Katrina Live Thread XII

Various ^ | 31 August 2005 | Various

[NautiNurse]

President Bush: "We are dealing with one of the worst national disasters in our nation's history." Push has appropriated vast federal resources to assist with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

78,000 people are currently in shelters. New Orleans evacuation continues. 10,000 additional National Guard troops have been called to service.

Hospitals are running low on supplies, and public health concerns include water borne disease, poor sanitation, food and drinking water contamination and shortages, mosquitoes, carbon monixide poisoning from electricity generators, lack of childcare, and the special needs of the elderly.

Links to various news, local and state government websites:

WLOX TV Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagula has link to locate family and friends (very slow load)

2theAdvocate - Baton Rouge Includes Slidell, St. John Parish, St. Bernard Parish updates, and other locations.

NOLA.com

Inside Houma Today includes shelter and volunteer updates

WLBT.com Jackson MS

WALA Channel 4 Mobile, AL Includes links to distribution centers, Emergency Ops, etc.

Sun-Herald Gulfport MS Includes link to town by town reports

Gulfport News via Topix.net

WAFB Baton Rouge

Mobile Register via al.com

Mississippi updates via Jackson Ledger

Lafayette LA Daily Advertiser

Pensacola News Journal

St Bernard Local Government
Alabama Homeland Security Volunteers can sign up online
Alabama DOT
Alabama.gov
Louisiana Homeland Security
Louisiana State Police road closure info
State of Mississippi Website has traffic alerts, emergency contact numbers

Streaming Video:

WWL-TV: http://www.khou.com/perl/common/video/wmPlayer.pl?title=beloint_khou&props=livenoad

WDSU-TV: http://mfile.akamai.com/12912/live/reflector:38843.asx"

WPMI-TV: http://www.wpmi.com/mediacenter/default.aspx?videoId=113739

WKRG-TV: mms://wmbcast.mgeneral.speedera.net/wmbcast.mgeneral/wmbcast_mgeneral_aug262005_1435_95518

WTOK-TV (follow the link on the home page): http://www.wtok.com/

WJTV-TV: mms://wmbcast.mgeneral.speedera.net/wmbcast.mgeneral/wmbcast_mgeneral_aug262005_1435_95563

Gulf Coast Storm Network (radio): http://www.stormalert.net/main.html#

Related FR Threads:

FYI: Hurricane Katrina Freeper SIGN IN Thread

Discussion Thread - Hurricane Katrina - What Went Wrong?!?

Post Hurricane Katrina IMAGES Here

Looting Begins In New Orleans

Martial Law Declared in New Orleans

Due to the number of requests to assist, the following list of some charities is provided.
This is not intended as an endorsement for any of the charities.

www.redcross.org or 1-800 HELP NOW - note: website is slow
Salvation Army - 1-800-SAL-ARMY or Salvation Army currently looking for in-state volunteers - (888)363-2769
Operation Blessing: (800) 436-6348.
America's Second Harvest: (800) 344-8070.
Catholic Charities USA: (800) 919-9338, or www.catholiccharitiesusa.org.
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee: (800) 848-5818.
Church World Service: (800) 297-1516 or online at www.churchworldservice. org.
Lutheran Disaster Response: (800) 638-3522.
Nazarene Disaster Response: (888) 256-5886.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance: (800) 872-3283.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is accepting donations at its 3,800 stores and Web site, www.walmart.com.

Previous Threads:

Katrina Live Thread, Part XI
Katrina Live Thread, Part X
Katrina Live Thread, Part IX
Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part VIII
Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part VII
Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part VI
Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part V
Hurricane Katrina, Live Thread, Part IV
Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part III
Katrina Live Thread, Part II
Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part I
Tropical Storm 12

[Jim Noble]

"We will restore law and order," an emotional Blanco said at a news conference. "What angers me the most is that disasters like this often bring out the worst in people. I will not tolerate this kind of behavior."

I'm sure it's been pointed out, but Governor Blanco has already tolerated this behavior, and by so doing has bought a lot more of it.

[cajungirl]

I am awake this morning. Frankly I am not giving a damn about the NO levee board. Maybe it is a phase here but NO is gone.

It is hard to wrap the mind around. NO is gone. People are wandering out. Many are dying. The rest is just static.

Maybe the time will come in the endless post mortems that the NO levee board will be discussed in a long article. But this is like some kind of On the Beach scenario going on here. The NO levee board is past being relevant.

Or that is just how it feels right now.

[Vinnie]

My son survived Hurricane Andrew in S. Dade county with a .45 strapped to his hip.

It was necessary. Looters were so bold that during a TV interview, the homeowner/interviewee turned around to see a looter going through his house. The camera catching the action.

These jackals are the most despicable people on earth.

[jhny7]

anyone have a live video link goin this morning?

[Peach]

What does this mean? Can you explain more fully please?

[livius]

A study came out about 6 or so months ago (and I wish I had the link) that went over how people actually react in disaster scenarios.

Interesting.

I think it does have something to do with the constitution of the group left behind in the case of NO. Not that most of them are black - after all, 80% of the NO population is black, so this isn't surprising - but that a disproportionate number are probably criminals in any case. The police did release criminals wholesale from the jails when the flooding got bad, so perhaps there is a greater than average percentage of people who are just either very bad or very dumb to begin with.

[pollyg107]

Good morning from Ridgeland, Mississippi. I just got power restored last night. I've been to work every day this week, but can't go today because I have no gasoline. I spent two hours in line at 4:30 a.m. yesterday, and three hours last night. Both times, the stations ran out of gas before I got to the pumps. The rescue people are having similar problems, so I'm just going to stay home until gas is readily available. I want to help people, but I don't know what I can do because I have no means of transportation and no food. All of our perishable food spoiled, and we have eaten all of the non-perishable. We walked a couple of miles to a store yesterday, but it was closed because they have no electricity. I'm not complaining, however, because I and my family are so blessed. If we get hungry, neighbors will share something to eat. Our home is relatively undamaged by the storm and I have air conditioning again. Please pray for all of those less fortunate people who have lost everything. Thank you.

[Peach]

Yesterday I talked to two people who were going to donate to the relief effort but changed their minds after seeing just how lawless it's gotten in NO.

They felt that the money could end up in the hands of some of those looters to help THEM and so won't do it.

[MSCASEY]

The fact that the national guard was all over also helped in the Northridge Earthquake. Fema was there with water and set up tents very rapidly.

If there was not a curfew and the National Guard in place there would have been major looting during Northridge also.

The manager at the Ralphs was a complete jerk! And after they were red tagged they almost immediately within days started preparing for reconstruction. They were just throwing away everything into the trash and would not allow people to take anything out the trash that was needed. They
had posted a security guard around the trash bins.

I called the police and they ended up working something out were someone came in and got allot of the stuff that people needed.

Also the 7-11 and other places around the area immediately began price goudching on water and everything.

Allot of people were good but there were also many out there ready to take advantage of the whole situation at others cost.

Ms. Casey's Daughter

[Diva]

That is interesting. I worked for the Port of New Orleans during my summers in college. And, what you are saying does not surprise me too much. I was never over at the Levee Board. However, there are lots of lawyers and law firms in New Orleans who are no friends of these small state politicians. Years ago the old "Dock Board" (Port) was pretty clean. My boyfriend's father (Republican I might add, I was still a young Democrat), was the director of the Port (don't remember the exact title), and yes, he got me my summer job. I repaired the old maps of the docks, which included (or showed at least) levees from the 19th and early 20th Centuries. It was a great summer job and I learned a little about how the City grew up.

[bwteim]

'morning, all.

Feeling reflective and sober, feel free to shoot down. Getting up out of a comfortable bed with a cup of coffee seems a crime under the current circumstances.

Turned on the tube earlier (4 cst), and altho normally a Fox watcher, I have also looked at a lot of CNN coverage. Their coverage seems to be broader and they have more news from areas other than NOLA. The anchor this morning seemed quite calm and somber.

But nothing beats FR for all around news:
Nautinurse, thanks again for your work on the live Katrina threads;
MFH, in hindsight, we probably all wished your hot thread had read: "Astonishing Exclusive From the *Gulf Coast* [hundreds if not thousands dead]".
It would have avoided a lot of internal squabbles.
Even so, with a corrected title, we would still have wished *that* news to be so wrong. As of this morning, the entire scale is, of course, unknown.

Finally, Jim Rob, thanks to you and the technical staff for keeping the servers up and humming.
FRegards

[cajungirl]

I have to laugh here. Many of us down here sound perpetually stoned.

We are all so taken with the moral issues here. What does one do to get out of a dark, wet, scary place with people wandering around with guns shooting and thieving?

The problem is for every thug with an AK 47 there are a thousand scared, wet, terrified people. But the thugs just command attention and rule with their ability to make us fear. So everyone begins to look like they are hiding a gun under their shirts.

That is why I was asking how many thugs with guns were around. And my guess is it is small. And if all of these refugees look like they are thugs in our eyes, it is going to be a long decade or decades.

It is like the KKK,,every white southerner got associated with that group of thugs when most of people werent. I once asked my father who grew up here about the KKK. And he told me they were outliers, not decent people and never were. He said that at the time the decent people knew these were thugs.

The hijacked bus I don't know about. But I sort of think they made their own personal evacuation plan. I hope they didn't kill anybody but suspect they just comandeered a bus and made a bustrip to texas. Anybody read Confederacy of the Dunces? It sounds like a story from that book. So I will wait and see what happens with it. It in an odd way is amusing me. It would not if I thought they hurt of killed someone to get the bus, it really wouldn't. But if it was just left with the keys in it or if the driver went in to get his papers or something, and they took it, well I can hardly blame them.

[jimtorr]

People will look to those in authority to take over (police, firemen, etc). People will follow the orders of those who are in authority.

I think what is happening in New Orleans is that authorities were ineffective in taking over because of two main factors; they were were spread too thinly, and they had no effective leadership of their own.

[Quix]

NO is gone, is right.

I think you hit more than a few nails and more than a few idiots on the head.

I hadn't realized that the corruption and violence routinely active in the area was so great in addition to the voodoo and MardiGras spirit; rampant sexual acting out etc.

Reminds me of this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1472056/posts

27 CHRISTIAN PROPHETIC EXCERPTS FROM 1940 UNTIL NOW.

It is beginning to feel like the docs on that thread are a lot more accurate than I ever wanted them to be.

[AliVeritas]

Paul over at Wizbang takes the blogosphere to task for self serving Katrina reporting. He says instead of just blogging about it, do some good and help the victims, of which he is one.

There’ll be plenty of time to show off your 20/20 hindsight next week. For now, accept this for what it is… a natural disaster of biblical proportions.

If you want to do something, quit yer whining and do what blogs and bloggers do best… Use information to change the world.

…

Think of the simple things- Thousands of people lost their glasses. Somebody set up a website where they can coordinate donations of (known) prescription glasses from people who no longer need them. Get a freight company to donate the freight. I bet FedEx will give you an account number that will route all the glasses to some agency in New Orleans.

If you do something to help the victims, ping this post… If there is a lot of people helping out, Kevin will set up a post with the links. (I just volunteered him ;)

Think about it for a second from my chair… (I’m not whining but) I’m almost 40 years old…. Here is the sum total of all my worldly possessions: 4 pairs of shorts, 5 shirts, 2 pairs of shoes, 4 pairs of underwear, 1 pair of blue jeans, a box of family pictures, 2 flashlights, a piece of trench art my grandfather brought back from WWI and my father’s hammer. (Hey, it means a lot to me!) That’s it. Everything else is gone. And BTW, I’m unemployed.

I tell you that not to whine but to let you see the tree thru the forest. Multiply my situation by about a million. Stop and think about that… A million people homeless and unemployed.

If you’re a blogger then (by near definition) you’re a self proclaimed talented person. Prove it. They’ll be plenty of time for punditry and pontification next month… In the mean time there is work to be done. Figure out how to help the victims.

[GOP_Proud]

BTT

[8mmMauser]

Sure thing, Post #1692 freeper asking for help for New Orleans Police. It is explained in that post.

8mm

[burzum]

I would have to agree that in any case where an opportunity for a criminal is given, they will take it. I think this only applies to criminals, not normal people. When it is dark, criminals will loot because they have the opportunity. Normal people will not. This is why it necessary to have curfews in disaster areas so that police can readily identify the crooks. I don't think the number of crooks goes up in most disaster situations (and if looting is widespread it just means that the existing crooks were able to get to more places). I do think that the proportion of crooks in New Orleans is much higher than normal (though perhaps, it was always higher).

They were just throwing away everything into the trash and would not allow people to take anything out the trash that was needed. They had posted a security guard around the trash bins.

Perhaps they were worried about liability if they gave food away. There really should be a good samaritan law for disaster situations. If you let someone into your home after the hurricane, they shouldn't be able to sue you, and if you give someone food that you think is safe, they shouldn't be able to sue you. Then again, perhaps they just wanted to gouge you.

[Diva]

Anybody read Confederacy of the Dunces?

One of my all time favorite books...what's the lead character's name something O'Reilly? But you have to have lived in New Orleans to get it, that's the problem. It's surreal and epic all at the same time...and so gloriously funny.