The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

I would like to see more coverage on the other areas. Its hard to relate to the NO area with its very unique problems.

less0305 said:

Ha....I've seen FEMA during a tornado. Carnival may as well be given a blank check.

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Agreed - my first thought when I heard this was Carnival must be rubbing their hands together on this one!

I am from Southern California but moved to the coast of Lake Erie a few years ago. Everybody thought I would be packing up and heading west as soon as the first good snow came in. I admit I do not like the LONG winters but I've adjusted fine. I had to get studs on my tires to grip the icy roads better, and learn a few new driving skills, but all is fine. I think it is great that MN stepped up and is taking in so many evacuees. A military base i an excellent location. Best of luck to them all.

Mortgage companies require flood insurance for flood prone areas.

From what I have read here and there the cruise ships are to be used as temporary housing until the military bases etc. get up and running.

The cruise ships are going to be used as a medical clinic to house the disabled, elderly, those needing medical assistance and their families.

Heard on the radio... Apparently General Honore put out orders to shoot any alligator that gets in the way of rescuers. Some reporter pointed out that the alligators are on the endangered list. The general said if the alligators get between his men and their jobs they aren't endangered, they're dead!

I highly doubt one could get flood insurance in a flood plane like New Orleans?!

thats what i was wondering. so who helps these people recover? i guess thats a dumb question, i suppose we all will.

I read this earlier today and was shocked.

I understand that these areas were decimated, but the there is an immediate need to sustain life in New Orleans. If New Orleans was in the same condition as MS, then I would expect the same coverage. However, MS doesn't have thousands holded up in buildings and dying. I am not downgrading the plight of MS at all, but the condition in NO deserve immediate attention because to the threat of death and disease.

(AP) Nita LaGarde, 105, was pushed down the street in her wheelchair as her nurse's 5-year-old granddaughter, Tanisha Blevin, held her hand. The pair spent two days in an attic, two days on an interstate island and the last four days on the pavement in front of the convention center.

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DK and others - msnbc.com has had Nita and Tanisha on their front page for most of today! One of my fav. pictures so far - depicting black and white, young and old, arm in arm together!!! Love it!

I did find this article from '04



New Orleans to Get New Flood Insurance Rate Maps

June 8, 2004

Under the auspices of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Map Modernization Program, the city of New Orleans, FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are working together to develop new flood insurance rate maps for New Orleans.

Orleans Parish's flood insurance rate maps were last updated in March 1984, and there have been extensive drainage improvements in the area since then.

According to FEMA, the work is being completed under its Flood Hazard Mapping Program via the Map Modernization initiative. FEMA has decided to develop the map modernization program because approximately 85 percent of their Flood Insurance Rate Maps are at least five years old, with a third over 15 years old. The program intends to increase community involvement in the mapping process, increase customer service, and heighten public awareness of flood risks.

The Southeast Louisiana Flood Control Project (SELA) constructed many of the improvements in the New Orleans area. FEMA has committed funding to develop revised Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs) in Orleans Parish in the following basins: Areas J, K, L, Orleans, Peoples, and Algiers.

Additionally, FEMA has committed funding to initiate Area I. Through this effort, preliminary DFIRMs are expected to be available in early 2005. Follow on funding to continue additional study areas has been allocated for FY 2004.

DFIRMs will provide the means for FEMA and the parish to identify the areas where revisions to floodplain management practices and/or revised flood insurance premiums are warranted due to updated information and/or changes to the hydrology of the area. Some areas may experience reduced flood insurance premiums due to recent drainage improvements that have been made to the floodplain by the parish. The updated DFIRMs will provide the parish with a much better picture of the flood risk in all areas of the parish covered by this effort, FEMA said.

I think that eventually all states will be asked to take in people. On our news tonight, it was announced that Illinois was receiving 1,000 evacuees soon.

People from outside the area are desperately trying to find friends/neighbors and relatives.
If you live in the area and are wanting to contribute to the effort- one thing you might consider doing is going to the shelters and getting permission to take their names and put on the internet. Then post the names to one of the lists that are springing up, so that people searching for might come across it.
If you need help finding a list, there are several posted in the missing forum.

http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?p=792490#post792490

Thanks for listening.

T'sNana said:

I agree about the bases. ShowerSinger said that and some of us wrote the news channels in support of her idea. The bases could be more long term housing. The cruise ships seem like a great idea too, but I worry about this being the peak of hurricane season already. But, any help is great, IMO. I'm proud of Americans, companies, other countries and everyone that's working their rearend off in any way during this time. So many people that have given their blood, sweat and tears will probably go unnoticed.

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I think Carnival offering up their ships is a grand idea. They know they are going to lose $$ anyway, as a good percentage of their clients especially on the 3/4 day cruises are probably from the nearby storm effected areas.

As far as it being hurricane season and being on a ship, well, it is one of the best places to be! They can outrun a storm, leave before it gets huge and if caught, can just bounce around with the best of 'em! I know...I was in the middle of the Atlantic on a NYC-Bermuda cruise in a hurricane. What a ride ;o)....

Full story: http://www.startribune.com/stories/125/5595500.html

http://www.bugmenot.com


As early as this week, Minnesota will put out the welcome mat for 3,000 Gulf Coast region residents who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina. And it looks like they'll be here long enough to need caps and gloves.

As part of a national plan developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to find long-term quarters for evacuees, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Saturday that within the next two weeks Minnesota will house hurricane victims temporarily at Camp Ripley, a National Guard training facility in central Minnesota near Little Falls. From there, they will be moved to cities and towns around the state that can provide long-term accommodations, perhaps in private homes or vacant apartments.

Pawlenty fully expects that some of the displaced people will stay in Minnesota -- even though it is on the opposite, and chillier, end of the Mississippi River from where most of them live. He hopes that some may even bolster communities with sagging populations and stunted job growth.

Kelly, Shellito, PawlentyTom SweeneyStar Tribune"We know when people come to Minnesota, they like it," he said.

He called upon citizens to help welcome the evacuees with contributions of fall and winter clothing for all sizes and ages.

People who want to help, Pawlenty said, should call either the new state hot line this weekend or dial 211, the United Way help line that he said will serve as a clearinghouse for hurricane-related inquiries.

3,000 vs. 5,000

State officials began scrambling to prepare for the evacuees Friday night, when FEMA asked Minnesota to relocate up to 5,000 hurricane victims.

Other states got similar requests. In the next few days four -- Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia and Utah -- will receive 35,000 from Louisiana. Michigan has offered to house 10,000 refugees, and West Virginia will receive as many as 3,000 in the next few days.

Pawlenty, surrounded by state agency heads, leaders of volunteer agencies and Mayors Randy Kelly of St. Paul and R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis, announced the relocation plan at a midafternoon news conference at the State Capitol. Specifics were being developed, and Pawlenty said more details would be provided Tuesday.

Rick Perry even said that the students who were displaced (Tulane) could enroll in Texas schools at in-state tuition rates - wow I would have never thought of that so quickly. (good luck getting into UT; it's already stuffed to the gills)

Nova, you realize it was a photo-op, and Perry is jumping at the chance to get re-elected (he looked like zorro orBatman in his all-black "cool cat" outfit), but it looked like things were really set up and moving well and that was the best I have ever heard him speak. Probably someone else did all the work.

" Burn the bridge and let them rot"?? Good grief, what a horrible thing to say. Only a portion of the people in New Orleans were acting in a criminal way.

The Gov. of Mississippi was being interview on Fox. There was some encouraging information about major companies going to continue to pay their employees for the next 90 days to help them. They have found people stranded as far as 90 miles off the coast. There are huge problems covering a large area not just the beach areas.

txsvicki said:

" Burn the bridge and let them rot"?? Good grief, what a horrible thing to say. Only a portion of the people in New Orleans were acting in a criminal way.

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that was said out of frustration and anger I am sure. Deep down he doesn t feel that way. Like when you were a kid and got mad at you parents and said I hate you.

Did anyone note that there are a lot of white and Asian faces at the Houston shelter?