Big Disasters: Search and Rescue
This post is based on solutions that appeared since the tsunami in Asia, and now again with Hurricane Katrina. Not all may be so practical, or directly available. I do not intend to put the blame on anyone for what...
Posted to Politics by Floris Vermeir on September 9, 2005 11:31 PM
New Orleans Heroes
I came across this report today, and found it very interesting. The author, Annie Jacobsen, has been also doing an ongoing investigative series related to airline safety post 9-11. She found enough information to publish a book, Terror in...
Posted to Culture by Mary K. Williams on September 9, 2005 08:05 PM
Good News: Fewer Bodies
The Associated Press is reporting today that authorities are finding fewer bodies then had been expected. NEW ORLEANS - Authorities said Friday that their first systematic sweep of the city found far fewer bodies than expected, suggesting that...
Posted to Politics by Kansasman on September 9, 2005 05:05 PM
The Not-Quite-Sunday Funnies Comics Page
Blogcritics Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund
Posted to Culture by Annie on September 9, 2005 03:36 PM
Shelter From the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast Tonight
Demonstrating some serious interdenominational unity, ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, The WB and UPN will join forces tonight for a primetime special entitled Shelter From the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast, to raise funds for those impacted by the...
Posted to Video by Eric Olsen on September 9, 2005 03:32 PM
Friday Femmes Fatales No 22
Where are all the female bloggers? Here, in my weekly "top ten" posts. Since I'm on holiday in France, I should be looking for French female bloggers, but to be frank the internet cafe is neither comfortable enough - it is...
Posted to Culture by Natalie Bennett on September 9, 2005 01:16 PM
UNTOLD STORY OF 'HURRICANE MUSIC'
Remember the lone violinist Samuel Thompson, who played Bach for hurricane survivors? Well, lots of people had a look at our story, including the classical music radio station WFMT, in Chicago, which may do a story...
Posted to Straight Up by Jan Herman on September 9, 2005 12:22 PM
A few thoughts on Katrina through my TV set
I'm sure that many of you like me have spent most of the last week surfing through the cable news channels. It's still very difficult writing my opinions of everything that is happening in the Gulf Coast from the comfort...
Posted to Video by Tony Figueroa on September 9, 2005 12:16 PM
![Disasters In America: Hurricanes [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/419750C4HXL._SL120_.jpg)
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Nancy
Ouch! I think most people would have laid bets it was California was going to disappear into the ocean first, not New Orleans. They're talking a 28-foot water rise; that might reach all the way up to Natchez.
2 - Eric Olsen
is anyone any near the area? Would appreciate hearing how you are doing and what you are seeing. Hope you are well
3 - Natalie Davis
Ditto -- warm wishes and concerned beams to all dealing with the crisis!
4 - Justene
The hurricane jogged east of NO and it still sounds like Armageddon. Isolated reports that the Hilton, the Hyatt and the Sheraton are all suffering major damage with windows blown out on the upper floors that many thought would be safe.
5 - JR
The Bush Curse continues.
6 - DrPat
The fact that the storm weakened from Cat5 to Cat3, and swung east just enough to lower the feared 28-foot storm surge to 15 feet (just below the levee height) sounds more like a blessing than a curse to me...
7 - Dawn
It's very distressing that the official shelter for those people who couldn't evacuate isn't holding up very well. I can't imagine being with my children in a public facility during a natural disaster and then having that facility begin to crumble.
Prayers, many prayers.
8 - Nancy
I wonder how many are still stuck on the jammed highways trying to ride this out? And what about the pets? I wouldn't leave unless I could take my 'kids' with me, any more than I would abandon actual children, but most people are pretty cavalier about their animals. When was the last time something this big came thru? From what I can tell, this one sounds bigger than Camille?
9 - Scott
I am in Pensacola, Florida and although we are a fair distance from the center of Katrina we are still feeling the effects. Heavy rain and alot of wind, occasionally gusting in the 70 mph range. Thankfully, I haven't seen any structural damage thus far or any toppled trees. And we've had our fair share of that with Hurricane Ivan last year and Hurricane Dennis last month. Given the situation, it could have been much worse for us but it sounds like New Orleans, Gulfport, Biloxi and Mobile are bearing more of the brunt of this.
10 - Nancy
Latest update: storm has dropped way down to a category 2 once it hit land. Some flooding in the very low part, but hardly what was predicted: no one getting washed out to sea or entire neighborhoods blown away. Overhype by (hopeful?) media, as usual.
11 - Scott
Well, make no mistake Nancy, there is certainly extensive damage to much of the gulf coast. As for overhype, I don't think it was over-hyped at all. It was a category 5 storm, more powerful than camille at one point, heading for New Orleans which we all know is in a "soup bowl" with water on all sides. The potential for loss of life was massive. We will see what the actual number is in the next couple of days...
12 - Nancy
Oh, I didn't say there wasn't; just not the kind of end-of-the-world, Galveston-6000-people-dead type damage the media seem to have been hoping would occur. No matter; they'll make the most of this one, I'm sure.
13 - Eric Olsen
I would say "caution and luck won the day" rather than media over-hype for this - better safe than sorry.
And the radar is down per the second pic above, that can't be a good sign
14 - KAte
Does anyone know what's happened to the various communities south of New Orleans? Ballowe's CREOLE FOLK TALES (1948, LSU Press) presented a clear picture of the changing nature of the Delta, subsequently "contained" or "managed" by the Army Corps of Engineers. Am curious about the effects of Katrina on all that "engineering." Also, any reports on the oil refineries and chemical plants along the river between NO and Baton Rouge?
15 - Eric Olsen
excellent question - anyone in that area?
16 - Heloise
It's the OIL stupid
I dubbed it "Killer Katrina" on my blog early Saturday morning and soon the media was calling it the same. But I have two other words: oil reserves!
I have lived in New Orleans (the asshole of America) but for many reasons--I can't live there. I do visit my family still stuck in that butt of a city every 5 years or so. But all kidding aside it is one of the MOST important cities in America.
Today some co-workers were calling it a scam or "politics" that oil prices would rise because of Killer Katrina. I wouldn't tell anybody you didn't know that 25% of our oil reserves and that major oil rigs were located in the Gulf...duh.
I couldn't let that slide so I educated them on the Port of New Orleans and surrounding ports. A funny thing also happened today in my thoughts about this mess just as I was thinking that we need to put pressure on the White House to release some oil, it was announced that Bush was thinking of releasing oil from the reserves.
Mr. President I think it's high time you do just that.
We in Texas are about to be rich in natural gas reserves due to the shale deposits recently found here. But it will take a couple of years before it can be bought on the American market. My advice to Bush: don't compound your mistakes by not opening up the oil reserves.
When students do something new they show great trepidation--i.e. afraid to make a mistake. I told them it's not a crime to make a mistake. But when they do make a mistake they'd quickly lie, and try to hide it by copying from another student. A student who may have the right methods and the right answers==don't confuse method and process with outcome.
As a country we now have to deal with the outcome of Iraq, a big mistake, by not being afraid to correct that mistake by using the data/answers that go with that mistake. Don't make the mistake inexperienced students do: lie and think that the teacher won't notice!!!
They do this by "borrowing" an answer and filling in the blank line with a response that was not honestly arrived at. I believe we did not earn the right to invade Iraq by correct process, CIA intelligence, and compounded that mistake by quickly adding lies. Lies that the Bush admin hoped the American public would be unable to detect--ever. Wrong.
But to their credit they were right in their strategy that we would not catch the LIES in time to stop the wrong war.
Bush you need to slam dunk some of those oil reserves on us.
Finally, as for the damage, as per usual the poorest and the blackest in that city will suffer from the most water in their yards, and the fewest dollars in their pockets.
Heloise
17 - DrPat
Kate, the post titled "Katrina could alter Louisiana geography, Mississippi river flow" contains some discussion of the Mississippi engineering works and the possible impact of Katrina's rains.
18 - Mike Hunt
Why does god allow these disasters? I it payback for bad deeds? The Casinos disappeared in MS is that God's will?
19 - Silas Kain
Man plans. God laughs.
20 - Connie
I haven't seen any entries here on charities that are providing relief to hurricane victims.
I think we should set an example to other bloggers and recommend that people make donations. (I gave earlier today.)
On my blog, I included links to 7 organizations such as the American Red Cross, etc., which are now taking donations.
Connie
21 - Silas Kain
I couldn't agree more, Connie.
22 - bullshit bully
to bad evil us get it from all sides
23 - charlie
this is going to tie a couple of topics together.....Rush Limbo has been saying that the president, {you know, the moron that continues to lie to us} {okay, for those of you that love him, I'll spell it out for ya...
B U S H} anyway.. rush says the president never really takes a vacation, that he has all the technology with him at all times and never is away from the job...so he CAN
still go for a five week vacation in BEAUTIFUL Texas {I've been to Texas..a lot..BEAUTIFUL it ain't} and stay just as informed {well, as well as he can be} as if he stayed in D.C.. So how come he has to go back to D>C> to monitor the relief efforts re: Katrina?
Rush certainly didn't lie {again} did he?
24 - Silas Kain
Now the White House has announced that the President has 'cut short' his vacation.
Two weeks ago: vacation
10 days ago: working vacation
7 days ago: not a vacation at all
5 days ago: Oval Office carpet change
Today: vacation cut short
Now here's the rub:
Can someone explain to me why it has taken 5 years for the White House to change the carpet in the Oval Office? Were they still trying to dig up Clinton DNA samples in anticipation of the 2008 elections? Mr. Rove, care to comment?
25 - Durwood
Evacuation should have been mandatory loading of box cars and train transport from New Orleans and other areas to get people to safety. The fact that Michael Brown and other Emergency workers at FEMA do not employ such pre-disaster action is unconscionable. Virtually all of the people that stayed behind because they "had no place to go" should have been forced to leave under marshal law. We certainly would not be seeing the looting that is now occurring.