Hurricane Katrina

[jmrentis]

It doesn't matter how high or thick or deep or invulnerable we build something, somewhere, sometime, somehow it will not be enough. We do the best we can, but no matter how advanced science is, we just can not anticipate the destructive power of nature.

"History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men." Or something like that.

Thank you, this is all that needed to be said. Noone amount of money, leadership, or concrete would have changed the destruction caused, maybe the cleanup but thats it. There was plenty of advanced warning for people to flee to safety, if they were there it's because they didn't want to leave. I think everything is being handled as best as possible, everyone always has something to say after the fact and start to blame but hindsight is always 20/20. And I think America does great for it's people, we can usually take care of our own, as well as other countries at the same time, so don't worry about us we will make it through as we always do, it will just take some time as it would have no matter what the preperation was. And about the religious thing, when people asked for your prayers, noone asked you to be religious, just give your best wishes for the people in need, religion has no part in just hoping the best for these people.

I also have donated a $100 to the red cross as did my mom, which is being matched by my bank(San Diego National), along with my stepdad gave a $100 and his work(Solar Turbines) matched that as well. I think anything would be great even $5. Just make sure you are giving to a reputable charirty, during the bad fires we had here in socal a couple years ago, there were countless false charities that were stealing thousands of dollars, so people please be careful who you are giving money to, especially if you are using a credit card. Don't let that keep you from donating but just be careful cause we want this money to get where it is needed. Good luck to all and best wishes to everyone. Jason

[jamesj]

ok, as for the Govenor......sense was the wrong word, Knowledge is a better word.

[bluespresence]

The problem ive found is that (quite rightly) the majority of the news coverage is on Orleans etc

The general idea seems to be that its just power outages etc in Alabama but some news feeds are reporting Alabama as being one of 3 that were the worst affected states...

Any other input guys?

~~ Slain Angel ~~

Alabama was also affected and suffered some severe damage along the coast and some inland. It looks like most of Mississippi was also taken out, even well inland. Once the shootings and all the BS started in NO the glory (or gory) hounds in the press box decided to focus only on that. There are many, many others that are now without homes and power besides the relatively few in NO. Estimates I've seen range from 100,000 to 250,000. I'm not sure there will be a good number for weeks or even months.

Here's a map of the areas that had hurricane force winds. There were also many tornadoes and lots of flooding outside of that area from the storm.

Area Map

On another note.....there are 3 A-10's doing practice bombing runs on my house right now.....how freakin' cool is that!!! They're flying about 30 feet above my house and pulling up as soon as they pass over then laying into her and going around for more. The one guy came back around and must have seen me on the deck so he gave me a wing wave as he went back for more. I'm out in the boonies on a hill so my house must make a fine "target of opportunity" for them. It scared the S*#@ out of me the first time they came over!!

Edited September 2, 2005 by bluespresence

[TenderSurrender]

Alabama was also affected and suffered some severe damage along the coast and some inland.

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Cheers bp

Ive e-mailed them and i hope they respond soon.

They dont usually live there but there "holiday" home is in Alabama and were not sure if they are there at the moment or not...

Once again cheers Blues

~~ Slain Angel ~~

Edited September 2, 2005 by SlainAngel

[jmrentis]

Let us know if you get ahold of them SLainAngel, I hope they are alright. I seriously can't believe the size of destruction made by this storm, it's quite frightening, mother nature is really a beauty and the beast. Jason

[TenderSurrender]

Let us know if you get ahold of them SLainAngel, I hope they are alright.  I seriously can't believe the size of destruction made by this storm, it's quite frightening, mother nature is really a beauty and the beast.  Jason

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Will do Jason...

My thoughts once again go out to thegarehanmen and everybody else affected by this disaster...

~~ Slain Angel ~~

[johnsilver]

My wife just brought this to my attention, has anyone else noticed this....

The FEDS at the start of this were giving the Govener any thing that was asked for. (Their words) and then things went to crap quick!, Yeasterday Bush "named" the FEMA head as the diaster coordinater for katrina, and now things are getting better . The wife has asked me Why the Feds even thought the state Govenor had enough sense to coordinate this?

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A governor is the chief executive of a state. It is a big deal for a governor to invite the federal government into the state in any capacity. Governor Blanco requested all available federal assistance very early. I got no sense of prideful reluctance from her. I believe "things went to crap" due to unprecedented circumstances overwhelming initially available resources. I sincerely hope that things will improve now that the combined resources of the federal government, the state, the city, neighboring states, private companies, charities and individuals are beginning to create sufficient mass to address the magnitude of this disaster.

[RGGR]

There was plenty of advanced warning for people to flee to safety, if they were there it's because they didn't want to leave.

Some didn't have the facilities to leave...........food stamps aren't proper down payment for a motor vehicle, I guess.

[crafty]

Martial Law was declared in Orleans and Jefferson County, from what I heard a couple days ago. The Napoleonic Code has nothing to do with having or not having martial law, neither does common law. It's a power vested in the executive branch according to the state and federal constitutions. Right now the National Guard and local police have total police and curfew powers, and habeus corpus is effectively suspended.

[mledbetter]

There was plenty of advanced warning for people to flee to safety, if they were there it's because they didn't want to leave.

Some didn't have the facilities to leave...........food stamps aren't proper down payment for a motor vehicle, I guess.

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Yeah this is an important cynicism to confront.. "well if they wanted to ride out the storm, then they got what's coming to them" There are those are bull headed and want to ride out the storm, and they deserve such judgement but in this case you're talking about a high density urban area with a lot of poor people without cars, access to money, etc.. Public transportation is their only means of getting around and the city busses weren't exactly offering to take folks out of the city.

The vast majority of these people were trapped. plain and simple and hopefully they are finally getting the help they need.

[johnsilver]

The vast majority of these people were trapped. plain and simple and hopefully they are finally getting the help they need.

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Amen.

Crafty, thanks for clarifying the martial law provision.

[haggardguy]

I just finished reading todays paper and I'm ashamed I haven't been following this more. I realised that the damage was terrible and extensive but after reading almost an entire paper dedicated to the hell that is currently The southern US I feel a strange sickly sensation. These people are getting shipped from one place to another with no supervision. No one is being fed, no one has water, the cops are threatening everyone they see trying to protect property when they can't even save the people who are drowning,trapped in their attics, being raped in the arena they were transferred too. At the saddledome a little girl watched her father die, he put her down and jumped off a ledge to his death. Familys who had so little now have absolutely nothing and its sickening. I see pictures of people armed with semi automatic rifles and tons of bullets but no food or water or compassion. I agree the looting needs to be taken care of but since when have buildings and possessions been more important than human life. As for preparing for this.. I could say something but what happened happened and what needs to be done isnt so for now we need to get this sorted out and then work on future preparedness.

[Southpa]

Louisiana does not use the term "Martial Law" in their books. Scroll down and read the section "Hurricane Katrina".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law

[thegarehanman]

Maybe we don't use it in our books, but the Parish President of Jefferson Parish instituted Martial Law as of last week. He use the words "Martial Law." The whole Napolionic law deal isn't really worse than what the rest of america goes by. I lived in Mississippi for 3 years and before that I lived in New Jersey. Honestly, there are very few noticable differences in the justice code. The biggest differences are in inheritances(well, the biggest differences I've noticed).

[jmrentis]

QUOTE

There was plenty of advanced warning for people to flee to safety, if they were there it's because they didn't want to leave.

Some didn't have the facilities to leave...........food stamps aren't proper down payment for a motor vehicle, I guess.

Ok sorry,I was mistaken. There were many people that couldn't get out and that is terrible, I just feel like many people felt like they had to stay and ended up causing way more problems, because they needed to be rescued and that in turn made it much harder for the people that couldn't get out get rescued. So basically it sucks, terribly! Personally even if I didn't have a car or money I would still get out even if I had to sneak into someones trunk, there were so many people leaving I'm sure some of them would have given rides to the people that had nothing, I know I would have. But even then I'm sure there just wouldn't be nearly enough to get everyone.

I just wish people would leave when advised, when we had the fires there were all kinds of people that got on their roof with a hose and started spraying, well most of those people were burnt alive. There were a couple lucky ones that ended up making the news, but for the most part anyone that didn't evecuate was killed. With the winds we had, the fires moved at incredible speeds, and in a news video there was a man running from a huge fire and you actually see him get caught by the fire, it was moving at an insane speed, similar to how fast a large flood would be, seriously beyond belief. I feel bad though that many of these people couldn't get out, were there any state appointed busses to transport people out of danger before the storm, or was it a your on your own type thing? This seems to be by far the worst disaster we have had, 9-11 was terrible for sure but we all seemed to come together, but this has done the opposite it seems, many people are trying to help but there seems so many people that are hell bent on making hell even worse for everyone. I'm sorry but these people don't deserve life, this is noones fault, it's mother nature and she can be a mean mistress, but to harm other people in such a terrible time is just horrible, looting, raping, cop killing, I mean damn how much worse can it get. And it seems like it's going to be a long, slow clean up and rescue process along with costing billions upon billions. Best wishes to everyone, I'm sure we will get through this eventually, I just hope the criminal acts quit, this is just making it so much worse, as if the storm wasn't bad enough. I'm glad we are having this discussion because I had missed a few things and am now properly informed, and I think many people have better info now, from this thread, plus we have an inside informant garehanman!

Here in San Diego a couple of the schools like UCSD and SDSU are taking in students that had their school either destoyed or cancelled due to the storm, so far there are a couple dozen students that have enrolled out here, probably they are staying with friends and families out here. So check your area guys, if you still want to do your semester, many colleges are trying to help. Jason

[johnsilver]

This seems to be by far the worst disaster we have had, 9-11 was terrible for sure but we all seemed to come together, but this has done the opposite it seems...

Here in San Diego a couple of the schools like UCSD and SDSU are taking in students that had their school either destoyed or cancelled due to the storm, so far there are a couple dozen students that have enrolled out here, probably they are staying with friends and families out here.

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I agree. Its seems the opposite because those on the sidelines want to place blame very early.

Very cool about UCSD and SDSU letting in students. Its happening here in Texas also. Let me see, go to college temporarily in Houston or go to college temporarily in San Diego. I've been to both. Duh!!!

Watch out for those Louisiana college students. May take em a while to warm up, but they like to party.

[thegarehanman]

We took in 1400 refugee students here at lsu. I don't think a Tulane or UNO student can put 'em back like an LSU native...not to mention an irish one. We shall see, we shall see.

[johnsilver]

I don't think a Tulane or UNO student can put 'em back like an LSU native...not to mention an irish one. We shall see, we shall see.

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Oh, back in the day!!

The Green Weenies never could cut it. Be kind.......

[Kevan]

There was plenty of advanced warning for people to flee to safety, if they were there it's because they didn't want to leave.

Some didn't have the facilities to leave...........food stamps aren't proper down payment for a motor vehicle, I guess.

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Yeah this is an important cynicism to confront.. "well if they wanted to ride out the storm, then they got what's coming to them" There are those are bull headed and want to ride out the storm, and they deserve such judgement but in this case you're talking about a high density urban area with a lot of poor people without cars, access to money, etc.. Public transportation is their only means of getting around and the city busses weren't exactly offering to take folks out of the city.

The vast majority of these people were trapped. plain and simple and hopefully they are finally getting the help they need.

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They absolutely had a choice.

95% of the 'stranded' people I've seen have two working legs.

START WALKING.

West, North...doesn't matter. Food, water and power are about a 5 hr. walk out of NOLA directly west.

And their chances of getting a ride are increased exponentially.

And with all the new Nike's around downtown, no one has any excuse about not having proper footwear.

[jamesj]

There was plenty of advanced warning for people to flee to safety, if they were there it's because they didn't want to leave.

Some didn't have the facilities to leave...........food stamps aren't proper down payment for a motor vehicle, I guess.

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Yeah this is an important cynicism to confront.. "well if they wanted to ride out the storm, then they got what's coming to them" There are those are bull headed and want to ride out the storm, and they deserve such judgement but in this case you're talking about a high density urban area with a lot of poor people without cars, access to money, etc.. Public transportation is their only means of getting around and the city busses weren't exactly offering to take folks out of the city.

The vast majority of these people were trapped. plain and simple and hopefully they are finally getting the help they need.

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They absolutely had a choice.

95% of the 'stranded' people I've seen have two working legs.

START WALKING.

West, North...doesn't matter. Food, water and power are about a 5 hr. walk out of NOLA directly west.

And their chances of getting a ride are increased exponentially.

And with all the new Nike's around downtown, no one has any excuse about not having proper footwear.

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They wont let them walk out.

[westhemann]

START WALKING.

West, North...doesn't matter. Food, water and power are about a 5 hr. walk out of NOLA directly west.

And their chances of getting a ride are increased exponentially.

and that is exactly what i would do in that situation...and it is probably also what alot of the people did who are a little more survivalistic than the ones who just stayed and floundered around.

i'm not putting the blame on the people who stayed there..but ultimately you must do what you must do...

They wont let them walk out.

who won't?that's b.s....first you say that there is nobody taking charge quickly enough,then you say the ones who are "not doing anything" to help are all of the sudden forming a do not cross line around the city?

[jamesj]

START WALKING.

West, North...doesn't matter. Food, water and power are about a 5 hr. walk out of NOLA directly west.

And their chances of getting a ride are increased exponentially.

and that is exactly what i would do in that situation...and it is probably also what alot of the people did who are a little more survivalistic than the ones who just stayed and floundered around.

i'm not putting the blame on the people who stayed there..but ultimately you must do what you must do...

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cant, they wont let them

[westhemann]

START WALKING.

West, North...doesn't matter. Food, water and power are about a 5 hr. walk out of NOLA directly west.

And their chances of getting a ride are increased exponentially.

and that is exactly what i would do in that situation...and it is probably also what alot of the people did who are a little more survivalistic than the ones who just stayed and floundered around.

i'm not putting the blame on the people who stayed there..but ultimately you must do what you must do...

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cant, they wont let them

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b.s.

who is they?who are these magical barricades consisting of?all i see is how nobody was doing anything until the national gaurd arrived...

unless you mean now?and now is not 3 days ago

[jamesj]

START WALKING.

West, North...doesn't matter. Food, water and power are about a 5 hr. walk out of NOLA directly west.

And their chances of getting a ride are increased exponentially.

and that is exactly what i would do in that situation...and it is probably also what alot of the people did who are a little more survivalistic than the ones who just stayed and floundered around.

i'm not putting the blame on the people who stayed there..but ultimately you must do what you must do...

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cant, they wont let them

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b.s.

who is they?who are these magical barricades consisting of?all i see is how nobody was doing anything until the national gaurd arrived...

unless you mean now?and now is not 3 days ago

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No watch fox at 2 am if they dont cut it. Sheppard and Geraldo was raising cain about it on hanity and combs, they cut them off pretty quick.

[westhemann]

i thought geraldo was nothing more than a hack these days...trying to drum up controversy wherever he can invent it?

i find it very unbelievable that they could "cut them off" successfully.if that is reality then i think that stinks...but i would still make it out.

i mean,who is going to stop you?are they going to kill you?somehow i doubt it...