Katrina Live Thread, Part X

Various ^ | 30 August 2005

[NautiNurse]

Catastrophic damage occurred to Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Major bridges are destroyed. Mobile AL suffered its worst flooding in 90 years. In New Orleans, a large section of concrete levee broke last night. Water continues to rise, threatening, among many things, Tulane Hospital with 1000 patients. New Orleans officials: Do not attempt to return to the city at this time if you evacuated. It is too dangerous.

Sun-Herald Gulfport MS

WLOX TV Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagula

Gulfport News via Topix.net WAFB Baton Rouge

Slidell, Mandeville, and Covington Updates Warning: website is overloaded due to heavy traffic

Mobile Register via al.com

Mississippi updates via Jackson Ledger

Lafayette LA Daily Advertiser

Pensacola News Journal

[EX52D]

I was thinking the same thing. Disgusting, isn't it?

[Sloth]

Compassion and love of one's brother is not, and should never be, dictated by our nations constitution...

Of course not. But using a gun to take money from one citizen and give it to another is not compassion, it is extortion.

[nicmarlo]

back at ya. : )

[lmavk]

Thing is, they aren't going to be able to actually USE all the electronics they are stealing until the electricity comes back on. Now they have to keep themselves from being looted. The looters become the lootees.

[Shermy]

My question: if the levees broke a day after the brunt of the storm...why did they breach?

[Lurking in Kansas]

Name me one city in this country not afflicted with some level of poverty.

Overland Park, Kansas

[Howlin]

The flag is a good way of signaling for help. But it's good to know they had one in the first place!

Just to show you how "Twilight Zoney" we've gotten around here, when pictures of flags were posted yesterday, some people were actually CARPING about the people having the flag outside in a hurricane.

[NCC-1701]

Wow, Russia and Venazuala offering aid. When has that ever happened after one of our major disasters? This is incredible. Seeing is believing. I hope they follow through. All other countries are welcome to join in. How many others will?

[RobFromGa]

Between NOLA and Gulfport.

[untenured]

Still, unfortunately, many overseas will wonder, and some ask me, why we are spreading order around the world, and have these pockets of disorder (i.e., 'looters'), within our own borders.

Tell your interlocutors that America is a free country, and thus in it you see man at his best and at his worst.

With the former we get scientific genius, the wholesale invention of many modern industries, overwhelming response to global distress (How quickly the tsunami response is forgotten!), bearing any burden in defense of lberty, accepting with equanimity all the world's people (from Japan and everywhere else) as our citizen equals, tremendous social entrepreneurship, etc. With the latter we get looting in a time of crisis, the world's most vibrant pornography industry, an appalling rate of divorce, out-of-wedlock birth, abortion, etc.

We are all things at the same time because we are left free to chart our own destiny in this world. And whatever we are, we are certainly not boring.

I predict that tremendous sacrifices made on behalf of complete strangers will be objectively a much bigger part of this story than the looting. But I also predict that the looting will get a lot more foreign press coverage.

The Money Tree.

[lugsoul]

"I don't think the surprises are over yet"

Deserves repeating.

[Torie]

I haven't heard about any leaks from the river side. If there are, then water will flow from the river downhill through NO to Lake Ponchartrain VERY fast. The river is several feet above sea level, 14 feet at high water. If there is a leak from the river, we will hear about that one in a hurry.

[cgk]

CNN ticker: report of a man jumping to his death from the 2nd level of the stadium - which now has reports of 25,000 seeking shelter inside.

[Howlin]

Most of the reporters I've seen in NO say they can smell the gas.

[nicmarlo]

absolutely turns my stomach.

[jeffers]

"To: RobFromGa

Where is Bay St. Louis?"

Between Slidell and Gulfport, roughly in the middle, the only big bay in that area. The city of the same name is on the western arm of the bay near the Gulf.

[dirtboy]

DB, on CNN the host just said that the mandatory evacuation was ordered Saturday morning...........wasn't it Sunday?

I thought it was Sunday as well when they realized that Katrina had bombed out - voluntary was issued on Saturday.

[Steve_Seattle]

"Your analysis requires a prejudging of people. I know many tried to evacuate but returned when the highways were impassible. Others may have medical conditions that made travel difficult. Still others might have stayed intending to be a help to others, only to find themselves a burden."

Excellent points, which - unfortunately - need to be made over and over again on this forum. Other factors which might have kept people from evacuating: lack of a car; lack of money for air fare or rental car fees; unavailability of rental cars due to high demand; disability; the need to stay with and care for shut-ins; and just plain old fear of leaving the (felt) security of home for an unknown destination.

[Republican Red]

I remember Sunday morning when they announced the mandatory evac (I think it was 11:00 est). The Governor of LA made sure to say that the President urged her and the Mayor to order the evacuation. I was thinking at the time that if this storm didn't live up to the hype they could pin the evacation order on Bush. Funny, I haven't heard anyone commending the President on the evacuation today.

[BurbankKarl]

An orange X usually means the house has been checked so that isnt checked again....they will leave 2x or 3x for number of victims.