It has been over a week since Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Louisiana-Mississippi Gulf Coast. I was in Lafayette, LA the weekend before Katrina caused the devastation. Beginning on Friday, I was glued to The Weather Channel, ready to make an evacuation myself. Friday, New Orleans was advised to make an evacuation, and Saturday the evacuation became mandatory.
Friday night, I did not notice much of a change in traffic; however Saturday, and mostly Sunday, I-10 was bumper to bumper with traffic. Unfortunately, not everyone could escape. Some chose not to escape. Some had no choice because of lack of transportation. Airports were closed, and rental cars were all taken. As a secondary measure, the mayor of New Orleans and Governor of Louisiana offered the Superdome as a shelter from the storm.
Mass chaos had already begun. A contra-flow system was created on I-10 from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. This reserved all lanes of the interstate to be directed
out of the city, all in one direction. Its purpose was well served, and the city had advanced warning to escape from this, category 5,
natural disaster.
Monday morning, Katrina made landfall. Here in Crowley, it was cloudy and breezy. We
did not even get a drop of rain. However, not everyone was so lucky. New Orleans was hit hard, immediately. Those in the Superdome were safe from the storm. When the electricity first went out, reporters say that they were actually applause and fanfare. They were happy! These are people with no sense. After the storm passed the levees surrounding the city were breached. Causing the waters from Lake Pontchatrain to spill into and flood the city. Several levees gave way and followed suit. The media broadcasted that alligators, sharks, and snakes filled the city.
The days following the storm will go down in the history books. The Federal Government responded later than expected. Blame is being given everywhere. The residents of New Orleans begin to loot. There is no food, water, electricity, shelter, or hope. They become desperate and most of the act the same way you are I would, given the same situation.
I feel bad for the ones would could not escape. On the other hand, the ones that chose to stay because they wanted to, and they did not think they would be affected...I would rather not hear them bitch and moan about being trapped on television.
As seen on TV, people were trapped in their attacks, on top of buildings, and countless other places. They have been stranded for days deprived with the basic life needs. Again, it took much longer for the US Government to respond to their own tax paying citizens, than it took for the victims of the Tsunami.
Most are trying to make the latent response a factor of race. New Orleans has now almost been completely evacuated. New Orleans is predominantly black. St. Benard, on the other hand, is mostly white. People are still trapped in this city because most of the rescue efforts have been focused on New Orleans. That is how it goes, bigger cities yields bigger news. Even Oprah was leaning to the race factor.
No one can prevent a natural disaster. The Superdome is a man-made structure. It was a shelter, but no structure is weather proof. Also, nothing can completely withstand flood waters.
Emergency workers are struggling around the clock to save lives. Unfortunately, more than just nature is making this a difficult process. Thugs are shooting at the workers because they think they have been held down too long, and now it is their time to come up. In addition to civilian deaths, New Orleans emergency service agencies have had to deal with some suicides among their ranks, Mayor Ray Nagin stated: "I've got some firefighters and police officers that have been pretty much traumatized, and we've already had a couple of suicides so I am cycling them out as we speak, but we have a problem. I can get them to Baton Rouge, but once I get them to Baton Rouge there's no hospitals. They need physical and psychological evaluations."
A total coliform test was performed on a sample of the flood waters in New Orleans, it showed that the coliforms were 450,000x what should exist in normal pond water. Translation: That's some bad shit! It can easily lead to an epidemic. Yet another wave of tragedy.
Sunday morning, a woman's body remained lying at the corner of Jackson Avenue and Magazine Street - a business area in the lower Garden District with antique shops on the edge of blighted housing. The body had been there since at least Wednesday. As days passed, people covered her with blankets or plastic. By Sunday, a short wall of bricks had been built around her body, holding down a plastic tarpaulin. On it, someone had spray-painted a cross and the words, "Here lies Vera. God help us."
Baton Rouge has now become the most populated city in Louisiana. Lafayette has grown dramatically as well. It is estimated that they city will grow by 40,000 people, permanently. That is a large growth for such a small city. There are not enough homes, apartments, stores, gas, schools, or jobs for all of these people.
This morning, I heard news that the Canal Street levee breech has been repaired. It seems the city is on the up and up, but it will be at least 6 months before a sense of normality will return to the Big Easy. Here is a captured shot of the flooded Canal Street.
Now shelters are holding tens of thoughs of evacuees. More than anything they need monetary donations to the Red Cross. Volunteers helping out are good, but most of those people are just like you and me, except they just lost everything they own. They can do for themselves, and they can do for others, physically.
At the mall this weekend, I saw people grabbing loved ones and just breaking down in tears. It was a hard sight to see. It's sureal to see something of this calibar occuring so near. I have family that was trapped in the flood water's in St. Benard. To anyone who may come across this, Randy and Faye Blanchard are safe, and they are staying in Lafayette, LA. They are here with only the clothes on their back, and no home to return to.
David and Laura Hoffpauir are safe as well. They are still staying in their home.
www.dateline.msnbc.com
www.redcross.org
www.katrina.petfinder.com
