Hurricane Katrina

[rich12_16]

Hmm, seems that most on New Orleans is out of the hurricane now, but will still experience those Squall lines or whatever they are called, I just hope not to many, if any at all died, I know some did though, some people had to axe themselfs out of their attics to avoid drowning, as New Orleans is below Sea Level, the flooding was catasrtophic, and the same in Mobile, Alabama. Oh I hope Visionland in the middle of Alabamma is ok...hehe...just kidding...*rolls eyes*

[SixFlagsChick]

it was sad...i read something in Chicago trib that some guy who was trying to wait it out was about to break through the roof so he could survive...the waters were too high. He told the reporter ... please send someone to get me... I want to live. That was sad.

I hope people are ok! Maybe we should ge ta group together to go down and help clean up :-d

[rich12_16]

^^I'm only 16, but I would willingly go to help, I also have enough money to do so, we totally should do that.^^

[Aero737]

This is just horrible.

I don't think a lot of people can grasp how serious this is. This is up there with the Tsunami. over 1 million people without power. 60% of homes under water. The levee in New Orleans has been breached and the lake is slowly flooding the city. No drinkable water. Oil rigs and tankers/ships have accidently dumped oil and diesel fuel into the water creating a toxic sludge. Gasstations have lost all their gas into the water. Sewege treatment plants have lost all ability to process and hold sewage. Raw sewage mixing with flood waters. Cats, dogs, snakes all are making rescue operations difficult. There is no food.

Martial Law has been declaired in most of the hard hit regions. National Gaurd has been activated and most all states are sending aid.

People, this isnt just a temporary thing. They arnt expecting power for another week at least. Who knows how long before the water is back on. The damage is huge. I never thought I would see this in the US.

[Jamesb58]

It is utterly devistating! CNN said that power might not be back on
in New Orleans for 2 months. I would think that New Orleans is
basically gone. Looking at all of the footage, I wouldn't expect
New Orleans to be back to normal in a VERY long time, if it ever
can be back to normal.

It's great to know that many organizations are sending relief down
to the area. The Red Cross is there, The Salvation Army is there and
I do know that the Salvation Army is sending more and more
relief as Salvation Army disaster units are being called to active
duty all around the Midwest, including Illinois and Wisconsin.

This is going to last months. My thoughts and prayers goes out to
all those who are effected by this!

[JGSixFlags]

Andrew has been striped of its title as "The Costleist Nautral Disaster In US History" That title now belongs to Hurricane Katrina. There are still many claims to be made. We just saw the Hurricane of the Century.

[Andrew]

^ Do you know how much money Katrina has cost so far? Last I heard this morning it was around $30,000,000,000.

[The Beast]

Wow bigger than Andrew?? This must be insane.

[Andrew]

Seriously I never thought that this would happen. Like 2 nights before it hit it was a cat. 1 and tipped Florida. Next thing you wake up the next morning and see it's a cat. 5 and may be the most costlious hurricane in history (which it was). This is so disappointing I can't believe this even happened.

[Jamesb58]

According to MSNBC.com, they said that it would cost up to $25 Billion.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9114813/

[JGSixFlags]

I told my friends that the Storm of the Century was coming soon, and that Andrew would no longer be King Cane. The waters in the tropics are just to warm, it may be due to global warming or just natural fluzations in ocean temps. But one things for sure, New orleans will never be the same again. I find it interesting that the path andrew took was freakisly similar to Katrinas.
Somthign is happening in the tropics and we need to find out what, because if we dont these storms will only become more un-predictiable.

[Andrew]

If it stops at $25 billion then it won't pass up Andrew because Andrew was at $26.5 billion it would be very close though.

[JGSixFlags]

There are still pleanty more claims to come in, this is just the begining. Many people have been evacuated, and have yet to asses the damage sistained to their propety. It will continue to rise, for a very long time.

[Aero737]

Total insured property in the New Orleans area alone is over 10,000,000,000 (ten billion) dollars.

If 80% of that is under water then thats a LOT of money to dish out in just the new orleans area.

[Andrew]

I bet it will be at least $50 billion.

[JGSixFlags]

The situation down there is hopless. People are looting like mad, they are SHOOTING at RELIFE people and helicoptors. People are dropping dead left right and center. There is no order To any thing.

[SixFlagsChick]

i love how people who aren't even there think they know what they are talking about.

My suggestion is... (for those of you who are grabbing bits and pieces of info) read a bunch of the news stories on different aspects of this storm before posting your nonsense.

It just bothers me that some of the info you guys are putting up here is inaccurate (and no I am not going to name names and start a flame war)



On another note, New Orleans has a very costly and important decision to make once the flood waters are removed. Do they rebuild in the same area or do they relocate the entire city to a much less vulnerable area? The land that the city sits on is sinking, and will continue to sink, making the area much more dangerous if another disaster like this were to happen again (at any time).

What do you all think they should do? Most of the buildings are going to be structurely unsound by the time all the water is removed anyway....

[Jamesb58]

SixFlagsChick, please tell me what information is inaccurate. I've been
watching CNN and MSNBC a lot, so I know what's going on, so please
indicate what is inaccurate!

Shootings have happened. Someone shot at a Chinook Helicopter.
A National Guard soldier was shot in the leg and people was shooting
at a Hospital.

Overall, I think that New Orleans should be shut down after the rescue,
demolished and just left alone. This will happen again. It's
something that cannot be stopped. The New Orleans area should just
be turned into wetlands.

I estimate that it'll take over 5 years before New Orleans would be
any where "back to normal." If you look at the area in New York where
the Twin Towers were, it's been 4 years and that "small" area isn't any
where near back to normal. Just imagine how long it will take for a
whole city to be rebuilt!

[Andrew]

I bet it will be at least $50 billion.

Her response may have been directed at this statement made by me. If it was, I said I bet it will be $50 billion. Thats not saying that it is going to be $50 billion.

[[jonrev]]

Those people who are shooting and looting make me sick. There was even a security gaurd looting the Wal-Mart she were suppose to protect!

New Orleans won't be 100% for at least a decade. And we're not done with Hurricane Season yet! This is as bad as 9-11!

[JGSixFlags]

Be careful with the 9/11 references. The looting will stop soon, because there will be nothing left to take.

The cops have no jurisdiction over any body. People are being RAPED, I do feel that the situation is out of control. The people are whining, about something that cant be changed. Then when aid arrives all they can do is scorn the ones who bring it to them.

I agree with you Jon they do make me sick, but we have to relies that their situation is hopeless and that they are desperate. That by no means gives them a warrant to kill and rape the innocent. They just want food.

One group of people over turned a bus fill of people headed out. They killed one man, and many others were injured. I am sick of hearing the people whine, we are all working as hard as we can to get them help. For now they will just have to sit tight until it comes. There is nothing any of can do about it.

I have been through my fare share of natural disasters. 8.5 Earthquakes and Volcanic eruptions to name a few. From my experiences I can say that whining wont bring aid faster, it just slows it down. If they would keep a cool head, and remain calm they would be a lot better off. They should watch them selves, cause if they kill to many aid workers aid will start to leave. We cant help any one in a hostile environment. They all need to simmer down and stop their nonsense. No one has forgotten them, the people are just working on a plan.

Did we see the people that were effected by the tsunami whining and complaining that aid wasn’t coming fast enough. It took longer for aid to reach them, than what it did to reach the victims of Katrina. Yes its bad, I know what its like to lose every thing, but I do know that there is a tomorrow for those people. And if there isn’t, its all part of the grand plan.

[[jonrev]]

Wow, I never heard of the bus incident. When did that happen?

[JGSixFlags]

Today around 5 central time

Louisiana State Police say one person is dead after a charter bus carrying evacuees overturned Friday afternoon in Opelousas, La.

The accident happened on Interstate 49 at Creswell Lane. The bus was transporting evacuees from the New Orleans Superdome to Dallas, CNN reported.

The newspaper Daily World of Opelousas reports on its Web site that at least 10 people have been taken to hospitals. Several suffered critical injuries.

A state police trooper said the driver lost control of the vehicle, but details are not known yet.

Meanwhile, after days without regular meals, thousands of hurricane evacuees are finally getting food, courtesy of the National Guard.

A convoy of more than a dozen military trucks loaded with water and Meals Ready to Eat began filing down Convention Center Boulevard in New Orleans under heavy Humvee escort.

Despite going without regular food and water for up to five days, the sometimes-unruly crowd marched in an orderly fashion into the parking lot and broke into six single-file lines.

Most people seemed grateful for the water and military meals. But not everyone was happy with the way the National Guard was running things. At least two people complained that the soldiers would give them rations only for themselves, even though they said they were caring for senior citizens.

Both the Superdome and convention center have been powderkegs of angry, desperate humanity -- with fights, filth and feelings of abandonment. But New Orleans Police Superintendent Eddie Compass received a hero's welcome Friday as he rode past the crowd with a bullhorn, offering reassurances.

"We got 30,000 people out of the Superdome, and we're going to take care of you," he said.

He also warned that if anyone disrupted the relief effort, troops would be forced to stop distributing food and water and leave.

But an incident Friday at the Superdome has caused some hurricane evacuees to wonder if others are getting special treatment.

The evacuation of Katrina victims onto buses for Texas was interrupted briefly, allowing 700 guests and employees from the adjacent Hyatt Hotel to move to the head of the evacuation line and board school buses.

"How does this work? They are clean, they are dry, they get out ahead of us?" asked Howard Blue, an evacuee.

Blue attempted to join the Hyatt group but was denied a place. As he rejoined the thousands of others enduring subhuman conditions, National Guardsmen helped the well-dressed guests with their luggage.

One hotel guest said the group was heading to the airport, but that could not be confirmed. The guest said the Hyatt told its patrons they would have water and phones by nightfall.

Trying to survive in the Superdome has been tough for the healthiest hurricane survivor. But those who are sick, injured or in need of medicine have really been hurting.

"Everybody's in pretty dire straits," said Kenneth Avery. He saw many small children who are sick, and a pregnant woman who was ready to deliver.

One woman said her newborn is running a fever, and small children in her area inside the dome all had rashes.

Becky Larue, of Des Moines, Iowa, and her husband were vacationing in New Orleans when the storm hit, and have been at the dome since Saturday. She's down to her last blood pressure pill.

Larue said she was waiting for evacuees "to start injuring themselves just to get out of here."

The Rev. Isaac Clark, a 68-year-old minister who's stranded with thousands of other evacuees at the New Orleans Convention Center said, "We are out here living like pure animals."

"We don't have water. We don't have food. We don't have help," Clark said.

Alan Gould, a man who is an evacuee inside the convention center, told CNN that women and small children are being raped and killed. He called it genocide.

He said officials keep giving them the runaround, saying "Help is coming. Help is coming. Help is coming." But he said people just keep dying.

The New Orleans police chief said 15,000 people are trapped in the city's convention center. And he said some are being raped and beaten.

A 23-year-old woman tending to her 4-year-old daughter said, "God is punishing New Orleans" for its corruption and crime.

At least seven bodies were scattered outside the convention center. People desperately called for help, chasing after reporters, sometimes pleading and sometimes threatening.

The man heading the military operation in New Orleans said if the emergency work were easy, it would have been done already.

Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore told CNN the high water near the convention center and Superdome is making it tough for troops to get in. But he said they have been unloading trucks full of food and water -- and will go restock when they're empty.

Honore said they'll also clear areas for helicopters to conduct medical evacuations.

The commander said he knows people in the area are frustrated at the pace, and he is, too. But he downplayed talk of mass criminal activity in New Orleans, saying most of the people massed on the streets are families just waiting to get out of a bad spot.

Relief Trucks Roll In To New Orleans

The National Guard arrived in New Orleans in force Friday with food, water and weapons, rolling through the floodwaters in a vast truck convoy with orders to retake the streets and bring relief to the suffering.

"The cavalry is and will continue to arrive," said one general.

A convoy of amphibious vehicles carrying the relief supplies is making its way through the flooded streets of downtown New Orleans.

The trucks began arriving Friday at the New Orleans Convention Center, where 15,000 to 20,000 hungry and desperate evacuees had taken shelter -- many of them seething with anger so intense that the place appeared ready to erupt in violence at any moment.

A mix of cheering and swearing greeted the National Guard. As a convoy of trucks swarmed through downtown, some near the city's convention center threw up their hands and screamed "Thank you, Jesus!"

Others weren't as pleased. Michael Levy said "Hell no," he's not happy to see the Guard, saying troops should have shown up days ago. Levy said he'll be pleased when 100 buses arrive to evacuate people.

Levy said people at the center have been sleeping on the ground "like rats." And he said if he had his way, New Orleans would be burned down.

Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers said it will be at least a matter of weeks before all the standing water can be pumped out. And it's also looking into breaching some levees bordering Lake Ponchartrain to let some drain that way.

Commander Carl Strock said the timetable depends on just how much pumping capacity can be restored, and whether any more storms pop up. He said experts will have to keep an eye on the Atlantic before popping holes in any levees and compromising more flood protection.

Strock acknowledged that complete funding for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Control Project would have allowed the Corps to get water out of New Orleans faster.

However, he said even if certain water and flood-control projects in New Orleans had been fully funded, they would have been no match against Hurricane Katrina.

The budget of the Corps has been trimmed by the Bush and other administrations several times to free up money for other White House priorities.

I could go on for hours reading these stories, there are so many of them. But each one just makes me more and more mad. I have gone through far worse than what they are going through. I know how they feel, but i dont approve of how they react to it all.

[[jonrev]]

I have gone through far worse than what they are going through. I know how they feel, but i dont approve of how they react to it all.

Just curious, but what happened to you?

I agree with you on how these people are reacting.

[JGSixFlags]

My first disaster was on my birth day. Where i used to live (wich will remain name less. All i will say is that it is was on the other side of the world) It was an 8.56 earthquake, that distroyed my home and left my entire city with out food for weeks. While our goverment did nothign about it. At least NO is being helped by bush

Then a couple years before i moved to the US. the volcano near my home erruputed, and that is twice as bad as any hurricane. Cause the ash jsut falls like snow. I was out and about, i had to cover my nose and mouth so as not to die. If the ash gets in you lungs it will littarey drown you. My home was consumed by lava. We were on the run from the stuff for half a day, then it stoped. But again we got no aid for at least a week.