people willing to house some of these refugees. We are seriously thinking about doing that but the fact that we are so far away, I don't know how feasible that will be.





Cat


If you can, go for it.  There are about 1500 people here from that area that need housing and we are quite a ways away, too.  (Salt Lake City).  They are going anywhere there is a place for them.