Katrina Update

[filkertom]

Everybody kinda breathed a sigh of relief yesterday morning. The worst had passed.

And then the water kept rising.

This is already a terrible tragedy. It's going to get much, much worse.

There are lots of sources online for more information about the horrific damage in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but WWL-TV in New Orleans is about as direct as you're gonna get.

To donate to or volunteer with the Red Cross, call 1-800-HELPNOW (1-800-435-7669).

Comments

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

Acting locally: blood donation in your local area. Every pint you donate to your own local hospital or Red Cross is one less that they have to buy from the national supply, which then can go to the disaster area.

[sarekofvulcan.livejournal.com]

You know, something that _really_ freaks me is that there are no pictures at http://flickr.com/photos/tags/neworleans/ yet of note.

[sylverwolfe.livejournal.com]

and all the rain we get here in the ohio valley over the course of today and tomorrow is gonna keep on flowing downriver and keep making moretrouble in new orleans.
grr. city of my dreams under water and so damned little i can do about it. i went and donated my pint, but it just feels like such a pathetic drop in the bucket.

[singlemaltsilk.livejournal.com]

We do the small things we can. You never know which small thing is going to make all the difference in the world for someone.

[ericthemage.livejournal.com]

I was reading that we should hold off on blood donations, as they can't do anything with them yet, and by the time they can, the blood will have gone bad. I'm not an expert though.

[nuveena.livejournal.com]

Dammit! NO is one of my favorite places ever..

I hope they can get that levee dammed up, but won't that just put more pressure on the rest of the levees?

Off to the Red Cross donation site...

[nuveena.livejournal.com]

Sorry for the double... there's a really heartbreaking overview of the damage along the coast here:

http://www.wlbt.com/

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

After the storm of 1900 (unnamed), Galveston was all but completely destroyed by the storm surge. Countless perished in one night because the island was so low - estimates are around 6,000 people.

But before they rebuilt the city, they dredged the ship channel out deeper so bigger ships could pass, and dumped all the soil onto Galveston, raising the island a good 20 feet. They also built a cement seawall to keep their new height from washing away.

I'm wondering if they are going to realize that a city below sea level so close to the ocean is going to be destroyed again and again. Time to fill in that bowl and raise the now-razed city to a sufficient enough that levees and pumps aren't crucial for the city's survival.

[nuveena.livejournal.com]

Galveston never completely recovered, though. It was going to be the major city in the area, the big hub, but after that hurricane, everyone decided that Houston was a better idea.

[ladyskada.livejournal.com]

"****ALL RESIDENTS ON THE EAST BANK OF ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON REMAINING IN THE METRO AREA ARE BEING TOLD TO EVACUATE AS EFFORTS TO SANDBAG THE LEVEE BREAK HAVE ENDED. THE PUMPS IN THAT AREA ARE EXPECTED TO FAIL SOON AND 9 FEET OF WATER IS EXPECTED IN THE ENTIRE EAST BANK. WITHIN THE NEXT 12-15 HOURS****"

I know there's at least 4 people currently holed up @ Flanagan's with weapons, defending the bar & cooking w/ gas.

[ladyskada.livejournal.com]

Donated blood is kept for 42 days. The hope is that the power will be restored to most areas in 14 days, utilities in 18. You're right. Blood donated today will not be shipped right down to the Katrina-hit zones. But it will be used in your local area, allowing the newest donations to be sent along as soon as the caravans head out.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Christ. And the last I heard, Bob Asprin was holed up in his upper-level French Quarter apartment. That was before the power went.

[poltr1]

Heard on NPR this morning that life in the French Quarter was business as usual today. It's on a small hill so it didn't get hit as badly as the rest of the town.

Oh yeah. For the benefit of your international readers...... here's the International Red Cross/Red Crescent site.

[ladyskada.livejournal.com]

The Doomsday predictions everyone was making have been coming true. Worst off are those who waited out the storm in the city proper. They thought it was over when Katrina passed. Now, they're gaining about a foot of water every two hours or so. Between the dirty river water and the bacteria, the rotting food and various animal and human bodies decomposing in the river, I don't know if that beautiful city will be able to recover.

Bob Aspirin info

[herbmcsidhe.livejournal.com]

From alt.fan.aspirin:
"From: alan.sa...@gmail.com
Date: 31 Aug 2005 16:43:21 -0700
Local: Wed, Aug 31 2005 4:43 pm
Subject: Re: New Orleans

I have just talked to a mutual friend of RLA's, he was in a section of
the French Quarter that wasn't getting that wet but looked like it was
about to. He is being successfully evacuated out of New Orleans
according to word I just got a few minutes ago."

-Alan Salmi
Chicago, IL