Hurricane Katrina

fox has fires in New Orleans now
can it get any worse for these poor people.

Every 30 minutes it seems we hear something new...It really is so depressing WW...

One thing I wanted to mention though...

Over these past few days, it's really been incredible what some of these reporters have gone through to get us these updates.....Many of them are becoming an extension of the relief efforts....

I'm not comparing their suffering or mental/physical fatigue to that of these people on the streets, but my heart really goes out to these reporters as well...They've really done an incredible job on filling us all in - I've been staying glued to CNN and their coverage is simply the best in my opinion...

Of course the natural tendencies of the media are still very much present - But their shear human element of being mortified and devastated by these conditions has brought out the true human being in these people that I had never really seen until these events...

My hat is off to these camera men, photographers, reporters, crew members, etc...

[edit on 9/1/2005 by EnronOutrunHomerun]

Originally posted by worldwatcher
fox has fires in New Orleans now

can it get any worse for these poor people.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this is arson and there will be many more of these fires popping up, hopefully the police and guardsmen can start to gain some sort of control before nightfall...

Yes, I agree with you. Reporters have also gone through a hell, they have suffered all kind of things to bring the news to us. Not because they love the money they get at the end of the month, but because they have real feelings and do it from the deepest of their heart. To support, to inform, to accompany...

I really appreciate their work and honesty telling the true of the events and caring so much for the victims.

Posted by idonthaveaname:

Hey, just got back from going to Slidell from Baton Rouge, heres a complete rundown of where i went and what it looked like.

- Signs for I-10 being closed, so got off at the Highway 11/Brownswitch exit.

- Went to check on my friend's house, located in the neighborhood between 11 and Robert Rd. Mass amount of fallen trees, several houses crushed. Had to find alternate routes to get to his house. His parents had returned home and said they had had no water in their house.

- Next got on Robert to head to Gause. Water tower still up. Roof damage to St Margeret Mary Church. 2 downed transformers lying in the road. On Gause, wind damages to many stores, but nothing too severe. Days Inn on Gause ravaged. Racetrack gas station did not explode and i couldn't tell passing by if Outback had caught fire. Turned by Wal-Mart to check my old high-school, PJP, and its still standing. Turned onto Hoover drive, trees covering roads. Men with chainsaws cutting paths for one car to get through at a time. Weave in and out and head to kingspoint to get across town.

- From the watermarks on garage doors, Kingspoint got 3-4 feet of water in their houses. Again lots of fallen trees, making many roads impassable. Citgo station in Kingspoint destroyed. Can't take the service road (too many trees) so cut through new Kingspoint to get to outlet mall. Reports stated that New Kingspoint were completely under water, but from what i saw, maybe 3-4 ft in the houses. Back of outlet mall damaged severely and gas stations near there too. A mobile home display trailer was in the parking lot, who knows where from (only guess is about .5 mile away.

-Procede down Old Spanish Trail - no longer flooded. A few downed trees on OST, but every side road was inaccessable. Get on Ponchatrain (hwy 11) to make our way to Westchester. Wind damage throughout, right side of street (headed to NOLA) was still flooded under good 6-7 feet. Stop by Ace Hardware to check in on acquentances. Got 3 feet in the store itself, which is probably 4 feet off the ground. Dead fish lying on step. Blue shopping center behind Charlie's Barber Shop is decemated. Enter Westchester behind Bank One to check friend's house. Down trees everywhere, his house narrowly avoiding them. 4 feet in the house, carpet covered with mud and who knows what, refrigerator on ground, but 100x better than it could have been and what we were about to see.

- Continue down Ponchatrain, Walgreen's and Ponchatrain Foods look like theyve been looted. A cop in middle of road (first one we've seen in 2 hours in city) tells us to procede at our own risk. Head down 11... wow! Nothing and i repeat nothing left. Port hole's 90% gone. Salvagio's 95%. Everything on right side of road... completely gone and thrown in shambles on left side. Entire house had floated into front yard on other side of the highway. Shaq's & Jack's liquors - gone. TruValue Hardware - walls caved in from storm debris, now filled with it inside. Highway 11 is like an obstacle course from wood and power lines in road. On storage center building on left side of road was the message "SOS trapped in attic." Turn into Eden Isles.

-Entrance filled 20 feet high with debris. First few houses on Eden Isles drive extremely damaged from debris from Highway 11. Roof damage throughout, but not near as bad a reported. Roof of a boathouse lying on top of a boat in middle of Eden Isles drive. Get to my house - street inaccessible by car due to all the mud. Walk to house, still standing. No exterior damage to mine, inside shows 5 feet of water (shot glasses on kitchen counter filled with water). Mud covering floor and living room 6 " deep w/ standing water. All furniture and appliances moved around and flipped over. Card table moved from far corner of living room to near garage door (20 feet maybe) without stacks of chips or deck of cards falling over. Pontoon boat in backyard lifted off 10 ft high out of the water boatlift and left in neighboors yard. All in all 100x better than what I was expecting.

-Unable to get to Lakeshore Estates from Eden Isles due to water, so circle through Oak Harbor to get there. News crews everywhere, boats all on side of the road. 2 new neighboorhoods north of Master's Point completely submerged in water - 10 to 15 feet. Go into Inlets to check on several friends' houses. Water marks around 3 feet on houses, most of which are built quite a bit off the ground. All houses in good condition wind-damage wise with exception of one near the gates who's walls were knocked down.

-Cross over interstate into Lakeshore Estates. "Looters will be shot" spray painted on many boarded up windows. Houses in remarkable condition in regards to where they were located. Only 2 or 3 houses I noticed were extremely damaged, one of which was the rapper Juvenile's house. His $1/2 mil car had moved from his driveway to across the street, where its window had been broken and its inside filled with marsh and straw. Friend's house in Lakeshore in great condition. Maybe 6 inches of water in the house (a house 1/8 mile from lake itself - amazing) but chimney and dock blown away. Attempt to look at other houses until we are chased down by a man asking who we are and why we're there. We tell him and he says the guard at the frontgate (who apparantly missed us) has no reservations about shooting at cars he does not recognize.

-It's getting dark now so we head out of 'dell. Ask a cop where nearest gas is at and he says Sam's Club has a limited supply to give away. Head to Sam's where cops are letting who they want to get gas. 3 people at pumps but we're denied, b/c it's "out of gas." Cop asks my friend when he was gonna fix his headlight (which was busted by downed tree near Robert). Head back to afformentioned friend's house and thankfully his parent let us siphon some gas, and we back head to Baton Rouge.

Let me say the city is extremely short handed law enforcement wise, so for those looking to return to check on the status of their stuff, it is not hard. I saw maybe 15 cops the entire 5 hours I was there, and half of them were at Home Depot and Sam's. Be careful though, there's no traffic signals and the roads have probably been cleared only for single safety vehicles to get through. Good luck to my fellow Slidellians, I hope your homes are salvagable as mine is and that you and your families are and stay safe.

FYI, from the video on TV it appears that it is raining in New Orleans right now, hopefully it is just a short shower.....

hi everyone

just a thought, but maybe these same reporters and the organisations they work for could exert a little pressure on the US government re: global warming and the potential consequences of their seeming inaction! While they are at it they could also maybe point out that there are lots of troops and associated logistical paraphernalia, C5's etc., that would be more useful serving in the affected areas! From the above you can maybe work out that I am not very enamoured of the current US ( or UK! ) administration, but have been deeply moved by the plight of the people of the affected states, and feel that the Iraq debacle and the failure of the US administration to sign up for the Kyoto accord or to offer any meaningful alternative has made the situation worse. ( In the sense that the 100,000 + troops and equipment in Iraq could be put to better use if they were in the continental US where they should be, and even if Kyoto is too late to have any outcome on Katrina, then maybe the next, or the one after that.......) These people are in desperate trouble and FEMA is not doing the biz as far as I can make out - people need food and shelter and above all drinking water and I feel that the US's ability to respond to this dreadful tragedy has been compromised needlessly. My heart goes out to them and I sincerely hope that the POTUS is busting his ass in Washington or wherever he is.........People are looting, not only for consumer goods - they need water! As I say, just a thought - thanks for your time.

Our level of industrialization really doesn't make the Kyoto Accord very feasible for us. Remember too, that our states are the size of other NATIONS in many cases, and you'd be trying to apply requirements to too large an area...(though admittedly, pretty rusty these days on the details of that one...)

You can try and blame global warming, but nasty hurricane seasons are cyclic...

The big problem with New Orleans is that the levees were only built to withstand a Cat 3 (mind-boggling, I know, but it's all about cost). I guess that original cost to benefit ration is out the door now, huh?

I keep reading and hearing on the news about these massive amounts of gun shots going off in New Orleans. Yet, with the number of reporters we have stationed there, and the amount of camera's we have all over that city, there has been NOT ONE person on film seen with a gun. There has also been NOT ONE shot fired during interview filming.

The only guns I've seen are the 12-gauge shotguns pointed at individual's heads via police.

What I'm getting at here is I think this is being played out by the media to be MUCH worse then it is.

[edit on 9/1/2005 by QuietSoul]

Just saw the FEMA breifing on CNN - I'm in UK - apparently ONE shot was fired at a medical helicopter! Scary eh? America is too big for the Kyoto Accord? Surely not bigger than all the countries that have ratified it ? Not that I'm trying to blame Katrina on global warming specifically, but the cyclical thing is n't that based on 100 years of records or so - verrrry small timespan - and what about the other strange weather the world is having? Industrialisation has nothing to do with difficulty in implementation really does it - the US in particular is very touchy about it's oil supplies - surely it's obvious that the less oil you use the longer it will last? Also more time available for alternative energy sources to be found/discovered/developed? Just my opinion.

my friend on another message board posted this, he lives out at atlanta and he's commenting on some of his family members' account who were able to make it to him from the state of louisiana

They got here late Sunday night early Saturday morning. They left before the worst hit. But an aunt and cousins husband are not accounted for and feared dead. Another cousin was stranded in his attic for 2 days but was rescued off of his roof in his underwear by a helicopter yesterday. They say he was hungry and sick but he'll make it. He was really traumatized. He said when he was on the roof he saw a lot of dead bodies floating in the water beneath him. He also saw body parts,legs, arms, a human head. The news isn't reporting it but there are thousands of alligators in the water all throughout the city. Those that aren't drowning to death are being eatin alive.I have a brother-n-law working relief and another one that is on the levee board and there is a lot of # they media is not reporting. The looting is off the chain, it's basically a wild west enviornment. Niggas is shootin at the police, the police are looting also. Most of the cops are scared of the citizens. Thousands of people are stranded in hospitals, churches and factories and the media isn't reporting on it. Dry shelters are being overcrowded. There was a sniper on the roof of one shelter shooting at people that were trying to get in last night. The cops shot and killed him.N.O. is below sea level so they don't bury people under ground. They bury them in mozeliums on top of the ground. All of the cemetaries are flooded corpses are floating all over the city. The hard thing for them to determine is which corpses are victims of the flood or from the cemetaries. I could never see my self drinking any water in that city even after they rebuild. They have raw sewage everywhere and now the biggest threat is disease.It's just a #ed up situation. I'll try to keep yall up to date on certain things I hear throughout the week if I get a chance. There is a whole bunch of # the media isn't reporting. I've learned a lot through this process who corrupt the American media really is. They're are basicaly on the governments payroll.

This is sick. This is not the Superdome, but 15,000 people are trapped in the NO Convention Center near the Mississippi river.

Reports are coming out that women are being beaten and raped and the city attempted to send 150 police officers to the scene and they were beaten and pushed back.

Just heard this on WKRG live feed

Maybe I was wrong with thinking its not all that bad there..


[edit on 9/1/2005 by QuietSoul]

QuietSoul
What I'm getting at here is I think this is being played out by the media to be MUCH worse then it is

Well....I think the media has their safety in concern....first and foremost...

There are distinct areas these events are occurring - The news is saying they've stopped all rescues, but other sources are suggesting that's not the case - That certain areas are remaining civil and rescues are continuing there...

I'm guessing that what we're seeing in the way of rebellious behavior is sort of like the nut around the shell.....The real deal is on the inside....

And I don't think anyone is going to risk their lives for that image - It's like abandoning the "imbedded reporter" idea and just picking up a gun and becoming a soldier....

Then you have to consider the areas they would have to traverse to get shots like that - This water is now 4 days old - including everything in it - That toxic sludge people were talking about is now a reality....

We're not seeing the shots b/c they're simply in areas no reporter can or is willing get to...And believe me, I never thought I’d see the day when I said that a reporter doesn’t want to get a specific shot….

[edit on 9/1/2005 by EnronOutrunHomerun]

I really hope the events in New Orleans teach us a little compassion and humility. So often in the past, we've looked down from our castle on a hill upon countries like Somalia and Bosnia, marveling at the lawlessness and crime, knowing something like that could never happen in America. Yet, so shortly after a city was almost wiped off the map, lawlessness and chaos broke out. Already there are trash fires around the superdome, a brother killed his sister over a bag of ice, and people are shooting at rescue helecoptors and boats.

It's terrible to see what humans are capable of. I hope this is a wakeup call to all Americans that we are no better than the rest of the world, we just have the money to make an appearance like we are.

EDIT: Me Grammar Ain't sO grEaterest

[edit on 9-1-2005 by junglejake]

www.wwltv.com...

Sigh

Originally posted by QuietSoul
This is sick. This is not the Superdome, but 15,000 people are trapped in the NO Convention Center near the Mississippi river.

Reports are coming out that women are being beaten and raped and the city attempted to send 150 police officers to the scene and they were beaten and pushed back.

Just heard this on WKRG live feed

Maybe I was wrong with thinking its not all that bad there..


[edit on 9/1/2005 by QuietSoul]

Yeah, no offence, but you are dead worng. I have been listening to a live feed of the NOPD/FEMA/NG/MIL radios and things are far worse than reported.

Originally posted by Ptolomeo
Yes, I agree.
So, why are they still talking about reconstruction? And about three or four months to return to their -- homes -- ?

They should be planning a way to solve the problem of being under sea level or help citizens to start NO on a different and better location.
Don´t you think so?

Yes I do. The hurricanes are likely to grow worse with all the global warming going on. Building under the sea level doesn't make any sense at all. Aren't lives lost now a tragic lesson in city planning?



[edit on 1-9-2005 by Aelita]

Have you guys read this site?

www.livejournal.com...


Journal from someone inside the city, taking pics and documenting
events...

~A

90,000 square miles of destruction! whoa! (I believe that's equal to 233,000 square kilometers)

I'm glad that something other than NOLA is being reported on. If you watch the news, you'd think that was the only spot hit. There are many communities across three states where people are now homeless and unemployed. Many people in Mississippi are without food and water. It's not just NOLA.