Hurricane Katrina

[Tsuna Kadiri]

But it hit as a catagory 4 storm. =\

[Silver_Star_of_Darkness]

I was wathcing the updates all morning long. The reporter for FOX had to duck behind a mail box to escape a gust of wind.

[Ami~chan]

Katrina didn't hit New Orleans as hard as we feared, but none-the-less, it hit! New Orleans won't be very hospitable for human life for a long time, due to the flooding and all the other things that happen because of it.

Us in Rapides Parish are okay though ^^ We got a light drizzle of rain, but that was it. Places such as Biluxi (sp?) and nearby metro areas haven't been as lucky. But now that the storm has arrived on land, things should get better.

[Alias-Revolution]

I will submit the official Fox News report.

NEW ORLEANS — Rescuers along the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast pushed aside the dead to reach the living Tuesday in a race against time and rising waters, while New Orleans sank deeper into crisis and Louisiana's governor ordered storm refugees out of this drowning city.

Two levees broke and sent water coursing into the streets of the Big Easy a full day after New Orleans appeared to have escaped widespread destruction from Hurricane Katrina. An estimated 80 percent of the below-sea-level city was under water, up to 20 feet deep in places, with miles and miles of homes swamped.

"The situation is untenable," Gov. Kathleen Blanco said. "It's just heartbreaking."

One Mississippi county alone said its death toll was at least 100, and officials are "very, very worried that this is going to go a lot higher," said Joe Spraggins, civil defense director for Harrison County, home to Biloxi and Gulfport.

Thirty of the victims in the county were from a beachfront apartment building that collapsed under a 25-foot wall of water as Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast with 145-mph winds. And Louisiana officials said many were feared dead there, too, making Katrina one of the most punishing storms to hit the United States in decades.

After touring the destruction by air, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said it looked like Hiroshima after the atomic bomb was dropped.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said hundreds, if not thousands, of people may still be stuck on roofs and in attics, and so rescue boats were bypassing the dead.

"We're not even dealing with dead bodies," Nagin said. "They're just pushing them on the side."

The flooding in New Orleans grew worse by the minute, prompting the evacuation of hotels and hospitals and an audacious plan to drop huge sandbags from helicopters to close up one of the breached levees. At the same time, looting broke out in some neighborhoods, the sweltering city of 480,000 had no drinkable water, and the electricity could be out for weeks.

With water rising perilously inside the Superdome, Blanco said the tens of thousands of refugees now huddled there and other shelters in New Orleans would have to be evacuated.

She asked residents to spend Wednesday in prayer.

"That would be the best thing to calm our spirits and thank our Lord that we are survivors," she said. "Slowly, gradually, we will recover; we will survive; we will rebuild."

A helicopter view of the devastation over the New Orleans area revealed people standing on black rooftops baking in the sunshine while waiting for rescue boats. A row of desperately needed ambulances were lined up on the interstate, water blocking their path. Roller coasters jutted out from the water at a Six Flags amusement park. Hundreds of inmates were seen standing on a highway because the prison had been flooded.

Sen. Mary Landrieu quietly traced the sign of the cross across her head and chest as she looked out at St. Bernard Parish, where only roofs peaked out from the water.

"The whole parish is gone," Landrieu said.

All day long, rescuers in boats and helicopters pulled out shellshocked and bedraggled flood refugees from rooftops and attics. The Coast Guard said it has rescued 1,200 people by boat and air, some placed shivering and wet into helicopter baskets. They were brought by the truckload into shelters, some in wheelchairs and some carrying babies, with stories of survival and of those who didn't make it.

"Oh my God, it was hell," said Kioka Williams, who had to hack through the ceiling of the beauty shop where she worked as floodwaters rose in New Orleans' low-lying Ninth Ward. "We were screaming, hollering, flashing lights. It was complete chaos."

Frank Mills was in a boarding house in the same neighborhood when water started swirling up toward the ceiling and he fled to the roof. Two elderly residents never made it out, and a third was washed away trying to climb onto the roof.

"He was kind of on the edge of the roof, catching his breath," Mills said. "Next thing I knew, he came floating past me."

Across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, more than 1 million residents remained without electricity, some without clean drinking water. An untold number who heeded evacuation orders were displaced and 40,000 were in Red Cross shelters, with officials saying it could be weeks, if not months, before most will be able to return.

Emergency medical teams from across the country were sent into the region and President Bush cut short his Texas vacation Tuesday to return to Washington to focus on the storm damage.

Federal Emergency Management Agency director Mike Brown warned that structural damage to homes, diseases from animal carcasses and chemicals in floodwaters made it unsafe for residents to come home anytime soon. And a mass return also was discouraged to keep from interfering with rescue and recovery efforts.

That was made tough enough by the vast expanse of floodwaters in coastal areas that took an eight-hour pounding from Katrina's howling winds and up to 15 inches of rainfall. From the air, neighborhood after neighborhood looked like nothing but islands of rooftops surrounded by swirling, tea-colored water.

In New Orleans, the flooding actually got worse Tuesday. Failed pumps and levees apparently spilled water from Lake Pontchartrain into streets. The rising water forced hotels to evacuate, led a hospital to boatlift patients to emergency shelters, and drove the staff of New Orleans' Times-Picayune newspaper out of its offices.

Officials planned to use helicopters to drop 3,000-pound sandbags into the breach, and expressed confidence the problem could be solved. But if the water rose a couple feet higher, it could wipe out water system for whole city, said New Orleans' homeland security chief Terry Ebbert.

In devastated Biloxi, Miss., areas that were not underwater were littered with tree trunks, downed power lines and chunks of broken concrete. Some buildings were flattened.

The string of floating barge casinos crucial to the coastal economy were a shambles. At least three of them were picked up by the storm surge and carried inland, their barnacle-covered hulls sitting up to 200 yards inland.

The deadliest spot yet appeared to be Biloxi's Quiet Water Beach apartments, where authorities said about 30 people were washed away. All that was left of the red-brick building was a concrete slab.

"We grabbed a lady and pulled her out the window and then we swam with the current," 55-year-old Joy Schovest said through tears. "It was terrifying. You should have seen the cars floating around us. We had to push them away when we were trying to swim."

Said Biloxi Mayor A. J. Holloway: "This is our tsunami."

Looting became a problem in both Biloxi and in New Orleans, in some cases in full view of police and National Guardsmen. One police officer was shot in the head by a looter in New Orleans, but was expected to recover, Sgt. Paul Accardo, a police spokesman.

On New Orleans' Canal Street, which actually resembled a canal, dozens of looters ripped open the steel gates on clothing and jewelry stores, some packing plastic garbage cans with loot to float down the street. One man, who had about 10 pairs of jeans draped over his left arm, was asked if he was salvaging things from his store.

"No," the man shouted, "that's EVERYBODY'S store!"

Looters at a Wal-Mart brazenly loaded up shopping carts with items including micorwaves, coolers and knife sets. Others walked out of a sporting goods store on Canal Street with armfuls of shoes and football jerseys.

Outside the broken shells of Biloxi's casinos, people picked through slot machines to see if they still contained coins and ransacked other businesses. "People are just casually walking in and filling up garbage bags and walking off like they're Santa Claus," said Marty Desei, owner of a Super 8 motel.

Insurance experts estimated the storm will result in up to $25 billion in insured losses. That means Katrina could prove more costly than record-setting Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which caused an inflation-adjusted $21 billion in losses.

Oil prices jumped by more than $3 a barrel on Tuesday, climbing above $70 a barrel, amid uncertainty about the extent of the damage to the Gulf region's refineries and drilling platforms.

By midday Tuesday, Katrina was downgraded to a tropical depression, with winds around 35 mph. It was moving northeast through Tennessee at around 21 mph, with the potential to dump 8 inches of rain and spin off deadly tornadoes.

Katrina left 11 people dead in its soggy jog across South Florida last week, as a much weaker storm.


Personally, I beleive that the end of days prophicied in Bible's book of Revelations is on it's way. With the way things are across the globe, (the gaza strip (a.k.a. promised land) going to the palestines, Al Quaida terrorizing cities, talks of VERY possible world unity) All evidence points to this. I just hope that I am sadly mistaken...

[LadyPSerenity]

This is not a discussion of how this hurricane can be related to the bible and the "end of days" This is a discussion and a showing of compasion in relation to the huricane and the victims.
Please stick to that.
Topics about religion are not allowed.

[Silver_Star_of_Darkness]

I saw that this one guy watched his wife and house get swept away. The man and the reporter were both crying.

[Alias-Revolution]

Dammit, that's twice in a row. Anyway, my sympathies go out to those who were involved in this and lost loved ones. I only wish there were something i could do to help all these people.

[Wandering Samurai]

To all of those that have lost a loved one in the storm if there is anything that we could do please ask.
one more thing. Bcause new orleans is one of the major routes that our natural fuels come through. gas prices will go up 30 cents today.

[Alias-Revolution]

If you really want to help these people, there are two major donation places you can give to. The first one is American Red Cross. The number is, 1-800-HELP-NOW. Another one is the Salvation Army. I beleive the number is 1-800-SAL-ARMY. Both these groups give directly to the Katrina victems. Being a Red Cross trained citizen, I felt compelled to post this. Please help the victems in what ways you can. Like I said before... I only wish there were more we could do...

[shi_amai]

Sishostoru, please kindly check your grammer next time, it is driving me insane.

Anyways, back on topic. It's horrible. I wish I could've sacrificed myself for all those people. every last one of them. But to be honest, I wish I could have just made the hurricane go away all together. Those gas prices are killer, and the damage in New Orleans is devastating, but I am thankful I was able to go this summer. Though I must say, it was already a pretty dirty town. It smelled disgusting, and everyone just threw the trash in the streets at night, and that's where the garbage people picked it up, though no one was getting sick from it before, so you can tell it's pretty bad. I can only hope and pray for the best, as I have no way to help these people, since I'm only 16 I have no money, no job, blah. It hurts me a lot, to know how horribly this is going to affect most all of us. My History teacher said we may lose power because of the whole gas issue, and apparently we have a coal issue... or something, I don't know, I'm sorry, I can't really tell much information, as I don't do well at paying attention right before the bell rings. Let us all hope this gets better. Blessed be.

[Kit Katy]

Kit:Yeah i herd about that.
My Grandma lives near there and
her Power went out.I'm really worried.

[The Rebel]

Things have gotten bad in the aftermath of Katrina. To make matters worse, rioters have started shooting at the rescuers. People are more interested in stealing then being rescued. Part of me feels sorry for all of those people who have lost much. But shamefully, another part sees the logic and necessity of what happened. It's a cold, cruel truth, but what happened is in a sense, a good thing. We never bother thinking about how we are over-populating Mother Earth. We take and we take, never caring what it costs. And we ignore the laws of nature, the need for balance. The real kicker is, WE brought all this on ourselves. WE polute the air, causing global warming. Which in turn causes polar caps to melt, adding more water to the oceans. If anything, we should be glad we've lived this long, considering how quickly we are destroying our own home(earth). Now, I'm not some sadist or something. More of a realist. I feel sorry for those who have lost loved ones. I feel sorrow for the wreckage that was New Orleans. If feel anger at those "victims" who have taken to SHOOTING at the ones there to save them. But there isn't much that can be done. This happened for a reason, and THAT is part of the scheme of things.
Life is terrible and so is reality. There are lessons to be learned here, but will any of us really learn it? As an adult, I feel my generation maybe too late to learn it. But YOU, the younger generation can, and do something about it. It's just a shame my generation made a mess of the planet before we wind up handing it to you, the future leaders. Saddest part of the Katrina is, not what IT did, but what WE have done since it's passing. Riots, stealing, shootings. What does it mean, when a person opens fire on someone there to RESCUE them?

[souske]

That hurricane really sucked and some of my family members live down there.

[The Wing Man]

Lots of victims have been in texas, even in my small town there are people at the hotels and stuff.At my church me and my friends have been praying for the people and i am tired of seeing all this bad stuff on the news.I wish they would quit showing how bad the people are doing and how some are turning to crime.This hurricane has done to much damage.

[Silver_Star_of_Darkness]

A old lady on our block has a sister-in-law who lives in New Orleans. She dicided to wait the storm out in her house. It's amazing how she (sister-in-law) survived it.

[Arise]

If you ask my opinion this is as bad as what happened at September 11, because though there weren't any murders persay. This is hurting people who are loosing loved ones and I wouldn't be suprised if hundreds of people need therapy. Especially for those who are stuck where they are and are suffering. Now I think more about it, Hurricane Katrina is worse than what happened at September 11. At September 11 they were able to have a better chance to rebuild and get to people who need their help when being trapped under the collapsed buildings. Except Hurricane Katrina is making it difficult to resue people and ever having the place restored without making it difficult to live there, healthwise and such.
This is the worst thing in my opinion to happen since my birth. My heart goes out to all, and though I barely ever pray, I promise I will tonight.

[Darkshadow]

new orleans is like...80% under water! man. tht stinks!!!!

[shi_amai]

I was reading a few news articles on cnn.com and I came upon one that kind of annoyed me. There was tourists staying in a hotel throught the hurricane, and there was still some hotel staff and managers there, and sometime after Tuesday (not sure when, couldv'e been any day), the hotel staff said they were ordering 10 buses so they could all get out of there. Well, everyone paid there money ($45 per person, I think). And they went and waited outside for the bus for hours, the staff kept telling them the bus would come any minute (and not to meantion the poor elderly, in wheelchairs and walkers were getting restless and uncomfortable). Well, hours after waited they were informed that their buses had been, and I qoute "Commandeered by the military for evacuation." Did these people get their money back? No. Did they get a ride on the buses? No. They were left behind. I mean, I know that everyone needs to get out, but these people paid for those buses, and they didn't even get to ride them.

Yes, the snipering is sad. You wonder what this world is coming to. What is sad is that people are stealing T.V.s, radios, and jewelry (of course, food and clothes, also). Why in the world do they need those things? And I heard about people breaking into a house, and stepping over a family who were dead to steal their stuff. They may be dead, but that's just wrong, and disgusting.

[Sachiko-Chan]

that's nothing compared to what i heard on the raido yesterday...I heard that ppl that were left in new orleans have resorted to cannibalism...they are eating the bodies of the dead!!!

[Sachiko-Chan]

[/QUOTE]Personally, I beleive that the end of days prophicied in Bible's book of Revelations is on it's way. With the way things are across the globe, (the gaza strip (a.k.a. promised land) going to the palestines, Al Quaida terrorizing cities, talks of VERY possible world unity) All evidence points to this. I just hope that I am sadly mistaken...[/QUOTE]
don't say things like that...please...that's freaking me out...

[Vampireness]

because of the hurricane the gas prices are going way up, and they said soon we might not even be getting gas, because there shutting down all of the gas stations, and if that happens...were screwed -.-

[Sachiko-Chan]

awww man...that would be bad...

[Kit Katy]

And now people are coming to the US.
Thay said 10,000 people are going to Mickeny.
Many are going to schools and Churches to.
This is really depressing.
The people are going some other peoples house
like a adoption at least thats what my mom said.

[FarEastStyle]

What I dont get is why some of the people that need rescuing
were shoting at the police and the people coming to save them

[Vegito]

This Hurricane has me all emotional even though I don't live in the area, for one even in the time of a crisis, people still have time to be racist, (I wont go into that cause thats off topic) Also why did it take so long for bush to get there, there should have been busses evacuating people weeks before thee hurricane hit....and I will finish this post later cause I seriously have to go...