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Post by Shan on Aug 29, 2005 19:46:44 GMT
Do we have any board members from Louisiana (New Orleans or near that area)? Do any of you have family or friends living in that area? With hurricane Katrina, having just passed through that area and now in souther Mississippi, the people there have been very much on my mind. I hope and pray that if you live in this area or have family or friends that live in this area that they are OK or will be OK. This look pretty bad right now and there will be alot of people without home when this is all over. A very sad situation. Shan
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Post by Tsel on Aug 29, 2005 19:56:59 GMT
I heard the Louisiana superdome's roof was ripped off. Is this true? Tsel
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Post by Shan on Aug 29, 2005 20:25:58 GMT
Only a small part the last I heard. May have lost more since then though. Over 10,000 people had taken refuge in it and the National Guard was trying to move the ones in that section to a different section. I haven't heard anything recently though. Shan
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Post by Alrik on Aug 29, 2005 21:52:01 GMT
Personally, I don't understand why the people don't buy as much houses made of stone like we do here or is my impression wrong ?
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Post by janggut on Aug 30, 2005 2:44:03 GMT
that hurricane is realy really powerful, Al, & from what i've heard, that hurricane is among the most damaging when it comes to cost.
i hope & pray that everyone there will be ok.
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Post by Shan on Aug 31, 2005 4:20:17 GMT
Right now 80% of the city of New Orleans is underwater with some spots at least 20 feet deep and it could get worse. Bilouxi, Mississippi and Mobile, Alabama were two more place that were hit pretty hard. This one has been really bad and who knows what other states will experience some flood as Katrina moves northward across the US. Jags the number of deaths is still far from being know. Mississippi was saying over 80 and New Orleans was just saying in the hundreds. It is very, very sad. Shan
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Post by philster on Aug 31, 2005 4:47:10 GMT
Yeah, but it's not a direct hit. It really could have been worse than it was. Still, the situation right now is they are dealing with alligators, snakes, mosquitoes, ruffians with no help in sight. The water is as high as the attics in some places and people are having to huddle, hoping the water won't come any higher until they can get some rescue relief.
The worse may not be over too. When the water finally goes away, there will be some collapsing structures as a result.
The Superdome was beaten up but it held firm. Only two holes in the roof, though that is a testement to just how fierce this hurricane was - imagine if it hadn't veered off to the east, the Superdome might be underwater.
It's a pretty sombering situation down there. It could affect the rest of the States as well since we get 25% of our oil from there. Gas prices might go through the roof if there's been too much damage.
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Post by dvdavenport on Aug 31, 2005 12:13:51 GMT
Last I heard, there were at lease 5 oil rigs adrift and 2 which were badly damaged, but still moored.
And gas went up more than 50 cents a gallon here, this morning.
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Post by Tsel on Aug 31, 2005 12:58:29 GMT
Oil companies will use any excuse to raise fuel prices. I'm not belittling the Hurricane and the damage it has done, but I'd like to see how it was a real cause to fuel prices rising in all of the US States.
The coast of Louisiana is below sea level so when those levees give way parts of the coastal region of Louisiana doesn’t stand a chance.
Tsel
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Post by Shan on Sept 1, 2005 0:05:28 GMT
Looks like things are still getting worse. The people housed in the Superdome are now being transported to the Astrodome in Houston because of flooding there. And another breach in the levee means even more flooding. Thousands of death, and now they are in a state of emergency because of the concern about the potential for cholera, typhoid and dehydrating diseases that could come as a result of the stagnant water. How much more will these people be asked to endure? My prayers continue to be with them and I hope things will be able to be gotten under control soon. Shan
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Post by philster on Sept 1, 2005 0:59:45 GMT
One of my friends at another forum who lives in Louisiana had this to say:
There is more than one way in and out of New Orleans, (friend). The interstate bridge and another bridge are gone but there are still other roads in and out. But they aren't letting anyone into the city, understandably.
And New Orleans isn't history. Neither is Biloxi. They're pretty beat up but there is no question of rebuilding and fixing as soon as we can. New Orleans was actually not that bad off until after the hurricane had passed. But then the levee bursted and that's what really flooded the city. So the army corps of engineers is fixing the breaches and once they drain the city, everyone will go to fixing her up.
The real problem is all the people who've been displaced. Every single hotel and shelter in Louisiana is full now. I heard from (another friend of ours at this forum) and she and her family evacuated to Houston. And they say the refugees will probably have to stay in the shelters for at least two months. My mom and I went and donated a bunch of things today to one of the shelters. The city officials are saying they're gonna try to enroll all the children into local schools for now and worry about their records later so they don't fall behind. So I'm gonna see if i can volunteer-teach while they need people.
Honestly, everyone around here is pretty upset of course but there is still an air of hope. Everyone knows that life will return to normal and we will rebuild and this time, hopefully New Orleans can build it's hurricane defenses for a level 5 hurricane. Previously, they were only built for a level 3 b/c we didn't have the money and level 5 is soooo rare.
I didn't know a hurricane could really be so destructive. We get three or four every year and they're no big deal. This is the worst one ever. None of us were expecting anything this bad.
* * *
I was very lucky. Everyone in New Orleans that I knew got out before the storm and we had no real damage. We still have a few friends in Biloxi that we haven't heard from yet but I'm pretty optimistic.
It's amazing how everyone is pulling together to help out. (most everyone)
* * *
they're still evacuating people from New Orleans and the other parishs that are under water.
Worst thing tho is how some of the people are taking advantage. In New Orleans and some of the surrounding areas there were so many people looting. They caught people on film breaking into stores and just stealing whatever they could get their hands on. And some inmates in one of the New Orleans prisons broke out and they're still rounding them up. And they put Kenner and a few cities under martial law for a while.
But mostly, everyone is pitching in and helping where ever they can.
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Post by Shan on Sept 1, 2005 1:18:33 GMT
It's good to hear that the people there are pulling together and trying to help each other for the most part. I'm glad you posted what your friend had to say. Shan
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Post by philster on Sept 1, 2005 1:20:02 GMT
Yeah. My friend lives in Baton Rouge and they weren't too hard hit by the hurricane. I'm glad she survived it. She's a sweetie.
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Post by janggut on Sept 1, 2005 5:09:16 GMT
i didn't realise how bad that hurricane can be until i watch the telly. this is one of the reason why i hate tv. bad news all the way. glad to know however that people are holding up & are no dainty flowers as well. thank God those people are doing ok though things could be better. also glad to see the army helping people out. i was really mad when i saw the vids of people looting. much sadder was when i saw those of poor community making their way out of the disaster areas. no cars to drive, nothing.
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Post by Elliot Kane on Sept 1, 2005 5:13:14 GMT
This is a horrible tragedy, and I hope the poor people of Louisiana will soon be able to get their lives back in order again.
My best wishes go out to them, and to any of you who have friends and family out there. May all your loved ones be safe.
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Post by janggut on Sept 1, 2005 5:37:01 GMT
3 states got hit - louisiana, alabama & misissippi (sp?)
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Post by Sir Ped of Ro on Sept 1, 2005 8:27:00 GMT
i hope things will recover the "normal routine" very soon and that the huge victims number won't be confirmed... this is just a small impact of the changing atmosphere. i guess mother nature has been telling us something, but most of us won't listen...how many deaths will still be needed for things to change, how many houses and familys ruined and destroied?!?! how many?! regards
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Post by philster on Sept 1, 2005 9:10:12 GMT
Yep Mississippi actually kind of took the brunt of the hurricance, but New Orleans is definitely in dire straits about right now.
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Post by Tsel on Sept 1, 2005 12:07:10 GMT
It’s terrible, the vast majority of refugees are not even being treated as refugees; they are being treated like cattle. A ton of people are living on the side of the Interstate Highway and one woman’s husband died right next to her on the Highway. She flagged down the police and they told her nonchalantly, to move the body further away from her and the others before it starts to stink; then they drove off. Everyone, whose property was flooded in Louisiana, has lost everything except their lives if they lived through it; because, when the water is finally pumped out everything will be condemned in those flooded areas. I realize we get fuel cheap here in the States versus the rest of the world, but fuel prices in Alabama have jumped overnite from $2.75 a gallon to $5 and $6 dollars a gallon. The USA is in for another huge economic crunch just like the one we encountered after 9/11. Tsel
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Post by Glance A'Lot on Sept 1, 2005 12:44:12 GMT
Some differing perspectives and thoughts?
As much as I deplore each individual loss of life - the number of victims will, due to the advance warning and evacuation measures, probably be less than the number killed in car accidents and crimes in the same area in the same time frame - victims you (we!) take for granted as a 'risk of life'? Victims, that definitely do NOT make global news.
Contemporary to Katrina,
-there were major river floods and landslides due to torrential rains in southern Germany, Switzerland and northern Italy - with victims that had no warning and no chance to flee;
- there were devastating forest fires in Portugal;
- there IS tremendous starvation in Africa due to grasshoppers having destroyed the harvest;
- ... (there is more anywhere that didn't appear as global news, none less deplorable).
Why is it that humans build on the slopes of volcanos (it hasn't erupted for a hundred years!), on the banks of rivers (it's never been known to flood beyond...) and at seaview (a major storm every 20 - 30 years, if ever); or built one of the world's major economies on the San Andreas fault? Acceptable risk of life? Granted, there is always the chance of an asteroid hitting Earth.
But who is it, that accepts the risk? The individual, or the government, supposedly responsible for its citizens, that allows it to be taken? Irrespective of the answer - the consequences are always suffered by the individuals and to a good part at the general public's cost.
(And before anybody comments on my sitting on the fence in Europe - I do live in southern Germany, and in 2003 my (ex-)wife and both of my children were directly affected by the river Elbe's century flood - I know what the consequences are)
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