New Orleans

[Sir Babydum GBE]

I just want to express how horrified I am at the scale of the devastation that hurricane Katrina wrought. My heart goes out to those who were, and still are affected by what has happened in New Orleans and other towns and cities that have been hit.

Are any of our contributors involved? Are they okay?

Sometimes I wish I really had the solutions...

[shades]

I add my prayers to those who are suffering.

What's amazing is that people expect/demand instantaneous response (very understandable)... but the magnitude of the problem is such that even if the entire world wanted to help, it would take at least 2-3 days for any kind of substantial help to arrive where needed.

FoxNews noted that most of the people still stranded in New Orleans have no contact with the outside world, and have no idea that New Orleans is basically gone. They truly think they will return to their homes by Monday.

And of course, the problems extend far beyond New Orleans into Mississippi and Alabama.

[Tommy]

My mother-in-law has taken an exchange student that was displaced by the hurricane, we have agreed to feed her LOL.

Some of the refugees have come here, about 75,000 have been bussed, no one is really sure how many were already here, or still on the way.

We are being asked to go to the churches to donate cloths etc. The churches will dispense. http://vbaexpress.com/forum/images/smilies/045.gif There are people that are patrolling the Hotel and Motels looking for cars from LA and MS, then they go in to the front desk and drop off supplies, telling them if someone needs it give it to them.

And of course to make matters worse, I got an e-mail this morning, this is not all of it just something else you don't think about. This is supposed to have come from police officers on duty. http://vbaexpress.com/forum/images/smilies/102.gif
"He informed him that everyone needs to be extremely careful right now and to tune in to what's going on around you. We need to remember that there are thousands of good people that are elderly, children and other homeless Katrina victims being housed with people that are criminals and addicts going through withdrawals out of no choice."

[ALe]

I add my prayers too!

[shades]

FEMA is spending $500 million/day on this catastrophy.

[Zack Barresse]

Congress, I saw this morning on the news, is passing through an $80 Billion for relief effort. That will get eaten up fast.

Shades: In regards to your first comment, I completely agree. I was watching Charles Gibson (Gibbons??) this morning on the Today show. He was interviewing the FEMA director. He was actually criticizing him for not doing more! I have never wanted to slap a reporter more than at that time. How dare he! That was total BS.

I know a lot of people who are donating to the Katrina relief efforts; and a lot of people who are going down there to help with manpower. A group of friends of mine are starting to spread the word to get donations for the Red Cross (http://www.redcross.org/). We thought about sending canned goods and water, but logistically it's a nightmare to send that stuff. Send cash, they can do with it what they need most, rather than try and transport raw goods down there and distribute to where it needs to go. Plus they can buy things cheaper than I can.

On top of that, prayers help.

[MOS MASTER]

I feel for all of those that suffer! :(

[TonyJollans]

As the full scale of it starts to become apparent it is clear that it is going to take some ime to get back to anything approaching normality, and for some it probably never will.

The many victims (I was going to say innocent victims but they're all innocent) of this tragedy are in my thoughts.

[MWE]

The media coverage has shown almost unbelievable devastation; and statements about this being the worst natural disaster in US history are probably right on. Firefytr's statement that $80B will be eaten up quickly is an understatement. I suspect that 10x (maybe 100x) that amount will be needed over the several (IMO at least 5) years required to recover (whatever "recover" means).

My heart certainly goes out to the millions of people impacted, but I wonder if we will learn the right lessons from this. Not that we should all do whatever we can to pitch in physically and monetarily at this time of need; we know that as individuals and as a nation (see Gordon Sinclair's 1973 Commentary (http://www.skfriends.com/tribute-usa.htm#The%20Americans):thumb). But, do we yet understand the impact of building where we probably should not be? No one who has visited New Orleans has not wondered about the sanity of a large city being several feet below sea level and so close to major bodies of water. Does New Orleans go the way of Seattle and rebuild on top of 1st floors? How much of the overall damage is a direct result of building in low areas that were bound to be hit by a major storm given enough time. I do not mean farms and towns that have been there for hundreds of years. I can surely understand the deisre to stay on land that has been in your family for many generations.

But what about the recent building boom along the Gulf Coast. It is but one example of behaviour I find mystifying:dunno. These developers are playing roulette with people's lives.