Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic Hurricane Katrina

One hundred and probably much more dead and perhaps two million homeless in USA, seven hundreds dead in Iraq,... Today it's a very sad day
My toughts and prayers are with all of them and their relatives

I'm hoping your brother-in-law is okay Pam, and so Jen and all FoLCs friends!

simona

Yes, it's a very sad day. I did hear about my brother-in-law last night, though -- apparently he's in Baton Rouge now, so he got out at some point... I pity the poor people still stuck in New Orleans, though; it's getting nasty in there. And yeah, I finally figured out the Baghdad reference.

PJ

I'm glad your brother-in-law made it out, Pam!

I heard from a friend today, who lives in NO and made it safely to Houston on Saturday. Her family is fine, but it sounds like her house isn't.. the outside is fine, but the inside has collapsed. I can't imagine what it's going to take for everyone to rebuild.

Did I hear correctly that at least one shark was spotted in the streets of New Orleans? I suppose it's possible but the mind boggles.

I've been watching the coverage, but I still can't wrap my mind around the whole thing. 23000 people being evacuated to the Houston Astrodome... No water... no food... Whole communities gone...

I'm very frustrated here in Canada because I have such a strong desire to help, but our Cdn Red Cross has requested that we don't donate anything as the American Red Cross has said that outside help is not necessary at this point.

I had to stop watching because my stomach was roiling in response to the news stories.

Irene

It's okay, Irene, it was only a *little* shark... only three feet long or so.



If you want to contribute something, there are tons of private organizations that would probably be happy to hear from you. Instapundit has a list of charities, and I'm sure there are lots more around.

The need is just mind-boggling, and they're probably gonna need all the help they can get.

PJ

I have to admit my first thought was how many alligators were swimming around out there.

LabRat

Oh, well, glad it was only a small shark!

Thanks for the link, Pam. I'm a big fan of the Mennonite Disaster Relief Organization so that's the group I'll be calling.

Irene

Irene, I find this very troubling. Not that I doubt what you are saying, but can you clarify where you heard this? Has it been broadcast that the American Red Cross is not accepting donations from non-US individuals?

I called the American Red Cross donation line (1-800-HELP-NOW) and was told that they will happily receive donations from anyone. I specifically asked if I lived in Canada or Mexico or elsewhere if I could donate, and I was told YES.

I went on line to make my donation, and I'm wondering if anyone outside of the US has tried to do the same. If any non-US FoLC has gone to the American Red Cross website and successfully made a donation, can you please let us know here.

So again, I find this extremely troubling that such a rumor is being spread. I'm afraid that many people who would like to donate will not do so because of it. Again, this is not directed at you Irene, but that you obviously heard this from someplace so this rumor is being circulated.

Thanks,
Lynn

This was said by the director of the Cdn Red Cross. From what I've heard, though, that position has changed now, which is good. But how many Cdns won't donate because of that inane comment!

I wasn't impressed.

Irene

I mentioned the Red Cross thing to my family last night. My bro-in-law said that he'd heard something a while back about the Red Cross getting in trouble. Money had been donated, but they ended up with more than they needed. So it didn't go towards the disaster it had been intended for and there was some kind of mess. He wasn't sure of the details, and now it's 24 hours later and my memory is fuzzy, but it was something like that. Maybe it was other chapters thinking they should have gotten some of that money sent back to them or something? Not sure. Anyway, he thought that was the reason... that it had caused trouble before and they were hoping to avoid it this time.

Anyway, we're trying to figure out what we can do from here. We've got a perfectly good empty apartment in Florida, and there are people who need housing until the mess gets cleared up... But the building is so uptight about not letting anyone stay over who isn't immediate family... Mom's just really upset about the whole thing with the Superdome and now the Astrodome. No food, no beds, no privacy... Can't they do better than that? Aren't there empty barracks on army bases scattered around the country? There's gotta be something more we can do besides just sending money...

Paul

First news on TV today was Major of New Orleans begging for food for his(her?)fellow citizens.
I'm watching the news just now: they're saying people in Superdome were forced to eat garbage.
My heart hurts.
And then when you think that, in many places in the world, begging for food and eating garbage is a daily condition for too many people and children, your heart bleeds

simona

I remember the Red Cross thing -- it was after 9/11 -- people donated millions upon millions under the theory that it would go to help the victims, but the Red Cross decided they'd use some of it to help with their other operating expenses and save some away for future disasters, which ticked people off. To be quite honest, it's why I donated somewhere besides the Red Cross this time around, although I suppose their decision might have made some sense, financially speaking.

PJ

Is that even legal? I remember after the Asian tsunami, the blanket organisation that was made up of several Third World charities like Oxfam, ActionAid, etc, here in the UK had cash left over. But they carefully wrote to each and every donor asking them if it was okay to use it for other disasters/needs or if they wanted it returned to them. A very small portion wanted a refund, but the majority just said use it as you see fit.

I'm not sure if they just thought that was the moral/sensible thing to do or whether they believed it was a legal requirement as the cash had been donated for a specific purpose and legally could only be used for that purpose.

I recall that there was an rumour item on the news that they were doing what the ARC did and it caused quite an angry backlash - so their spokespeople had to hastily appear on the news channels and issue statements that it wasn't true and that all and any money needed for the tsunami victims would be used there.

LabRat

Another way to help is at the following link.

Give to Help Victims of Hurricane Katrina

This is sponsored by Focus on the Family, a Christian organization that supports family and family values.

100% of the money donated through Focus will be distributed to all legitimate relief efforts.


James

Paul, Pam and Lab make a valid point. The job of the Red Cross is to swoop in immediately after a disaster and secure the urgent needs of the people, but once things have calmed down and no one is on the brink of starvation or medical crisis, RC backs away and lets other organizations take over.

So it does make sense that the RC might want to limit how much they receive for this situation and have people direct some of their donations toward organizations that will help people in the long term. I personally don't care. If the RC ended up with extra money and banked it for a future emergency, that's fine with me. As long as the money eventually finds its way into the hands of a victim who desperately needs it, I'm satisfied.

The other option is to donate directly to someone who you know needs the money. I'm sending WalMart shopping cards to a few people who have lost everything because I know they will be used to buy food and supplies as they are needed and when they are needed.

Lynn

What about all the large transport aircraft that the military has? Can't they fly those into New Orleans and use them to airlift people out in greater numbers than buses? The military is here to provide for national security and if this isn't a case of national security I don't know what is.

This is all very frustrating. I don't understand why it's taking them so long to help these people who have been without food and water for days. Why can't they put the fires out with helicopters?

The helicopter question is something that's been puzzling me greatly. Every official I've seen interviewed makes the same point - it's difficult to get into NO because the train tracks are out, the roads are underwater...but no one seems to ask them what was physically stopping helicopters from reaching the place. And I can't see what was.

We're seeing that they are doing so now, of course, but why not days ago?

And I was just asking about these military trucks we see. They seem to be managing to move through the floodwaters now, days after the event. So why were they apparently unable to days ago, when the level of flooding hasn't changed in the days inbetween?

Even the helicopters in now don't seem to be doing much good. I've just watched a news report that showed one landing in an area just long enough to dump out food and then lifting off, as a crowd of fit, young men swarmed around it.

As one desperate woman refugee watching pointed out, how are the elderly, the sick, the children supposed to get what they need this way? The only people being fed are the fit, young men, who are there for every drop, taking everything. They've been making these drops in the same place, all day, and it's the same small group of men taking the supplies every time they do.

Without some kind of controlled supply - guarded by soldiers if need be - the most vulnerable who most need these supplies aren't going to get a lookin.

As I understand it, their policy on this one at the moment is that the fires aren't in danger of spreading too much, so better use can be made of the helicopters they currently have doing other things, like aid drops. I presume that if the situation changes and the fires become more of a hazard, they'll have to put them out. But at the moment it's a case of prioritising what they have and where they can use it best. So, if the fires aren't causing too much of an immediate problem, they'll just let them burn out on their own, while they work elsewhere.

Marilyn, glad to see that you're safe and well. Hope this hasn't affected you too much.

LabRat

Glad to see you, Marilyn -- we were worried about you, and couldn't remember how close to things you might be...

PJ

Yeah, Marilyn, I've been discussing this a lot over the past few days with some friends and one of the many things I found frustrating was why the military wasn't in there doing things - they have the capability and the experience, so why let the local officials, who aren't used to this situation and some of whom are at the end of their tether! - struggle on with it? It seems to make no sense at all.

Thankfully, it sounds as if finally those who most needed help are beginning to get it. Soldiers are at the Convention Centre, food and water is being distributed by these soldiers, and the infirm and elderly will now be taken out. Not before time - and too late for some people, like the poor woman who gave birth last night only to see her baby die.

Glad to see you're safe, by the way, Marilyn - I don't know if you saw this thread , but you were one of the FoLCs people were concerned about.


Wendy