Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic Hurricane Katrina

Anyone else watching this thing? My roommate is supposed to wake me up in the morning and let me know whether or not we have to vacate our apartment. I might pack up and head to Georgia with a few people if this storm gets any worse...pray that there's some Gulf Coast when I get back. Personally, it would be a god-send if it moved a little more west tomorrow, but we shall see...

Jen

Fingers crossed - hope everything turns out ok

**crosses some fingers too**

Mom already called me and woke me up at 6:30 this morning. (So much for sleep, right?) She and dad are in Orlando this weekend on a conference and are safe, but she told me to just get the hell out of town than stay in their house (by myself) which is the usual plan. So we're just waiting for the official word from campus to leave, but I seriously doubt they'll tell us to stick around with a 5 churning not too far away. Um, keep me in your thoughts, ok? It's pretty damn scary. It's amazing to think, though, after 17 years here this is only the first time I'm evacuating.

Jen

I've been keeping an eye on Katrina -- she's scary. From what I'm seeing, this could be the worst storm in thirty years or more. I quote from the Weather Channel guy on location -- "If you're not scared, you should be."

Jen, I'll say a prayer for the safety of you and our other Gulf Coast friends ... and, less importantly, also for the oil refinery near New Orleans; if that gets wrecked, gas prices will skyrocket

PJ

Yikes, Jen! Stay safe!!! Sending good thoughts and good luck your way!

Sara

Jen,

Hope you have already evacuated. The Weather Channel is having round-the-clock coverage of Katrina. I've been watching on-and-off for new updates on the situation there.

I'm far from the coast (DFW), but still hope everyone is safe out there on Katrina's path.

**crossing fingers for everyone's belonguings and lives**

malu

P.S.: Let us know as soon as you can of your situation (this is for everyone on the hurricane path)

I'm from south Louisiana and we are watching the storm closely. We have family staying at our house, ane are praying everything will work out fine. Hey, I also hope the storm doesn't mess with the oil refineries - gas prices are plenty high enough!!

Stay safe, Jen!

And stay safe yourself, Shelly

Have you been to the store yet to get eggs, milk, & bread? I think those are required by law

PJ
who's just heard that her brother-in-law who lives in New Orleans is going to stay there...

I hope you'll be safe from this monster!

simona

I just heard how bad this had gotten over on another forum, and thought of y'all. Stay safe!

And Jen, I hope you are taking your mom's suggestion!

Hi,

If any of you are in the path of this hurricane move.

This is kind of phenomenon are very unpredictable and very dangerous.

Don't let you guard down.

MAF
My prays with everyone.

I can't belive it...I was in New Orleans a week ago!! And I'm very sorry because it's a fantastic city..I've loved it!!

I've been watching the reports on CNN this morning and feeling great worry for all of you in the Gulf Coast area and for everyone in southern Lousiana and Mississippi. It looks like New Orleans has been spared the very worst, though hearing that the Superdome is coming apart was shocking, but places like Biloxi and Gulfport are in a very bad way.

I think what astonishes and appals me almost as much as the terrible destruction is what the news organisations expect of their reporters and crews. These people are among the only human beings outside, exposed to the elements. There's one reporter and his crew in a car in Gulfport, a place described as a ghost town - everyone's evacuated. Everyone but the reporting team! And every time they go to Gulfport this reporter gets out of the protection of his armoured car and into 100+mph winds and torrential rain.

In Biloxi, with gusts of 90+mph, a reporter and crew are standing outside a hotel which is falling apart! Bits of roof tiles, vinyl siding, window-frames and glass and even bits of trees are blowing everywhere, and these people are stnding out in it. In New Orleans CNN has a reporter standing outside the Superdome, a building which was supposed to withstand anything but whose roof is peeling off due to the weather. They've got another guy on a pier in Baton Rouge, where the Mississippi has risen about 10 feet and where an enormous barge is floating loose and banging against the same pier, and the winds are so strong he can barely stand upright.

Are we that hungry for news that we want people's lives to be put at risk just to bring us a story? In Baton Rouge a student being interviewed said, almost gleefully, that this was a "fun place" to watch the storm from. Anyone who could describe this sort of weather, a hurricane which has already destroyed lives, property, natural resources and so on to such an extent, and which will cause destruction running into perhaps billions of dollars, not to mention hardship and anguish for so many people who may return to their homes in a few days' time to find that they've lost most of what they owned, and maybe their jobs too if the businesses where they worked are destroyed too, needs to re-evaluate his priorities.

/rant


Stay safe, everyone in Katrina's path! And, whenever you can, let us know that you're okay. Jen, Shelley, anyone else in that part of the US, we're keeping you in our thoughts.


Wendy

You didn't see the stupid guy on CNN, did you? He and his camera man walked out of a hotel loading dock (I think in New Orleans).. the camera man stayed between the walls, but the news guy walked out towards the street and crouched behind a trashcan. As he was holding onto the trashcan, a metal bar broke off in his hand. He let the bar go down the street and finally came back inside. The desk anchor said he had a lot of courage, but not a lot of sense.

I hope our Gulf folcs are all right, but I know a lot of people down there are without power and internet. We'll be waiting.

/me mumbles about Gulf coast customers calling up about their internet in the middle of a hurricane, and soon after... had heard one customer even said "I was wondering why my power was flickering"

Yes, I saw that and was appalled at him deliberately letting the bar go. Hope it didn't hit anyone further down the street!

I'd take out the courage part and just leave in the plain stupidity.

LabRat

Ditto. I saw that too. Moron! You know, I wonder how many of these news reporters not only endanger their own safety and lives, but hamper rescue efforts by either being in the way or needing to be rescued themselves!

On the other hand, there was a CNN cameraman who went out in one of the rescue boats in New Orleans yesterday evening, without his camera, helping to get trapped people off the roofs of their houses and onto dry(ish) land.

But then this morning CNN had a report from Biloxi, Missouri, where an apartment block collapsed killing 30 people. 55 are believed dead so far in the town. What was the big story? Some idiot had come to Biloxi from California to, and I quote, "see the hurricane." He came to a city which was being evacuated because it was facing the worst storm in decades. And he came to be a sightseer. In a city where dozens are dead, where thousands have lost their homes and all they possess, all he was interested in was the 'thrill' of watching and filming the storm. Standing on the fourth floor of a car park videoing the storm surge, 25 feet and more of water coming up from the bay. Well, he got his thrill, he got his videotape and he'll have his few hours of fame on CNN - but what a selfish, compassionless moron. All he could do was smile and talk about what an amazing experience it had been, while less than a mile from where he was thrillseeking 30 people are still inside what used to be their homes, dead. I can only imagine how angry I'd be if I was a Biloxi resident who'd lost my home or, worse still, seen loved ones swept away by the water and debris.

Disasters do generally bring out the best in people in terms of helping one another - but they seem to bring out the worst in some people, too.


Wendy

And this ain't over yet. New Orleans is flooding.

There's a lot of information to be found here: http://www.brendanloy.com/ He's not an official anything, just a hurricane buff who's been phenomenal in pulling information together.

PJ

Yeah, I'm watching the video on TV about the flooding in New Orleans. In some places the water is so high, it goes up to the roof of the houses. I'm watching on the local news, the coast guard is rescuing about 10 people from of a roof. My uncle lives there and we have no idea how his house is; he is staying in Destin.
There are also fires burning, and people are still trapped on their roofs. The rescue workers are trying to get roads cleared enough to get to the stranded people. It's really a terrible situation. People are also looting homes and taking people's belongings.

The newscasters are saying that New Orleans looks like downtown Baghdad.

Here at my house, all is well. We got a little rain and alot of winds.

Glad to hear you're okay, Shelly!

??? I thought downtown Baghdad would be all dry & dusty? I guess it depends on your point of view... Oh well, they've been broadcasting continously for two-three days, so I guess they're entitled to stretch their analogies a bit.

I haven't heard anything about my brother-in-law yet. Supposedly, he was taking shelter in a very solidly built house on relatively high ground, but I don't know if it'll be high enough...

PJ

Well, I figure the comparison was more down to 'looking like a bomb just hit it and now a heap of rubble' rather than wet or dry.

LabRat

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

I did see one report that said something about there not being any place to land helicopters near the Superdome or the Convention center. Something about a parking lot being a possibility, but it had a lot of telephone polls that had to be removed first. Even so, this doesn't explain whey they didn't send troops in via helicopter - they could have fast roped in - to receive air-dropped supplies.

Isn't this disgusting? What does this say about our society? What does this say about these young men and their values? To hoard this food for themselves and their own families while they see elderly and sick people sitting by with nothing? Shame on them!

Lynn

To be clear, I wasn't criticizing the American Red Cross. I was conveying a possible explanation as to why the Canadian Red Cross had been discouraging foreign donations.

As for the young men taking the supplies... Is anyone sure what they're doing with them? Are they actually hoarding them, or were they appointed to do the heavy lifting and help with the distribution?

Well, whatever the case with them, the whole operation does seem like it's being handled very poorly. There's got to be a better way to do it all. More to the point, there's got to be something more we, the ones who are sitting high and dry, can do to help, other than sending money and letting other people clean up the mess for us.

Paul

Didn't y'all hear? There were some idiots in NO that were *shooting* at the helos that were coming in to help! Makes me want to cry for the people who weren't doing the shooting--they got to suffer for their neighbor's stupidity.

Word is that people are moving to other parts of the country, so over here in Atlanta, we might be getting some of the refugees from the gulf coast.

Laura

Here's an interesting bit of information: http://junkyardblog.net/archives/week_2005_08_28.html#004749 (there's a picture)

Apparently the city of New Orleans owns tons of buses that they *could* have used to evacuate people before the storm -- but they didn't.

PJ

You're assuming that there were people available who know how to drive those buses. It's not the same as driving a car; there's a reason you need a special license. You're also assuming they are all in working condition (which may be true, but it's hard to guess from a picture).

Also, as far as the "finally!" comments, I'd like to quote a friend of mine from another forum , whose husband is among the firefighters from Alabama who have gone to NO to help with the rescue efforts.

Rivka, if you read the text accompanying the article you'll see that the writer was making two points about those buses - or rather, pointing out that there were two ways in which they could have been used if someone in the city had actually thought about it beforehand. They could have been moved to higher ground - say, the freeway just above where the buses are parked. That way they would have been available to bus people out of the city once the waters started rising on Tuesday.

Or, better still, they could have been used to take people out of the city last week. What is the point of ordering a mandatory evacuation when 50% of people in the city have no means of their own of getting out? - indiscriminately, raping women and children and murdering people. I hope that those thugs are caught and imprisoned and that they throw away the key.

But I also think about bodies piled up in the convention centre, and that poor woman in the wheelchair with a blanket thrown over her, and the other poor woman who gave birth with no medical attention and whose baby died, and all the other appalling scenes on television this week, reminiscent of a Rwandan or Bosnian refugee camp, and I am furious at officials who complacently declared that everything\'s under control and take their sweet time to get food and water in and get the evacuation started. Sure, the city was dangerous, but that's what the national guard and army is trained for, right? That's what flak jackets and armoured cars are for, right?

At least this evening things are finally beginning to look better. I hope that continues - I would just hate to think what worse would look like.


Wendy

As far as I know (and I could very well be wrong), it takes a special type of helicoptor to bring in water, or a copter with a special container hanging underneath. The local authorities have been trying to take care of it, but in some cases right now it might be better to let something burn now instead of demolish it later. Just a thought.

And I'd heard of people shooting at the rescuers, too. That's why they had to stop boat and other evacuations for a time. You'd think that the snipers would allow those who want to get out of the city get out.

Rivka, I don't think that many people mean to imply that nobody was doing anything during this past week when they offer up complaints about the situation. I can't speak for everyone, of course, but my own frustration is with the City of New Orleans, the state government of Louisiana, and US federal government for both not acting pre-emptively (as Wendy has described so well in her post above) in evacuating those whom they knew had no means to self-evacuate, and then responding in such a way that simply doesn't make sense considering the information we have all been shown.

I have all the respect in the world for the rescue workers who are putting aside their own personal losses to work around the clock to help these people. In a million years I would never imply that they have done anything but their very best to make things better. They are true heroes in this tragedy, as are the millions of people in the US and around the world who have donated money and supplies.

What I have issues with is the fact that not enough people, supplies, military troops, etc. were put in the right place at the right time to do the jobs they are willing to do. All of this "we were waiting to be asked" that the various government officials keep bantering about is pure hogwash, IMO. FEMA and other organizations have done what-if scenarios on this very kind of crisis, so why weren't they standing at the ready, able to sweep in mere hours after the levees began to give way rather than four days later? And how is it that the public was aware of the situation sooner than the officials in charge? How hard is it to put officials on the scene to convey what is needed and where and when? Isn't that the very job of FEMA?

Lynn

Hi y'all,

Well first off please don't get mad if I say something wrong b/c well I'm super tired and if I don't chit chat now, I won't for a while probably I miss it here. (promotion and 12 hr days for the past few weeks have made me numb in the head). I’ll probably read it in the future and think - gee I said that? I meant to say it this way…

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**crosses some fingers too**

Mom already called me and woke me up at 6:30 this morning. (So much for sleep, right?) She and dad are in Orlando this weekend on a conference and are safe, but she told me to just get the hell out of town than stay in their house (by myself) which is the usual plan. So we're just waiting for the official word from campus to leave, but I seriously doubt they'll tell us to stick around with a 5 churning not too far away. Um, keep me in your thoughts, ok? It's pretty damn scary. It's amazing to think, though, after 17 years here this is only the first time I'm evacuating.

Jen
_________________

I really hope you and your gang are doing well.

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I've been keeping an eye on Katrina -- she's scary. From what I'm seeing, this could be the worst storm in thirty years or more. I quote from the Weather Channel guy on location -- "If you're not scared, you should be." Chief Pam
Oh I agree!!!!!!

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I'm from south Louisiana and we are watching the storm closely. We have family staying at our house, ane are praying everything will work out fine. Hey, I also hope the storm doesn't mess with the oil refineries - gas prices are plenty high enough!! Shellyem
________________________
My thoughts are with you <hug>

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I can't belive it...I was in New Orleans a week ago!! And I'm very sorry because it's a fantastic city..I've loved it!!
I was talking about going with my husband. I was so devistated at all that history washing away, the people who give the energy and right down to that duck I saw on CNN getting blown down the street.

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I think what astonishes and appals me almost as much as the terrible destruction is what the news organisations expect of their reporters and crews. These people are among the only human beings outside, exposed to the elements. There's one reporter and his crew in a car in Gulfport, a place described as a ghost town - everyone's evacuated. Everyone but the reporting team! And every time they go to Gulfport this reporter gets out of the protection of his armoured car and into 100+mph winds and torrential rain.
What was up w/ Anderson Cooper (CNN) standing beside that great big crane when the wind was nasty!? What if that thing came down!

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In Baton Rouge a student being interviewed said, almost gleefully, that this was a "fun place" to watch the storm from. Anyone who could describe this sort of weather, a hurricane which has already destroyed lives, property, natural resources and so on to such an extent, and which will cause destruction running into perhaps billions of dollars, not to mention hardship and anguish for so many people who may return to their homes in a few days' time to find that they've lost most of what they owned, and maybe their jobs too if the businesses where they worked are destroyed too, needs to re-evaluate his priorities.

I couldn’t imagine living in a place or time where such a thing was common place - loosing your home or lives as a part of life. I am glad we live in a place where we can most likely be helped.

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Ditto. I saw that too. Moron! You know, I wonder how many of these news reporters not only endanger their own safety and lives, but hamper rescue efforts by either being in the way or needing to be rescued themselves!
Adding to the problem. Hmmm. Maybe it can be a natural selection process for dumb reporters. Oh dear here comes a tomato.


I was glued to the TV when I saw Katrina hit Florida. I get so interested when I read about weather, space or hear a jet engine roar, etc. It's just my chemical make up I guess. Like many I'm sure, or anybody knowing the jazz about hurricanes and such, you had to have known Katrina was going to be a whopper!

I took three years of climatology at school and it fascinated me. Also we learned about natural hazards and government and other societal responses to it. If it wasn’t for the math I’d be doing geography instead of accounting (doesn’t sound right ‘eh? $=math). It was tough to learn not only from a 'scientific standpoint', but when I did my psych degree we learned about how people react in such situations. It would bring tears to my eyes. I couldn’t do the psych part. I bring it home.

I want to experience a hurricane one day. I want to see a tornado one day. I want to experience a earthquake (in an empty field!). I still want to ride in a shuttle even if it might go kerpow. Yet, I think pple who climb Mt. Everest are nuts! I am a scaredy cat and over protective of myself and hide when lighting strikes, but I still have this overwhelming urge to see it and experience it. I’d rather risk Mother Nature than walk though the North End of my city at night. My point is I can understand the twit who came from California to see the hurricane - but like others, he didn’t know it was going to be so…devastating. My mum thought the tornado chasers and explorers of centuries past where nuts - but hey some pple have that gene. Not quite to comparable, but I can see the similarities.

I can see what the dumb reporters are doing on the tele - risking their lives and others, and in a way I wish I was them AND I want to smack them upside the head. Reporters do annoy me (but not our Lois Lane - Ralph yes). I wouldn't want to go and hinder any emergency response b/c *me* a 'tourist' was there. I'm torn like that.

I'm glad the reporters are there to tell us what is happening and are our watchdogs to see if pple are doing their job (ie. gov't response). Yes reporters don't get it right all the time or have stupid ways of describing things (in my opinion)(e.g. 'our' tsunami, 'our' Hiroshima etc.. I was disgusted when I heard those word being used. I won’t go into why - I’m sure some pple are disagreeing. *Yes* the Katrina hit area is horrid and makes me cry, they deserve their own 'word', but don't compare oranges to apples. I can see why they would use the words - because they are all fruit - destruction that makes you mouth drop and your heart tear.) I was just waiting for CNN to report deaths so they could call it a killer hurricane - they love to add that killer/terror element in a sensational way. I roll my eyes. Just report please don’t make it like the National Inquirer.

My heart broke when I watched one man describe loosing his wife in the turbulent waters and one woman in disbelief that her house just basically disappeared. I cannot imagine or put myself in anyone’s place, but I was ticked at some pple. I guess everyone just reacts differently - of course! One woman was stating she had no water and the nearest supply station would take her half a day to get to. She was not physically hindered in anyway (it was stated as a fact) - walk! How far do pple in drought areas walk for food and water? Again I guess different mentalities (eg. Fear) and expectations.

I am disappointed the relief is not 100% effective, but it is hard to get everywhere. Imagine all that area, imagine all the people. I am disappointed they didn’t prepare for a cat 5 (HEEEEEEEEEEELLLLO you are way below sea level) or for the other fact they had insufficient supplies ready for the pple at the Superdome, but in a way I thought it would be impossible to maneuver that many people effectively. I cannot fathom trying to coordinate something within a two day span like what pple wanted. If anyone could do that I would be sooooo happy. I only did a month of emergency training for natural disasters, I couldn’t imagine having that as my job. Why didn't they have groups of military vehicles set up with supplies outside of the danger zone and move in when realistically possible?

When Grand Forks flooded and the buildings downtown started to burn, they thought why can’t anyone put it out? They lost their city’s newspaper building. All the historical info gone. Dumping water on it a building would damage it. Yes fire is damaging it, but what if you made things worse? Perhaps it would get knocked down by the force of the water and may hit another building, it may create a wave. Yeah fire may do that too. What if others are near by and we don’t know it? If it is isolated then it isn’t an immediate concern. If fire is already at it, water has probably already damaged it. Why fix something that is probably already damaged when you could be doing something that WILL help and not just MIGHT help - unless toxic chemicals are involved. I used to have a good article debating such an issue. Gee my unorganized self doesn’t know where it could be.

If I had the same life I do here, but only in New Orleans I would have jumped on my bike and left with my backpack of stuff. I know how many kms I could do and hey I’d try. I’d be more scared of the people than the storm. I wouldn’t have stayed and the thought of being with so many pple at the Superdome actually frightened me. I thought of the toilets, madly agitated pple and the water.

I have been thinking of the pple I saw on CNN in the French Quarter who stayed and survived the initial winds and such. Now that there are flood waters, I wonder if they are O.K. now. When I watched them last, they where dining on food from a nearby restaurant who was giving it away b/c hey, it was going to go bad. I keep thinking of them.

Every hurricane season I like to go through my old text books and see what it may do or what society may do. I think of the people, the distraction and outcomes. I am saddened by what we loose and hope society actually learns, adjusts and adapts. I hope everyone is okay and think of my relatives and friends down there. And I wish I could be there to see it. Either in the airplanes that go through to study it or on the ground wanting to historically record it. You must respect Mother Nature. Prepare for it. Prepare what your fellow person may do. Suck it up and go forward. That’s what I would do or what I like to think I would do based on past personal experience.

Totally!
We knew and we just watched the news - for the most part I guess anyways!!

Laura, that didn't happen to several days in. I'm not talking about the later stages, but early on. What still continues to puzzle me was why there were no helicopters flying in the first couple of days. Long before such shooting incidents. And if they had come in timeously with relief and rescue, instead of waiting till five days later, it's doubtful the situation would have deteriorated to the point where snipers and armed gangs roaming the streets would have become the problem it is now. In the early days, it was just some unarmed looters in supermarkets. If the NG had been brought in right at the start, they could easily have neutralised that threat, nipped it in the bud.

Yesterday, I saw a little bit of a report with a reporter in Biloxi. She pointed out that she and her crew were amazed to finally see the first FEMA, ARC and National Guard arriving just that morning. She and her crew, she pointed out, had been there for days.

And, of course, she was right. As Wendy pointed out in her post, reporters have been swarming all over NO in helicopters shooting footage since about two hours after the event. Granted, some of them would already have been there pre-hurricane to film that, but not all of them. A huge no. - especially overseas reporters whose editors would not have paid for them to helicopter into NO just to film the hurricane, they'd rely on US footage for that, and did - came in right after the storm left. Half of the UK's news reporters have been reporting from NO all week. I think most of them started reporting live there from Tuesday. If they could fly into NO from the UK that early on, so could American aid agencies.

If they could get in by helicopter, why couldn't helicopters to drop food/water/medical supplies to those poor people dumped on a concrete overpass for example? And I'm not just talking at an official level. Don't the cities/states surrounding the affected ones have air ambulances? Helicopters? How much does it take to go to a warehouse, load up with bottled water, get in your air ambulance and fly? How could you not, watching the pictures unfolding on your TV?

Nor am I sure I'd accept the excuse that helicopters couldn't land. I saw one do it yesterday - the one which just dumped food out and then left again. And again I'm not talking about later, when things obviously got very dangerous for relief crews thanks to the shooting, lawlessness and I don't blame them for having difficulty then, but right at the start - the golden 72 hours, the first two days. And as far as those poor people dying on the overpass goes, you have a very large stretch of flat concrete road there. They couldn't land on that? Or hover and airdrop? The state governer said on TV yesterday that she'd been asking for a 'Berlin drop' for days. That shouldn't have been difficult. They can do it all over the world, why did America prove logistically impossible?

LabRat

This bus thing just keeps getting worse -- there were 255 school buses and 364 city transit buses. Even if they'd only had drivers for half that many, they could have gotten *thousands* of people out before Katrina hit. The city of New Orleans "emergency plan" says they're supposed to use those buses for evacuation. But nope. They're just sitting there -- totally ruined *and* polluting the water further.

The more I hear about the mayor (and local government) of New Orleans the less impressed I get. He should have started evacuating last Saturday -- and the only reason he ordered an evacuation on Sunday is because President Bush asked him to. From what I can see, the logic there was "well, lots of people can't get out, so why bother telling them to?" Given all those buses, that's just a reprehensible attitude.

I know the medical people, National Guard, Coast Guard, etc, etc, are doing a heroic job, and I am deeply respectful of that. But it sure looks like the ones whose job it was to be prepared for an entirely predictable disaster have utterly failed them.

Oh, and on a random semi-related note, about the helicopters -- you know all those video shots of people stuck on rooftops, where the helicopter apparently just takes pictures and flies away? If I were one of those people who'd rather be rescued than seen on TV, I'd be incredibly ticked at those 'copters. But then it occurred to me that media choppers probably wouldn't have the capacity to rescue anyone -- they certainly wouldn't have that nifty basket on a winch arrangement. So that makes it a *little* better. Still seems cruel to get people's hopes up and then just fly away, though. I'll just hope they were recording locations and passing them along to people who *would* be able to perform rescues.

PJ

I'm getting more and more frustrated at what I see on TV. Ugh.

I was watching one news channel the other day, where the guy said the television equipment was taking up too much space for them to carry anyone. However, they were taking note of the locations, complete with GPS locations, and passing them on to the people who *could* go pick them up. So you could probably consider them a scout.

To any of you who were affected by HK, or know people who were, I hope for the best for all of you. This is so tough to watch on TV and see how disastrous it has become.