Louisiana is set to be *smacked*

[Angel Tarragon]

Interesting tidbit:

<snip>

Wow, just.....wow.

 

[Rel]

Fett, and the rest of you folks who have friends and family in the area, my thoughts and prayers are with you at this time. I've got very close family friends in Mississippi but they're far enough from the coast that they only had some minor damage to the roof. No real flooding.

I'm blown away by the devastation that I'm seeing and I wish I could do more to help the people in need. It's just so rare that we see a disaster on this scale such that we can't even GET to the people who need the help and they can't get out of the danger area. The whole thing is heartbreaking and frustrating.

I'm in no financial position to send a lot of money to the Red Cross or anything. But if there are ENWorlders out there who are homeless and could get here somehow, I'd put you up at my house until other arrangements can be made. Typing that seems like the lamest possible lifeline at this moment, as if homeless ENWorlders are going to be surfing the Off Topic boards. :\ I just can't think of anything smart or useful to do aside from that.

 

[Piratecat]

My thoughts and prayers are with you guys for your families. Wow - the devastation is extreme. Even when folks are okay, it'll be some time before things are back to normal.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Interesting tidbit:

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/12517707.htm

I've heard this compared to "the tsunami" before, and I'm sorry, but that's just rediculous. Yes, the damage is horrific. Yes, parts of that area will be uninhabitable for months, maybe even years, if the 120 day pump thing is accurate.

However, this wasn't entirely unexpected - there was enough time for people to evacuate, and it's unfortunate not everyone was able to leave. Unlike the tsunami, which allowed no time for evacuation before it hit.

Also, the tsunami killed 26,000 people (according to CNN). That bears repeating - twenty-six thousand. Millions of people were displaced. Compare that to the death toll here, which is officially 70 at last count but very likely to rise somewhere into the hundreds. That doesn't make the deaths any less real, or any less pointless, and I don't mean to trivialize. However, the magnitude is so vastly different.

Comparing this to the tsunami that hit Asia is simply rediculous. They're just not on the same magnitude at all, and it bothers me whenever I hear this. The only way they're similar is that they're tragic, and terrible.

 

[Emperor Valerian]

The tsunami killed 260,000 at least... an order of ten-fold more.

That said, there are unofficial reports circulating that the government is sending 50,000 bodybags to New Orleans. While this doesn't give a casualty number, it does show how bad some government agencies think things could be. The efforts to repair the broken 17th Street levee have been abandoned, at least for the night, and the Mayor was warning that overnight the water will rise until its the same level as Lake Pontchatrain... somewhere around an additional 9 feet... which makes me shudder, thinking of all those people trapped on their roofs with the water already at their eaves...

 

[Piratecat]

Gang, just so we're clear: please don't turn this thread into a tsunami vs hurricane discussion. I think we're best off not derailing things. The severity of the tsunami doesn't lessen the damage to life and property of the hurricane, and I'd hate for folks to get distracted from the main point here.

Many thanks.

 

[Del]

Aiie. What a time for Jatol to have a script install problem. I want to get this new emergency page posted. At least they are safe, that web host is based in the south.

 

[BOZ]

Gang, just so we're clear: please don't turn this thread into a tsunami vs hurricane discussion. I think we're best off not derailing things. The severity of the tsunami doesn't lessen the damage to life and property of the hurricane, and I'd hate for folks to get distracted from the main point here.

Many thanks.

it would be nice if people didn't keep skirting the lines in this thread on one issue or another so we could have a decent discussion and sharing of information...

 

[Del]

Jatol rocks. My hurricane info and bulletin board are launched:

http://www.esprawl.com

Not much, I know but it may be helpful. I'm goin for a coffee.

Del

 

[Emperor Valerian]

The Stormtrack Forums are a pretty good source of information. The site originally is for stormchasers, so many of the posters have links with civil defense and other organizations that would be involved in this catastrophe, as well as links to the Associated Press, blogs from residents of the New Orleans and Gulf Coast areas, as well as other resources.

The Stormtrack link is here.

EDIT - The Times-Picayune also has an online site that has much of the available information on what is going on in NOLA too.

NOLA.com is here