Certain policies do. However, we are renters and we do not have any policy that covers this. This is coming out of our home buying fund (which is fortunately nicely built up.)

Me too. I really believe it is going to take many weeks before people will be allowed to live in the city. The biological and other health hazards will be enough to keep things close.

I wonder if you can write off the expenses you have to incur as a result of the evacuation...

I'm very interested in this data as well. I almost feel guilty about it, but I really want to know what happened to my place to see if it is one of the few lucky parts of the city that was relatively spared.

Just got of the phone with my mom, and I'm just so unsure what to do. Do I drive up to New Jersey and stay with family for a few weeks? If there is a chance that we can return over the weekend or early next week, I'd rather just stay in hotels down this way.

I don't believe these clothes are going to be dry very long


Glad to see he's just gathering a few essentials

If possible, that would be nice. I pay a huge amount in taxes each year due to 2 of my jobs being "self employment."

The Red Cross in Shreveport is getting buried right now and they put out a plea for volunteers from Barksdale to help them out. The folks keep coming to the LSU-Shreveport gymnasium and as the hotel bills get to large, they expect even more to begin showing up. Shreveport and Bossier schools are double billeting classrooms to allow the kids a chance to get away and at least attend school. Might be the only time kids volunteer to go to school rather than sit around.

While we have already donated a bunch of board games for the kids and some sports gear, it's not enough to satify a need to help. So I'll be pulling an all-nighter with the Red Cross tommorrow night starting at Midnight to help with whatever they need (boxing up supplies, taking care of pets that are stacked up in kennels, or running food lines. Thankfully, being in the Air Force, it doesn't take much to get the bosses to give you a day off so you can do that and then recover. It's not that easy for the private sector and why the Red Cross is hurtnig for help.

Since I'm in the area, it's the only thing I can really do to help, and you just can't help but feel a sense of urgency to help folks during times like this. It's pretty horrible to see this.

There is a series of videos on wwltv.com that show ariel shots covering large portions of the city. About halfway through the first one, the shot pans accross my parents neighborhood (between the shots of the highway and cemetary). There appears to be about 6-10 ft of water in the area. However, you have to pretty familiar with the city to be able to identify the different areas.

Eaglesfan27 - do you live near Children's Hospital? There is a facility there that matches discriptions you've given of where you work and live.

Be sure to check this out
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/...108362,00.html

Now, now, let's not rush to judge, those folks look like they are of voting age. Maybe if we appease them, they will vote for our side!

*groan*

The kid needs dry clothes and Beer may be the only safe thing to drink around there.

Well let's be fair now: For years, people drank beer instead of water because clean drinking water was so hard to find. Clearly, New Orleans is in a similiar situation.

I live extremely close to Children's Hospital (across the street essentially)

Any video or pictures of how things are there?

Thanks, I will definitely check that out in the near future.

I'm just catching up with the news on WDSU and WWLTV's websites after getting back from the movies and it is heartbreaking. It sounds like Jefferson Parish (where my MIL, SIL, BIL live) is going to allow people to return to pick up essentials on Monday morning and then force an evacuation of 1 month time possibly.

EaglesFan, unless you get called in for medical services, I think it will be a while before anyone will be allowed to live in most parts of the city.

It gets worse

ALL RESIDENTS ON THE EAST BANK OF ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON REMAINING IN THE METRO AREA ARE BEING TOLD TO EVACUATE AS EFFORTS TO SANDBAG THE LEVEE BREAK HAVE ENDED. THE PUMPS IN THAT AREA ARE EXPECTED TO FAIL SOON AND 12-15 FEET OF WATER ARE EXPECTED IN THE ENTIRE EAST BANK.

Was that the same plan to drop 2 ton bags of sand into the breech? :(

1) Then he probably ought to have brought some trash bags or something to keep the things he was going to steal dry. (The video versions of these scenes usually most of the clothes being carried haphazardly through the water, this ain't about "dry clothes")

2) Wanna lay odds how many other bottled liquids he bypassed to get the beer?

it failed

What has happened down here, is the winds have changed
Clouds roll in from the north and it started to rain
It rained real hard, and it rained for a real long time
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline
The river rose all day, the river rose all night
Some people got lost in the flood, some people got away alright
The river had busted through clear down to Plaquemine
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're trying to wash us away, they're trying to wash us away
Oh Louisiana, Louisiana
They're trying to wash us away, they're trying to wash us away
President Coolidge come down, in a railroad train
With his little fat man with a note pad in his hand
President say little fat man, oh isn't it a shame,
What the river has done to this poor farmer's land
Oh Louisiana, Louisiana
They're trying to wash us away, you're trying to wash us away
Oh Louisiana, oh Louisiana
They're trying to wash us away, oh Lord, they're trying to wash us away
They're trying to wash us away, they're trying to wash us away

I thought this was the levee break on the east side over the river? The one they were dropping bags was the Lakeview area (unless both were going on at the same time).

When do you think the shock will wear off and the critics (about anything) start coming out?

The logical part of me realizes that. It is just hard for it to really sink in.

I also just saw that terrible update. Our place is considered part of the East Bank of New Orleans :(

Is the east bank considered everything east of the French Quarter or is further east than that?

My parents are at Children's Hospital. There was some minor street flooding. It is dry in the area now.

East bank is everything North of the river. (And East where the river goes north and south).

You know, something struck me today. There are those that complain loudly and force billion-dollar legislations for water contamination on the order of a few parts per billion. What we have here is probably half a billion parts per billion (if I can exaggerate) and I doubt if it will EVER be considered safe in comparison to other cities. This is sort of like complaining about a little fly ash coming out of a utility plant when there's a major volcanic eruption somewhere.

Isn't all of New Orleans north of the river?

Most of what people know of New Orleans is north of the River, yea. On the West bank is mostly communities that are known by seperate names apart from "New Orleans"

Thank you very much for that good news. Hopefully, it stays that way with the levee problems.

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pb...S0110/50830019
Landmarks like Beavoir, the final home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, are virtually demolished.

The Davis home, built in 1854, has been reduced to rubble and a frame of a house.

More recent landmarks like the President Casino also sustained heavy damage. The storm's surge moved the casino from the gulf across U.S. 90, crushing a Holiday Inn.

(Linked article includes an aerial view of the relocated casino)

edit to add: Just saw the live shot of the casino area on FoxNews, just staggering to see. Also, Mary Mahoney's restaurant, a landmark for some 40 years, wasn't shown but they talked with the owner who said it was heavily damaged (or destroyed). My wife said that was where easily the best gumbo she'd ever tasted came from & that the guy on camera was "just the nicest person" (you probably have to hear that with her East Tennessee accent to get the full effect).

So if the entire East Bank is truly lost, what we mostly know as New Orleans is temporarily lost.

Only temporarily though. We are going to build back damnit. It may never be what it once was, but what is? Personally I was going to do a national tour of Park Service jobs for the rest of my life starting soon. But when I get back to New Orleans this coming month, I ain't leaving until my friends, family, and city is back on its feet. And as stubbornly proud of our city as most New Orleanians are, something tells me there are millions and millions that feel the same way.

http://sports.myway.com/news/08302005/v8869.html
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre spent most of the last two days nervously waiting to hear from family members in his hometown of Kiln, Miss., in the heart of the Gulf Coast area devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

The Packers said Favre finally spoke to his mother, Bonita, late Tuesday afternoon when she was able to reach him with the help of a Houston television station in the area covering hurricane damage.

According to the team, Favre said his mother reported spending Monday night in the family attic, along with his grandmother, after the house filled up with water within a matter of 5-10 minutes, much like a tsunami.

On Tuesday, the water receded enough that she was able to leave the family home and go to his brother Jeff's nearby house, which is slightly higher and away from the water.

Bonita Favre told Brett that Hurricane Camille, which the family experienced in 1969, didn't compare to this one and the damage it has caused.

She indicated the family home is destroyed and probably will have to be bulldozed, but the good news is that everyone in the family appears to be fine.

Bonita, Jeff and another brother, Scott, decided against evacuating and instead gathered at Favre's childhood home in Hancock County, one of the areas hit hardest by the hurricane. Favre said his grandmother, aunt and other family members also were there.

Favre said earlier Tuesday that he spoke to his wife, Deanna, Monday night and again Tuesday morning. He said she and their two children, 16-year-old Brittany and 6-year-old Breleigh, are safe at Favre's home in Hattiesburg, 60 miles north of Kiln, although their property had extensive damage.

Favre's mother was seven months pregnant with him when Hurricane Camille, which killed 256 people in Louisiana and Mississippi in 1969, struck the area.

"I've seen pictures," Favre said. "The damage was unbelievable."

Favre said the fact his family waited out Camille likely factored into their decision not to evacuate this time. Favre said 50 or so family members and friends drove north to his Hattiesburg home, but his mother and brothers declined.

Kiln "is far enough inland that (you would think) there's no way a tidal surge would ever come that far," Favre said.

Found one

SI

I think when they talked about NO escaping the worse of the storm, they envisioned widescale structural collapses, esp. taller buildings, which did not take place. The rebuilding will probably focus on infrastructure, which we as a nation have a lot of experience in (domestically and internationally). I work for a 4-service utility (elec, gas, water and wastewater) and I know the magnitude of effort and expense the region will have to go through. As with the roads, you start with a basic grid pattern in getting the main trunk (both lines and mains) going and then work your way down the system. This have to be in place before structures.

touche

oh my.. things are getting interesting.

RIOTING, HOSTAGE SITUATION AT NEW ORLEANS PRISON, LOCAL OFFICIAL TELLS ABC NEWS AFFILIATE WBRZ

Weird to me to see you post this. I honestly hadn't thought about the prisons, jails, etc. until about an hour ago when I saw this picture


Caption:Prisoners from the Orleans Parish Prison are staged on the highway as floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina cover the streets Tuesday.

I wondered then about the level of security, and now I guess you've answered my question :(

I try not to be too mean but that one was just a layup ;)

(tho, I would say the billions of dollars on 5 parts per billion of water was a little on the preachy or critical side)

SI

Not if your company is being sued in federal court under the Clean Water Act for a storm-related release.

Ah, so it's a too-close-to-home thing. Gotcha :)

SI

Don't think so. However you can write off property destruction on Schedule A.

Edit: JIMGA was quicker on the draw than I was.

They've taken children hostage.

A deputy at Orleans Parish Prison, his wife and their four children have been taken hostage by rioting prisoners after riding out Hurricane Katrina inside the jail building, according to WBRZ.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=1081633&page=1

Triple Dola - Police officer shot in the head by looters.


Shot police officer in surgery

The New Orleans police officer shot in the head by a looter Tuesday was expected to survive, officials said.

The officer, who has not been identified, was in surgery at West Jefferson Medical Center after being shot in the forehead, police said.

The officer was shot by a looter after he and another officer confronted a number of looters at a Chevron store at Shirley and Gen. DeGaulle.

Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputies on the scene arrested four people in connection with the shooting. One of the looters reportedly was shot in the arm by an officer during a shootout.

I remember that song. :(

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,167781,00.html

Looters at a Wal-Mart brazenly loaded up shopping carts with items including microwaves, coolers and knife sets. Others walked out of a sporting goods store on Canal Street with armfuls of shoes and football jerseys.

Outside the broken shells of Biloxi's casinos, people picked through slot machines to see if they still contained coins and ransacked other businesses. "People are just casually walking in and filling up garbage bags and walking off like they're Santa Claus," said Marty Desei, owner of a Super 8 motel.

I know, I know, this is the same general info that we've seen earlier, but I hadn't noticed the microwave mentioned until reading it again. Anybody wanna bet that some of these thieves were surprised when the microwave didn't work when they got it home?

What about the zoo? :(

I'm hearing that another problem is that they have nowhere for rescue workers to live. Why not bring in a cruise ship?

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is considering putting people on cruise ships, in tent cities, mobile home parks, and so-called floating dormitories - boats the agency uses to house its own employees.
http://apnews.myway.com//article/200...D8CAHC880.html

That article seems to be referring to evacuees, not rescue workers, but if they're thinking about it for the former I can't imagine it's not being considered for the latter too.

You know, that's not a half bad idea. Wonder how safe it is to put your ship in the water over there. Plus, if you're Carnival, wow- talk about lots of free publicity- so there's an incentive for them.

SI