The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

[Ntegrity]

Does anyone remember whether or not they showed those types of pictures of September 11th?

There were very few bodies after 9/11. The only ones I saw were firemen being carried off by their comrades. No civilians.

 

[Casshew]

I don't think people should be gawking at the photos out of morbid curiosity, but I feel everyone should see photos so they can grasp the scope of this disaster.

I don't think people appreciate the destruction & human toll. A number is just a number, but a photo puts it in perspective.

 

[DEPUTYDAWG]

I don't think people should be gawking at the photos out of morbid curiosity, but I feel everyone should see photos so they can grasp the scope of this disaster.

I don't think people appreciate the destruction & human toll. A number is just a number, but a photo puts it in perspective.

Very well said.

 

[2sisters]

We are ok in MS. No power yet but we just got a generator so I kind of feel normal again. I can't describe how cut off and helpless we felt with no news or any other human contact. The generator is the best thing I've ever bought.

 

[Details]

There were very few bodies after 9/11. The only ones I saw were firemen being carried off by their comrades. No civilians.

Yeah, 9/11 you either were perfectly fine, or you were dust. Very few people left bodies, very few injuries. The blood banks at that time got an outpouring of donations that they had to outpour down the sink when they expired, because there was actually too much to use (BTW: don't let this stop you from donating, that was a one in a million occurrence - we've usually got quite a blood shortage in this country, one that sometimes does cost lives, and there are plenty of survivors of Katrina who will drain that shallow supply even further ((can you tell I feel guilty about not being able to give this time...))).

 

[Beyond Belief]

http://www.wwltv.com/sharedcontent/breakingnews/slideshow/083005_dmnkatrina/1.html

 

[Dara]

Yeah, 9/11 you either were perfectly fine, or you were dust. Very few people left bodies, very few injuries. The blood banks at that time got an outpouring of donations that they had to outpour down the sink when they expired, because there was actually too much to use (BTW: don't let this stop you from donating, that was a one in a million occurrence - we've usually got quite a blood shortage in this country, one that sometimes does cost lives, and there are plenty of survivors of Katrina who will drain that shallow supply even further ((can you tell I feel guilty about not being able to give this time...))).

Quite true. After 9/11, a similar question arose, and it arose immediately and continues. That first night, most stations weren't showing graphic images. I was scanning channels and caught on CBS a video of two people holding hands and falling to their deaths, after jumping. They are alive, but it's got to affect a loved one. I can still see it. There was a debate about showing those videos, and airing phone messages and 911 calls, etc. As I recall, some loved ones want them made public, some don't.

I can't donate blood, but my husband does regularly! Thanks to all donors!

 

[Details]

I'll make my one gallon mark in November.

Good work! It's a great form of charity - doesn't require you to be rich, nor to have much in the line of spare time. If all you've got is your health, you can help.

 

[Beyond Belief]

NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco (search) seemed at odds with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (search ) Wednesday, hours after the mayor ordered the mandatory evacuation of the crippled Crescent City by force if necessary.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,168644,00.html

 

[DEPUTYDAWG]

NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco (search) seemed at odds with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (search ) Wednesday, hours after the mayor ordered the mandatory evacuation of the crippled Crescent City by force if necessary.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,168644,00.html

At the very basic level, I am "Beyond Belief." Should these two, right in the gut-wrenching heart of all this, be joined at the hip on matters such as these?

 

[concernedperson]

I don't know what is up with Kathleen but she has already committed political suicide. These stallings and committee meetings are fine for little issues as far as sugar cane farmers getting subsidies.But this is life and death and the longer they have holdouts the more probability of massive disease will rear its head.

That includes people who are responding to the disaster. Everyone.....

 

[Details]

Sounds like FEMA would prefer not even to release the numbers - I just heard this bit on CNN:

FEMA has set up a temporary morgue in the town of St. Gabriel, about 70 miles west of New Orleans. Officials at St. Gabriel would not disclose how many bodies they had handled so far.

Sounds like they're in a pure CYA mode.

 

[tipper]

[...]
But in a Wednesday interview with FOX News, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco (search) said she had not signed off on the decision.
"The mayor certainly has ordered that but the governor, and that would be me, would have to enforce it or implement it. We are trying to determine whether there is an absolute justification for that," she told FOX News.

"I think the most important thing driving that decision would be the possibility of disease. If indeed the disease problem is evident, is inevitable, we'll have to move to the next stage," she said.

And developments suggest that "next stage" may come soon. Floodwaters in New Orleans contain bacteria associated with sewage that are at least 10 times higher than acceptable safety levels, making direct contact by rescue workers and remaining residents dangerous, the first government tests confirmed Wednesday. [...]

How did this woman ever get elected?

 

[Beyond Belief]

I am wondering...I am only speaking with a little knowledge, but wouldn't a person have to leave if their property was condemned by the Board of Health?

If the Gov. condemns the entire town what will the ramifications be with the insurance industry? Is there more to consider here than meets the eye?

 

[Jeana (DP)]

Can you imagine if you're holding up in your home trying to save what you can and you don't want to leave and then you hear first that you're going to be physically forced out of your home, then you hear, nope, the mayor got trumped by the governor - no one knows what the hell is going on!!!! Someone who knows what they're doing needs to step in and tell them all to shut the hell up until some FINAL DECISIONS have been made!!!!!!!!~!

 

[kgeaux]

Can you imagine if you're holding up in your home trying to save what you can and you don't want to leave and then you hear first that you're going to be physically forced out of your home, then you hear, nope, the mayor got trumped by the governor - no one knows what the hell is going on!!!! Someone who knows what they're doing needs to step in and tell them all to shut the hell up until some FINAL DECISIONS have been made!!!!!!!!~!

It's all politics. Nagin is a deomocrat on paper, but he supported Bobby Jindal for governor, not Kathleen Blanco. And of course, disaster continues to compound while Ms. Blanco engages in a face-off with Bush and Nagin. Shame on them! They need to get together in a room and finally decide to put the people of New Orleans first.

 

[concernedperson]

It's all politics. Nagin is a deomocrat on paper, but he supported Bobby Jindal for governor, not Kathleen Blanco. And of course, disaster continues to compound while Ms. Blanco engages in a face-off with Bush and Nagin. Shame on them! They need to get together in a room and finally decide to put the people of New Orleans first.

I am pretty disgusted with the whole lot of them.

 

[marrigotti]

The governor and the mayor are looking worse by the minute.

 

[PrayersForMaura]

It nice to see some clamness...
It appears one Mississippi official isn't blaming anyone... I found this in a CNN article:

He said search and rescue efforts were not "as fast as we wanted," but he attributed that to the scope of the devastation.

Praise the Lord, someone with some common sense.
________________________________________________________---

Mississippi authorities blame Hurricane Katrina for 154 deaths in the state, and the toll is expected to rise, the state's governor told a House committee Wednesday

Appearing by video from the state capital in Jackson, Gov. Haley Barbour told the House Energy and Commerce Committee in Washington that authorities in his state have rescued about 5,000 people from the rubble.

Some Mississippians -- including Hattiesburg Mayor Johnnie Dupree -- have complained that FEMA's bureaucracy prevented some needed supplies from reaching their destinations.

By Wednesday, the coastal area was firmly under the control of the National Guard.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/07/katrina.impact/index.html

 

[concernedperson]

It nice to see some clamness...
It appears one Mississippi official isn't blaming anyone... I found this in a CNN article:

He said search and rescue efforts were not "as fast as we wanted," but he attributed that to the scope of the devastation.

Praise the Lord, someone with some common sense.
________________________________________________________---

Mississippi authorities blame Hurricane Katrina for 154 deaths in the state, and the toll is expected to rise, the state's governor told a House committee Wednesday

Appearing by video from the state capital in Jackson, Gov. Haley Barbour told the House Energy and Commerce Committee in Washington that authorities in his state have rescued about 5,000 people from the rubble.

Some Mississippians -- including Hattiesburg Mayor Johnnie Dupree -- have complained that FEMA's bureaucracy prevented some needed supplies from reaching their destinations.

By Wednesday, the coastal area was firmly under the control of the National Guard.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/07/katrina.impact/index.html

Well, we are hearing about FEMA one more time. I am hearing about that a lot. Putting politics out of it at this point....where exactly is FEMA?