80% of New Orleans is under water ... bodies floating in the streets ... levees breached, a 200 ft. breach at one point ... Slidell doesn't exist as it used to ...
There are 25,000 people now housed in NO's Superdome (total seating capacity is 72,000), Superdome officials say conditions are filthy, and they are just trying to make people comfortable. A million(?) homes may be out of power, might not get it back for weeks.
on the radio they are telling evacuees and everyone, DO NOT COME BACK. Professionals are doing everything possible, and anyone else will just get in the way, and endanger themselves.
A local church here in Lafayette is housing 2,000 refugees. My boss brought some hot food there last night, and his kids brought some old toys. The people look dejected.
One man was heard to say he was holding his wife's hand and the water swept her away. He heard her say, "Take care of the kids and the grandparents."(I'm not sure this is true, but it may as well be) My boss said hearing this story, it reminded him of the movie Titanic. Seeing the refugees reminded him of Tsunami footage.
Baton Rouge had a lot of wind damage, but nothing like New Orleans devastation. Here in Lafayette we got nothing at all, not even rain.
Update 8/31/05: Rescue efforts continue for the tens of thousands of New Orleans residents who did not evacuate before Katrina hit. The entire city is uninhabitable right now. Five hundred thousand people have been displaced. Tens of thousands are homeless. Please consider giving a donation to The American Red Cross or Mercy Corps. Even a few dollars can make a difference.
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4 comments:
I'm glad you're OK in Lafayette. I can't imagine what it's like for folks who were in harm's way.
Those people who look dejected are probably in shock. They're being told not to go back, and they probably have nothing to go back to.
Civilization is a thin veneer, but we forget. We take too much for granted.
Q
People have nowhere to go. At gas stations along the interstate they are begging for money. It's amazing how many people work paycheck-to-paycheck, hand-to-mouth. They don't have money to flee out of town, let alone stay at a motel or hotel.
And it could have been so much worse. For a few hours there before Katrina struck, it looked like it might wipe New Orleans off the map altogether. I think the city will never be the same after this. Experts have been predicting this and worse for decades, it's only a matter of time before the whole city will be under water permanently.
Michelle and I know some people who live there, and we don't know yet where they are. But we know they were planning to evacuate early, so they're probably fine.
I know human misery is the big story right now, but I can't help thinking of the distinctive culture of New Orleans. It is the #1 place I have always wanted to visit in North America.
If the city is changed forever, I don't suppose it will be a simple matter to transplant the culture to another spot. It may be gone, too. That is a depressing thought.
I hope you hear from your friends soon, to set your minds at ease.
Q
i don't think the culture will be gone. to many people, new orleans is a way of life. here's a link to an article my friend wrote for the u.k. independent. i think the city will be rebuilt. and the upside is, this time, because of the unbelievable extent of the devastation, we may actually get funding to both fix coastal erosion in louisiana and implement a category-5-hurricane proof levee system.
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