From reader James T. Freeman III:
From an emergency notice put on WWL-TV's Web site, which mirrors a bulletin they just had on TV (I'm watching online):Please pray for the victims and their families, and donate to relief organizations such as the Salvation Army.
****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****
As all of us native Louisianians know, the "entire East bank" constitutes all of New Orleans, Metairie, etc.
The question of New Orleans' survival as a city was in some question an hour ago. Now, I think the question may have been answered. New Orleans will not be habitable for a very long time, and then only after the expenditure of unfathomable treasure.
May God have mercy. Lord have mercy. I am out of words for prayer other than that. Lord have mercy.
I think I am going to go cry now.
Floodwaters continue to rise in New Orleans, inundating over 75 percent of the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as levee sections along a canal leading to Lake Pontchartrain gave way on Aug 30.
“Louisiana south of Interstate-10 is a wasteland”, the Rt. Rev. Charles E. Jenkins, III, told The Living Church. “We cannot reach some of our clergy, we cannot reach our families.” He characterized the situation as a “nightmare” that is “worsening as we speak.”
The Diocese of Louisiana evacuated its offices to St. James' Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge, 80 miles northwest of New Orleans, according to the Canon to the Ordinary, the Rev. E. Mark Stevenson.
“We have no hard facts” on damage or losses, Canon Stevenson said. “Most everybody left the city [New Orleans], clergy and lay people, but unfortunately some people have stayed. It is a disaster. We just have to pray,” he said.
Bishop Jenkins said that of the 18 parishes in the city of New Orleans, all but “Christ Church Cathedral and perhaps those on the St. Charles Ridge” he expected would be under water. “Cholera, Yellow Fever, West Nile virus” and other water-borne diseases pose a threat now, Bishop Jenkins said.
Christ Church, Slidell, and St. Michael’s, Mandeville, on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, and St. Mary’s, Chalmette, east of the city in St. Bernard Parish, are in areas also reported hard hit by the flooding. Power and telephone service across Southern Louisiana is out and the situation in rural parishes outside the city is unclear. But “now is not the time to worry about property,” Bishop Jenkins said, “but to pray to God and to pray for those in need.”
Bishop Jenkins and his wife, Louise, were visiting their son in Hawaii when the storm began its northward path across the Gulf of Mexico. Bishop Jenkins was able to fly in to Shreveport on Aug. 29 and make his way east towards Baton Rouge.
Stopping for the night in “the little town of Mansfield, 40 miles south of Shreveport,” Bishop Jenkins said he was heartened to see the people of Louisiana reach out to those in need as all but one of the community’s churches had opened their doors to refugees from the south.
The diocese’s Executive Committee will meet Aug. 31 at St. James', Baton Rouge, as “we try to assess our needs,” Bishop Jenkins said.
Asked what the wider Church could do, Bishop Jenkins said, “pray”, noting the diocese will hold a special Eucharist at noon on Sept. 1 at St. James' to give thanksgiving to God and to pray for relief.
Bishop Jenkins said he had been in contact with Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, who had offered his prayers and support. He also commended the work of Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD), encouraging Episcopalians to support its relief efforts.
To make an ERD contribution to help people affected by Hurricane Katrina, please donate to the U.S. Hurricane Fund by credit card here or by calling 1-800-334-7626, ext. 5129. Gifts can also be mailed to: Episcopal Relief and Development, c/o U.S. Hurricane Fund, PO Box 12043, Newark, NJ 07101.
This comment by Charlie E., a commenter at Kendall Harmon's "Titusonenine", gives a hopeful way to think about the future of New Orleans: emulate the Dutch in their reclamation of the Zuider Zee. Charlie E writes:I pray for all caught up in this. It is a sad and hard thing to lose your house and possibly your job. But the people caught up in this should not despair too much. The rest of the country is there and they appear to be more than willing to help.
I know there are undoubtedly obstacles to face that I cannot even comprehend--but I think this could well be a model for us to follow, and give long-term hope to New Orleans, although it will take years to do so.
It must be overwhelming at this point but this is a bit more gloom than necessary unless the people of Louisiana don’t have the fortitude of the Dutch. I remember watching a documentary a couple of years ago about the devastating North Sea storm of 1953. Thousands killed, well over 1/4 million acres of land inundated and fouled when the polders/dikes were breached in 67 places. There is only about 8 million acres in the whole country so this was a very substantial part of it and a number of important cities were involved. So, the Dutch did not abandon all of this. No, they looked things over and acted on a long-term project. The Zuider Zee was turned into the Isjelmeer. The took back what was lost and added to it.
The lowest point in Holland is over 20 feet below sea level, the lowest spot around New Orleans is only about 8 feet below sea level. And the North Sea is no pussy cat when it comes to bad storms.
Maybe it is just that I am a Texan but it doesn’t seem like all that big of a project to me. If the powers that be in Lousiana can’t figure this out maybe they should phone the Dutch. They keep the North Sea out of their country.
There is too much shipping and refining infrastructure to abandon it just because of a bit of water.
Thanks for posting this thread. Until I know for sure that our donations to any Diocese in the Hurricane area will not be given to the Red Cross or God knows what, we will donate to the Salvation Army.
We just donated $100 to the Salvation Army.
The link to donate with a credit card is below. Even with a DSL link, it takes a lot of time to get to the site:
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/
Salvation Army Serving Storm Refugees
Feeding First Responders
The Salvation Army is currently providing services to storm victims and first responders in the Gulf Coast states.
A $100 donation to The Salvation Army will feed a family of four for two days, provide two cases of drinking water and one household clean-up kit, containing brooms, mops, buckets, and cleaning supplies.
Victims Needing Assistance:
> Please call 1-888-363-2769.
Connect with Loved Ones:
How You Can Help:
1. Financial Donations:
Financial contributions are greatly needed, and provide The Salvation Army with the funds to purchase what storm victims need. They also allow The Salvation Army to assess the unique needs of individuals and families, as well as put money back into the economy of those communities affected by the disaster.
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/