I don't think the French Quarter area is completely flooded, I could be wrong though. I've been checking out the webcam for that guys blog that rockHead posted earlier. He's been located in a high rise building located in the central business district since the storm hit and there is only minimal flooding in that area. I'm not exactly sure where that is in relation to the Quarter though. You can see people walking down the street and trucks driving by right now. Link to webcam: http://old.mises.org:88/NO2 Link to his blog: http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/
Reports are now saying this is probably the most deadly natural disaster to hit the U.S. since the 1906 quake that rocked San Francisco.
They don't say or show much. Where are they broadcasting from? It keeps scrolling KHOU Channel 11 on the bottom.
"One of the U.S. Marshalls was on hand so the supplies could not become loot. I asked him what his primary job was. He serves on the committee of counter terrorism, but once he saw of the disaster, he donated his forces to come help. He said the death toll could be nearing 10,000. It was sickening to hear that." http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/messagetopic.asp?p=1098677
I'm in total shock by how many people are still in their homes/ neighborhoods ~ everywhere you look there are people sitting up on their roofs or wading through muck water. The whole situation in Biloxi is crazy -- did they even have a mandatory evac before the storm hit?
There is a possibility that The 1900 Storm could get bumped as having the most fatalities in U.S. history for a natural disaster. It just really looks bad. Nobody at this point has any idea how many people stayed behind. Think about though what would have happened if Hurricane Andrew had hit downtown Miami head on instead of Homestead. Hurricanes are scary, this should make an impression on the U.S. for those who might be tempted to ignore evacuation orders in the future.
I don't think it did and I think government officials need to take a closer look at this policy. The Hurricane made a slight turn at the last minute and it caused unbelievable havoc. The point, we still cannot predict with 100% accuracy where these things go and I know its a lot to evacuate a city but you have to look at evacuating a larger area. I think it made all the difference in the world.
They just showed slidell (Duhon neighborhood) on the Louisiana TV, looks like about 6-7 feet. They are broadcasting from LSU. Interesting footage on people who get picked up from rooftop, and showed the long ass trek they have to make to superdome of all places.
We have had our share of disagreements here, but you are so spot on here. Thanks for the post. It is so hard to believe that this event happened. I saw a friend of mine who works for a contract of ours in Bay St. Louis, MS and he is, fortunately, okay along with the rest of his family (he is staying with his in-laws in Nashville). I can't believe how calm he appeared to me. He told me that he had no idea if anything was saved from his home - just 4 pairs of clothes along with some pictures. He then looked me in the eye and said "At least my family and me still have our lives and we are thankful for that." It was at that moment that I really began to truly fathom what has happened down there.
They had a mandatory evacuation before it hit. I believe it was Sunday. I remember watching the coverage the night of the storm and they were talking with the mayor, he said they didn't have the power to go door to door and force people to leave. They made it sound like a mandatory evacuation was just a term and nothing more.
More like Atlantis. They can't possibly build it back unless they can come up with some way to prevent this from happening again. It would be stupid to put all that money knowing another disaster is just a hurricane season away. New Orleans as we know it can't be rebuilt. The history is gone. I don't know the geography of the area, but they need to think about starting over elsewhere.
On Larry King the governor of Louisiana was adamant that New Orleans would be rebuilt. I think it will be but never to the levels of what it once was.
Anybody remember where I could purchase New Orleans relief band? I remember there was a Tsuami band. I'd imagine that somebody is selling them because they would sell like crazy.
Exactly. [DELETED KingCheetah... bad taste humor, I guess] Also: From Click2houston.com, a BEFORE AND AFTER shot:
Canada offers storm aid to U.S. By LISA ARROWSMITH EDMONTON (CP) - Canadian officials have started getting ready to send whatever type of aid the United States requires to help with the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan said Wednesday. "We want to reassure the president and the people of the United States that we are their best friends and their neighbour, and we will be there to help them in a situation that truly is without parallel in our country or theirs," said McLellan. "Yesterday, the Department of Human Health Services in the U.S. contacted our public health agency and asked for an inventory of emergency supplies that, if they need them, we could send at a moment's notice." That inventory was completed Wednesday. American officials are still assessing their needs, but in coming days Canada will be prepared to send everything from water purification systems to the Canadian military's Disaster Assistance Response Team. Asked by reporters about the effect of Katrina on the Canadian economy - such as sharply higher oil prices as a result of supply disruptions - McLellan acknowledged there could be an impact but stressed she wants to focus on the human tragedy of the disaster at this moment. Federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale didn't put any limits on the financial or in-kind contributions Canada could make to the rescue and reconstruction efforts. "If we've got it, and the Americans need it, obviously, we'll be there," he told the Regina Leader-Post. Goodale cited the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration as a possible way in which Canada can help in the re-building effort. "PFRA is one of the pre-eminent agencies in the world on waterflows," he said. "Obviously, this is a human tragedy of enormous proportions, and the government of Canada and the people of Canada will want to be of every possible assistance we can be to our neighbors at a time of great distress." Prime Minister Paul Martin was set to speak by phone Thursday with U.S. President George W. Bush about what Canada can do to help the reconstruction effort. B.C.'s provincial Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team was leaving for Lafayette, La. on Wednesday. The state's goveror's office had requested help from the team, Solicitor General John Les said. "We're the first non-U.S.-based team to be requested," Les said. "They're going to be helping as many people as they can." The 45-person Vancouver-based team is trained in urban disaster relief and had been dispatched to Southeast Asia after the Boxing Day tsunami. Elsewhere in Canada, Ontario is looking into whether its medical and hydro workers can help, and Premier Dalton McGuinty spoke to the U.S. ambassador to Canada asking what the province can do. "We stand at the ready to assist," said McGuinty, who added Ontario could help with its Emergency Medical Assistance Team. Relief efforts by Canadians in disaster zones are largely organized in Ottawa, but McGuinty said he wants to know from Ambassador David Wilkins what specifically Ontario can do. Manitoba Premier Gary Doer said officials with Manitoba Hydro have also offered to send staff to the affected areas to help restore power. At least 125 people have died in the severely flooded states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, while New Orleans is a swamp with about 80 per cent of the city under water. A spokeswoman for the Canadian Red Cross said lists of volunteers experienced in large-scale disasters were being assembled. Suzanne Charest said agency officials expect a handful of volunteers may be ready to travel to Louisiana and Mississippi sometime this weekend. "If you look at the impact of hurricane Katrina, we'll be sending well over 100 Canadian Red Cross workers in the coming weeks," Charest said from Ottawa. Most of the volunteers will help spell off exhausted American relief workers in the coming months, she said. The Canadians will put in three weeks of gruelling, emotionally draining work that could see them huddling in shelters in sleeping bags along with those left homeless. "They'll be interviewing families to see what kind of resources they need. Maybe they've lost their house, they need clean-up kits, they need financial support, they can't work." A spokeswoman for Mennonite Disaster Service in Winnipeg said its sister agency in the U.S. is sending three or four investigators to Mississippi where they hope to set up a base camp for volunteers to help rebuild homes. More than 500 Canadian Mennonites may eventually be sent to the U.S., said Lois Nickel of the church-based relief organization. The first priority is to cut up downed trees and get them off power lines and roads, she said. "Some folks from surrounding states that volunteer with us are hoping to go into parts of Alabama already this weekend to do chainsawing," said Nickel. "Up here, our job right now is to take calls for donations." Some aid was already heading south Wednesday. A crew of 10 hydro-line workers from Chatham-Kent Hydro in Ontario was on its way to help restore power to homes and businesses. http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2005/08/31/1196404-cp.html
