Thread: Hurricane Katrina . . .

I think you may be right, tms.

I don't see how we will be able to provide "special services" to illegals after this catastrophe. Can you imagine the cost of rebuilding a city like New Orleans?

As far as disaster vs. a catastrophe, I'm not an expert on insurance, but the two terms may be significant regarding who pays for it.

Are you saying Legal, that disaster and catastrophe is a word thing, like 'Agreement' and 'Treaty"?

Originally Posted by Rockfish

Are you saying Legal, that disaster and catastrophe is a word thing, like 'Agreement' and 'Treaty"?

That sounds about right to me.

Originally Posted by tms

http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=f98b2328-0abe-421a-00e7-705e1c6a2079&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf

"Estimates have been made of tens of thousands of deaths from flooding that could overrun the levees and turn New Orleans into a 30-foot-deep toxic lake filled with chemicals and petroleum from refineries, and waste from ruined septic systems."

when Ivan was threatening New Orleans last September, they showed how high the flood waters would be --- up to the Confederate Admiral or General's horses nose --- noone could survive those kinds of flood waters. A guy told us today that they estimate 40,000 people could drown if it goes into New Orleans ....


during hurricanes we always have the Governor's on television, but today President George Bush was declaring Mississippi and Louisiana in a state of emergency ... I don't ever remember a President doing that before a hurricane ...

I have often related the invasion of illegals with hurricanes --- people are securing their homes and businesses ... in the south we know a threat when we see one!

Rockfish,

We had the same mass casualty rumors in Eastern NC after Floyd flooded us.

Migrant deaths are probably higher than reported, but at the same time I think there may be a human nature component to such rumors.

W

I just wonder how many illegal construction workers etc will be working to rebuild and help rebuild structures and houses? Not to mention ANYONE including illegals will scam homeowners, take the money and run.

The page is broke again, mamie's copied link. Could you tell us how to do that, fix it? I used to know but I forgot.

I see the looters are having a field day from the aftermath of Katrina. It's amazing how a castrophe can either bring out the worst or the best in people.

www.10news.com

Looters Take Advantage Of Katrina's Devastation
Mississippi Governor: As Many As 80 Dead In One County

UPDATED: 12:17 pm PDT August 30, 2005

NEW ORLEANS -- In some of the cities hardest-hit by Hurricane Katrina, looters are running rampant.

An Associated Press reporter along the beach in Biloxi, Miss., said it "looks like a free-for-all," as looters come running out of souvenir shops, loaded down with merchandise. He saw two men riding go-carts taken from an amusement park near the beach. Two other men were pushing a large plastic garbage can with wheels -- so full that it took both of them to drag it down the street.

There's a similar scene in downtown New Orleans, where looters are taking advantage of the destruction.

At a Walgreen's drug store in the French Quarter Tuesday morning, people were running out with grocery baskets and coolers full of soft drinks, chips and diapers. When police finally showed up, a young boy stood at the door and shouted a warning -- and the crowd scattered.

A tourist from Philadelphia compared the scene to "downtown Baghdad."

She said the scene was insane. She stood there and snapped pictures in amazement.

"I've wanted to come here for 10 years. I thought this was a sophisticated city. I guess not," Denise Bollinger said.

Another witness described it as a chance for "oppressed" people to "get back at society."

One man walked down Canal Street with a pallet of food on his head. His wife insisted they weren't stealing from the nearby supermarket -- and said, "It's about survival right now." She said she had eight grandchildren to feed.

Nearby, looters ripped open the steel gates on the fronts of stores on Canal Street. They filled industrial-sized garbage cans with clothing and jewelry and floated them down the street on bits of plywood and insulation.

Some of the looting has been taking place in full view of police and National Guard troops. One man with an armload of clothes even asked a police officer if he could borrow his car.

Rescuers Search For Katrina Survivors Along Gulf Coast
Amid what Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour calls "enormous" devastation, rescuers in boats and helicopters are looking for survivors of Hurricane Katrina along Mississippi's Gulf Coast.

Barbour said it's possible 80 people died in just one county. Rescuers in boats and helicopters are plucking hundreds of people off roofs turned into islands in the murky water.

Harrison County coroner Gary Hargrove had this advice for rescuers who encounter bodies: "If they're dead, they're dead. We've got the living to take care of."

Officially, Mississippi has confirmed only a handful of deaths, but Harrison County emergency operations spokesman Jim Pollard said Monday night at least 50 had been killed, including 30 at one apartment complex near the beach in Biloxi. Pollard called it a "major tragedy" and "preventable."

Barbour said the storm surge from Katrina apparently wiped out the apartment complex. It was in area that did not flood during Hurricane Camille, which struck the same area with deadly force in 1969.

Barbour said damage to casinos deals an enormous blow to the state's pocketbook, but he vowed, " We're going to rebuild, whatever it costs."

Barbour said the storm has dealt "a grievous blow." Barbour said he was worried about those who chose to ignore evacuation orders.

Rescue teams, including the military, would move into storm-ravaged areas when conditions permitted, Barbour said.

The mayor of Biloxi, Miss., said, "This is our tsunami

Earlier, authorities said three people had been killed in central Mississippi by falling trees. At least two deaths in Alabama are blamed on storm-related highway accidents.

The death toll could rise, since emergency officials said they have not yet been able to reach many of the hardest-hit areas.

Survivor Recounts Ordeal
A woman who survived the destruction of a Mississippi apartment complex is describing just how she managed to escape as the complex fell apart in the rising waters from Katrina.

Emergency operations officials believe about 30 people died at the apartment complex along the beach in Biloxi. Officials said there could be as many as 80 dead in the county.

Joy Schovest said, "The water got higher and higher. It pushed all the doors open and we swam out." She said, "We grabbed a lady and pulled her out the window and then we swam with the current."

Schovest said it was "terrifying." She said cars were floating around her as she and her boyfriend tried to swim to safety. She said, "We had to push them away." Schovest was in tears as she described the ordeal. She said she's sure her family thinks she's dead, because cell phones aren't working. She would not say why she stayed behind, despite orders to evacuate.

The head of homeland security for New Orleans said dying is a "hard way to learn a lesson" about evacuating in the face of a dangerous hurricane like Katrina. Terry Ebbert said that for some people who stayed, "it was their last night on Earth."

One man said he and his fiancee sat on their roof for three hours before being taken to safety. Bryan Vernon said the water "kept rising and rising and rising."

One man who was in a New Orleans boarding house said he saw the bodies of two other residents in the rising water.

Crews Hope To Plug Broken Levee

Crews hope to plug a broken levee in New Orleans with 3,000-pound sand bags dropped from helicopters.

The city is below sea level, and the network of pumps, canals and levees isn't keeping up with the rising water. Many pumps weren't working Tuesday morning.

Rising water has sent patients from one hospital to the Louisiana Superdome. A knee-deep moat surrounds the stadium and downtown streets are swamped. The water is fouled with gasoline, debris and floating islands of red ants.

The top homeland security official in New Orleans said bodies have been spotted drifting in the floodwaters.

Blanco said the devastation being seen "is greater than our worst fears." She described it as "totally overwhelming." Blanco said there are no casualty figures yet, but that "many lives have been lost." She said 700 people were rescued overnight from flooded areas.

Despite very poor conditions at the Louisiana Superdome, National Guard troops have brought in more refugees who are trying to escape rising water in New Orleans.

Eight of the people who arrived Tuesday had spent the night in the attic of a flooded beauty salon. They had to hack through the ceiling to reach the attic as the water rose.

Another man had spent the night in his own attic -- and said he "almost died" in the water.

They've now reached safety -- but not comfort. The air conditioning has been out since power was lost Monday morning. The bathrooms are filthy and barrels are overflowing with trash.

There are over 10,000 people in the makeshift shelter. An official of the company that manages the Superdome said two people have died there, but offered no details.

One refugee kept the discomfort in perspective. She said if the facility hadn't been opened, there would have been "a lot of people floating down the river."

Bush Cuts Vacation Short
President George W. Bush is cutting short his August vacation in Texas, to return to Washington and oversee the government's response to Hurricane Katrina. Aides said Bush will spend Tuesday night in Texas before heading back to Washington Wednesday. He's calling on Americans to donate to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army to help hurricane victims.

Bush said the Gulf Coast faces "trying times" -- and there's "a lot of work to do" to recover from Hurricane Katrina.

In a speech marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, Bush said he knows Gulf Coast residents want to return to their homes. But he said that's not possible right now. He said search and rescue operations continue, and the priority must be on saving lives.

Bush said federal, state and local authorities are working closely to help those in need. And he urged Americans to respond to the disaster by donating to the Red Cross and Salvation Army.

Katrina Marches Through Dixie

Meanwhile, Katrina has battered parts of Georgia with heavy rain, high winds and tornadoes. Scores of homes have been damaged in Carroll, Heard and Polk Counties

At least one death is blamed on the storm. There was a fatal traffic accident in Carroll County as heavy weather moved through the area Monday afternoon.

In Mobile, Ala., antebellum mansions are flooded. One man said many of the homes are worth $1 million.

"At least they were yesterday," he said.

Katrina, now downgraded to a tropical storm, has also knocked out power to more than 1 million people from Louisiana to Florida's Panhandle. Officials said restoring power could take months.

Forecasters warned that the storm isn't going away and is still producing heavy rains,

At 10 a.m. CDT, the center of Tropical Depression Katrina was located near latitude 36.3 north, longitude 87.5 west or about 25 miles south of Clarksville, Tenn.

The depression is moving toward the north-northeast near 21 mph and this motion is expected to continue during the next 24 hours with an increase in forward speed.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph with higher gusts. Katrina is expected to become extratropical during the next 12 to 24 hours.

Additional rainfall accumulations of 2 to 4 inches, with isolated maximum amounts of 6 inches, will accompany Katrina across the Ohio Valley, the lower Great Lakes, and into northern New England.

Tornadoes are possible Tuesday over eastern Georgia, western South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.

Help Coming, But Recovery May Be Slow

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said the government has known for a long time how vulnerable New Orleans would be in a major hurricane like Katrina.

But Michael Brown, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Hurricane Katrina had a "catastrophic effect" on Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

At least one New Orleans hospital is threatened by flooding. Patients are being transferred to the Superdome, where thousands of other patients and storm refugees are housed.

Brown said he's sending more medical personnel to treat evacuated hospital patients. He said FEMA has already sent medical teams, rescue squads and volunteers into disaster areas, but that it will be "quite a while" before people who ran from the storm will be able to return.

Recovery could be a long-term thing. Brown said restoring electricity could become a "block to block, house to house" reconstruction effort, and some people may be without power for weeks.

In my opinion i think all the looters caught stealing stupid stuff like electronics should be shot on sight. THAT WOULD MAKE THEM STOP THEN!!!

2:15 a.m.: Tenet Evacuating Meadowcrest
Tenet HealthCare is asking Louisiana State Police and the U.S. Coast Guard to help evacuate its Meadowcrest Hospital in Gretna because of concerns about the safety of its patients and employees. Spokesman Steven Campanini says the move came after a supply truck carrying food, water, medical supplies and pharmaceuticals was held up Wednesday afternoon.

Campanini says looters stole the contents of the truck at gunpount. He says there are about 350 employees and up to 150 patients in the 203-bed facility, which had been operational and is not water-locked. Campanini also says Tenet has hired a small fleet of helicopters to arrange for the evacuation of any remaining patients and employees and others who still may be stranded at Tenet's Memorial Medical Center and Lindy Boggs Medical Center in New Orleans. -- Associated Press

I wouldn't loot things like that TV's, Rings, CD Players etc but only things of NEED if my child was out of food, diapers, milk or water. But I wouldn't take these things from someone else in need more then me. I don't care what people think of me you do what you do to survive days without food, water, diapers for your toddler? even if you pepared? Some of these children haven't had water in days or others. I am responsible for saving and protecting my child. SO SHOOT ME FOR SAVING MY CHILD! THE GOVN'T KNEW IT WAS COMING, they should have started ahead of time. I Blame Bush and the Govn't!