Katrina

[The_Dark]

I know what I am getting into if I go. I have worked flood releif with the Red Cross before. I'm still trying to arrange be able to go and still have a job when I get back.

[Guest Game of Chance]

One of my buddies who just moved down to Biloxi moved back today. The other one, that moved with him stayed. He's a roofer, and well, there's plenty of work there for him.

Still no word on my friend in New Orleans who stayed through it.

[bav]

I have a lot of fond memories of my visits to New Orleans, and in some ways I've left a piece of my heart in the Big Easy.

Blog of a New Orleans resident that's in the weeds

Some excerpts:

8/31/05 4.23pm Looting: The police are looting. This has been confirmed by several independent sources. Some of the looting might be "legitimate" in as much as that word has any meaning in this context. They have broken into ATMs and safes: confirmed. We have eyewitnesses to this. They have taken dozens of SUVs from dealerships ostensibly for official use. They have also looted gun stores and pawn shops for all the small arms, supposedly to prevent "criminals" from doing so. But who knows their true intentions. We have an inside source in the NOPD who says that command and control is in chaos. He reports that command lapses more than 24 hours between check-ins, and that most of the force are "like deer in the headlights." NOPD already had a reputation for corruption, but I am telling you now that the people we've been talking to say they are not recognizing the NOPD as a legitimate authority anymore, since cops have been seen looting in Walmarts and forcing people out of stores so they could back up SUVs and loot them. Don't shoot the messenger....

9/1/05 12.11am New Orleans Police Department Status: The situation for the NOPD is critical. This is firsthand information I have from an NOPD officer we're giving shelter to. Their command and control infrastructure is shot. They have limited to no communication whatsoever. He didn't even know the city was under martial law until we told him! His precinct (5th Precinct) is under water! UNDER WATER -- every vehicle under water. They had to commander moving trucks like Ryder and UHaul to get around. The coroner's office is shut down so bodies are being covered in leaves at best or left where they lie at worst.

They don't even know their own rules of engagement. He says the force is impotent right now. They have no idea what's going on, no coordination, virtually no comms, etc. the National Guard is gonna air drop a radio system for them with 200 radios? They are getting very little direction.

9/1/05 12.35am  More from the Police Officer. I'm typing as fast as i can while he talks to us:

    He's only hearing bits and pieces. The people in the city are shooting at the police. They're upset that they're not getting help quickly enough. The fireman keep calling because they're under fire. He doesn't understand why the people are shooting at the rescuers. Here it is 5 days ago the Mayor said get out of town and nobody went and now they're pissed.

    The National Guard was at the Hilton, but now the Hilton is evacuated. When they said the CBD was gonna get 6 feet of water, it seems like everyone evacuated.

    He turned the corner onto Canal Street and it looked like a flea market. People breaking into every store, going to the neutral gound (median) and trading and selling everything.

    They broke into Winn Dixie Monday Night. Do they steal food? No. Cigarettes and liquor. Store was a mess. All the meats were going to waste so the districts went over there to salvage food for officers. Many cops have been eating MREs.

    The Iberville Housing Projects got pissed off because the police started to "shop" after they kicked out looters. Then they started shooting at cops. When the cops left, the looters looted everything. There's probably not a grocery left in this city.

    Over 30 officers have quit over the last 3 days. Out of 160 officers in his district maybe 55 or 60 are working. He hasn't seen several since Sunday. HQ is closed, evacuated. No phones to contact them.

    "HQ, be advised, we're going 10 7."

    "Ok, y'all coming back on???"

    "We don't know."

Interestingly enough, in 2001 FEMA ranked NOLA being hit by a hurricane as being one of the 3 most likely & most devastating catastrophic disasters to hit the US, along with a terrorist attack in New York and a large-scale earthquake in San Francisco.

TD, I feel you on the desire to volunteer for disaster relief.

[Reaper]

It was also brought to the attention of the public that Venezuela offered its help, by none other than the fiend that threatened to raise the price of crude drastically to get at the U.S. How fucked up is that? Now portions of N.O. is on fire which cannot be put out from the ground. I am glad I don't live in any major natural disaster area, except for the winters and occasional ice storms, which aren't common.

[the eternal]

I admire the idea TD, I really do, but don't exchange one disaster for another. There are other ways to help besides physically going there.  Your family depends on you. And the job market is not good enough to count on.

I'm with Marblez on this one.

If you lose your job, you'll eventually have to cancel your internet. Then, I won't be able to argue with you anymore. =(

I admire your courage, however, I want you to make sure you can provide for your family first, otherwise, what will happen if something comes up next year?

Oh, and fuck stick is my new favorite phrase. =)

[Guest Game of Chance]

http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/

[Msterbeau]

http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/

Amazing. :blink

[Brenda Starrr]

Wow....

[Guest Game of Chance]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050905/ap_on_...o__security_hk4

[The_Dark]

Some people are really stupid. They need to get out.