New Orleans Status Updates--NO POLITICS
 

It's worth a shot.
The "Katrina hits Category 5" thread is really hard to read when you're trying to find out how people are, as it has been seriously clouded by the political pissing contest.

I really would like a thread to keep track of our New Orleans bretheren (or those with family in NO)--without the politics coming into it.

EF, any news for us? You're moving back to LA in a few weeks, right?
Masked, any word from your family?
Pumpy, any thoughts?
Anyone else I missed...?

As for my brother he's safely in Texas and has no intention of going back to NO, as near as I can tell. He may go back at some point in the far future, but he doesn't think his place is OK...if it isn't flooded (it might have escaped that), he thinks it might have been looted. As of now his plan is to hang out for another week or so in Texas then go up to Indiana to visit my sister and then over here to Columbia, MD to see my folks, and then possibly move to Portland, Oregon or Ashville, North Carolina. We wired him a little bit of money so he could buy some changes of clothes. As far as I know, though, mostly what he took out of NO with him was himself, about 2 changes of clothes, and his cat. Sadly, that does imply that his computers are all at his place in NO (including his laptop). :( Oh well, it's just stuff...just a shame it's expensive stuff.

/tk

I finally heard from my uncle and his family today. He stayed in Biloxi (house 4 miles from the coast) through the storm, and it appears that somehow the house made it through. He said everyone was ok and that he's on a scavenger hunt for gas for his generator.

Took a damn week for him to find a way to contact the family though, I can't imagine how people are dealing with missing loved ones. I'm not all that close to my uncle's family, but it was driving me nuts.

Quick update - Sunday, my parents went to Children's Hospital where my dad works. They were able to drive out of the city Wednesday and are now staying with relatives in western Louisiana. They are planning to be there for sometime, and my dad is setting up his practice there. It will be some time before the hospital reopens in New Orleans. Unfortunately, our house is severely flooded and by this point may be a total loss. And my cat could not be taken to the hospital with them. She was 19 and had been very sick for some time.

We have no information about any of our relatives in Mississippi, but, fortunately, they did not live on the coast.

From the other thread.
And, RendeR and Masked, glad to hear your families are OK. Very sorry about the house and cat, though. :(


/tk

Since I had stopped posting in the other thread, there are a lot of things that I hadn't mentioned. I did just make a couple of posts there, though, and one of them mentioned a good friend of mine who somehow escaped after the storm. Still, since I haven't mentioned many of these things yet, they're going to just jump out at people. Sorry that I didn't give any background before, but that's the way things are.

My mother and sister are in Lafayette, Louisiana. They are actually about to rent a house out there for a few months. My sister had just started her final semester at UNO. I'm not sure what she's going to do as far as her degree is concerned yet. She may finish it up at UL-Lafayette, or she may just see if UNO reopens in January.

My father was on his way to Atlanta, last I heard. I haven't spoken with him since the storm, but my sister has. He's safe.

I had an aunt, a cousin, and an uncle all stay in New Orleans at the time of the storm. They all happened to be in New Orleans East, which was hit hard by the hurricane before the levee problems even started. They're on my mother's side, and my mother hasn't heard from them yet, nor have I. My mother and sister have tried to contact my aunt and cousin by cell phone, and they have not gotten a response. My mother admits that she may just be optimistic, but she thinks that she actually saw my aunt and cousin on the television in one of the crowds in New Orleans early this week. Again, this may just be optimism, but in reality, it's likely that none of those family members of mine survived. I hate to say it, but none of them were as well-equipped as my aforementioned friend was to handle that disaster.

There were other relatives of mine on my father's side whom I haven't spoken to in a couple of years. My dad might know what has happened to them. When I talk to him, I'll ask. I hope that they left before the storm even hit. I have a good feeling about some of them for various reasons, but there are others who I really couldn't make a guess on. I probably won't know anything about them for at least a couple of days, and if my dad doesn't know, it could be weeks before I find out.

Not New Orleans, but I finally got in touch with my best friend, who works at a TV station in Hattiesburg. The shitty part for him is, he just moved there for this job less than two weeks ago. Anyways, apparently his apartment made it through mostly ok, they just got the water turned back on this morning. Power may be a while, but at least his station got its generator back up and working. Phone coverage is spotty, he called and left me a message but I can't get back in touch with him.

The important thing to me is that he is ok, relatively speaking that area didn't get it as bad as the coast, but you never know for sure until you hear from somebody themselves.

A personal update for me, family, and friends:

My sister has opened her home to employees form the Southern Center for Agricultural Research. The building was completely destroyed by the hurricane and flooding. My sisters works for the Northern Center here in Peoria...

All of the employees of the southern center are going to be scattered throughout the US at the various CAURs.

A girl on my volleyball team was expecting a call from the NO zoo earlier this week about a job... To think she could've already moved to new orleans...

sigh.

:(

The other thread has become a mess and since you asked about updates, I'll copy my post from the other thread with the most recent update:

Pumpy, that is truly great news. It makes me feel a bit guilty about posting my own good news which pales in comparision of importance.

First, our plans to go to Olive Garden or a buffet changed as no one wanted either tonight. So, we went to a place called the "best barbeque in North Little Rock" by our hotel's clerk. It was quite good. The waitress recognized our Hibernia card as she used to live in New Orleans. She got the owner to make our 70 plus dollar meal half price! That was good news bit #1.

I just arrived back at the room and finally LSU has posted. I'm now offically on special leave with full pay!!!! That status is effective until September 30th. It will be re-evaluated at the end of the month. I can be re-assigned to wherever they need me, but they will make "all attempts" to place me where the storm forced me to re-locate. Therefore, it looks like there is a chance they'll provide me with work in Shreveport. Regardless, I will be paid and that just lessened the financial hit of this whole situation considerably.

Again, I sort of feel bad even worrying about that, when I read about situations such as Pumpy's friend went through. I'm glad he is well Pumpy.



Additional thoughts: I'm just amazed at the generosity of people in Little Rock. There are a lot of little things that people here are doing to help us, and it is greatly appreciated. Also, thank you everyone on this board who has sent well wishes/prayers our way.

mmmmmm.....bar-b-que....*drool*

Jeebs gonna be pretty disappointed in you EF. :D

I don't want to sidetrack this thread from important updates, but we are planning on going to the Olive Garden no later than this Monday Night! :D


We just decided not to go there tonight.

Not side-tracking. Just make sure not to call it a date. :)

Are you just going to stay in the hotel in Little Rock until you find out something? How is the family coping with everything?

I just read Pumpy's most recent post. I'll be praying that all of your family survived Pumpy.


I know it was a harmless joke, Galaxy :) Our first apartment (of the two) isn't going to be available in Shreveport until the 9th. So, unless LSU wants me to move earlier, we will be staying at the hotel in Little Rock until either the 7th or the 9th if we can't find a hotel in Shreveport that accepts pets for the 7th through the 9th.

Wow, Pumpy...
Quite powerful stuff. I found that we've been going crazy with just my brother in the New Orleans area...I can't imagine having my entire family down there. :( I'll keep your family in my thoughts.

EF, glad to hear things are going more or less as good as can be expected. Sounds like you've got a good plan for rebuilding and getting back to "normal," which is awesome.

ice, glad to hear your friend is OK, too.

I probably missed someone, but so far it seems the consensus here is mostly that people are doing OK and trying to get back to some semblance of normal. Please keep us updated on how things are. :)

/tk

that's wonderful news EF. And Pumpy, I'm really sorry to hear about your family. I'll keep hoping for the best.

I heard from one of my more avid callers in Ponchachoula today. His house is okay, but the power's still out in the area. Have another regular caller in Pascagoula, MS. Haven't heard from him yet. :(

There is somebody from work who had 7 siblings, nieces, nephews, etc. parrish in the storm.:(

I heard from my friend that was at UNO today. He was in Mobile and is catching a flight back to Lexington tomorrow.

I'd like to say something here because I really need to get it off my chest. I've already said it to my wife, and she understands and has been very supportive and helpful. Like I mentioned before, however, I wish to provide my perspective of things to anybody here who's interested. If the below sounds like whining or that I'm downplaying the problems that the people of the Gulf region are going through, I sincerely apologize. I would never intend to suggest that my personal concerns are anywhere near as important as the terrors that those people have faced. With that said, I still want to give some idea of what I'm feeling, because I've been awfully quiet on the board this week. I'm about to tell you why.

I feel absolutely terrible about being in Pennsylvania right now. My wife's family lives in Memphis, so although she can be supportive, she just can't feel the way I do right now. I know that my family is happy that my wife and I did not have to endure any part of this tragedy, but a part of me wishes that I had still been in Louisiana for the hurricane. It hurts me to know that my parents and my sister may have lost their homes. I can't imagine what it's like for them right now. Nine years ago, my mom, my sister, and I lost our home to a fire. We didn't know where we were going to go, but we bounced around between family members and friends for a few months until we got back on our feet. I realize now that I had always been comfortable with that, because we went through the experience together.

I've always been very close with my mother and sister. I don't mean to say that I'm not close with my father, because I am, but he moved out when I was about 12. I still saw him very regularly, and he's always been a good father to me, but I lived with my mother and sister until just a couple of years ago. We've been through everything together. Now, even though nobody could have predicted the timing of this event, I feel like I abandoned them at the worst possible time. I'm trying not to feel this way, but if this had to happen, I wish this would have happened six weeks ago when I was still there. I would never wish for my wife to deal with this, so I'm having a hard time reconciling these feelings, because she would have been there with me. I know that my mom and sister are getting through this a lot better than thousands of other families, and they're going to be fine. It just doesn't seem fair that they're going through this and I'm not. I went to my first day of work up here today. It's only a temporary job, but up until last week, I had been looking forward to some work because I wanted some spending money. I couldn't enjoy working again, though, because the places where my family worked are gone. It doesn't feel right that I have my new home, my car, my material possessions, my clothes -- my motherfucking clothes. We were together through everything, and now at the worst time in their lives, I have many of the things that I used to only dream about. It's just not fair.

I briefly spoke to my mother about this the other day, and she assured me that they're all going to be OK. In my heart, I know that they will be, because they're strong people. I just wish I was there to prove that I'm strong, too. Instead, I'm sitting here at my damn computer in dry, crystal clear Pennsylvania with tears in my eyes.

Maybe I'm not as strong as I thought.

Pumpy, in case you are unwilling to go into the other thread, Jim made this post, which probably summarizes a lot of our feelings towards you at this time:

Thanks, Swaggs. As much of as a bonehead as my friend is, I am extremely proud of him for what he's done this week.

Pumpy, I think it's great that you're so conscious of the timing of your situation. I would suggest that God has blessed you for a reason here - and that you should prayerfully consider how to best use the opportunity you've been given.

Pumpy, I don't know what to say. Seeing the pain you're in is heartbreaking. I'm so fortunate that I don't have friends and family in the area down there -- I can't imagine what you're going through. You're not whining. These are the kinds of things you need to get out and talk about. I'm glad you're wife is there for you.

I completely understand the feelings you're going through. A lot of people feel that way when things are going well for them and someone they love is going through a trial. But look at it another way; there are a lot of things about this situation that are fortunate for you and your family. For instance, I'll bet your mother is thankful to god that you're safe and she doesn't have to worry about you being someplace in trouble. Based on what I've seen from you over the years, I'll be willing to bet that if you're mother knew you were in danger it would tear her apart. She's glad you're someplace safe and secure.

Thanks to events in your life, you're also probably in a position to offer different help to your family and friends than you could if you were there That's a god send; not a curse. You are where you are at for a reason. I can't tell you how much it says about you that you have those feelings. It means you're one of the good guys. Don't punish yourself. You don't deserve it. It'll get better. I know it never feels that way, but it really will get better.

Keep us up to date, as you feel like it. If this place can be an outlet for you, use it. I can't think of a better thing this fourm can do than be a place to vent and get your feelings out. Hang in there! A lot of people are thinking about you, your family and your friends.

My mother would agree with you here. I'm trying to keep my life moving up here. I'm finally on the verge of getting a pretty decent job, my wife is having the time of her life teaching computer science, and we even get to see live hockey for the first time in three years. I have been unable to afford to make a donation to the Red Cross so far, but when I get my first paycheck, I certainly will. The Red Cross did a hell of a job taking care of my mom and sister when they were in a shelter, and they're doing the same job all over the Gulf coast right now. While there's that part of me that wishes to be there, another part of me is getting ready to take care of myself in the same way that my family was taken care of.

Thank you.

this is going to sound incredibly gay, but if there's one person in the world I could hug right now, it'd be you Pumpy.

Love you buddy. You and your family are in my heart and my prayers.

To everybody who has comments for me, thank you. I don't want anyone to feel left out from my thanks because I appreciate it from all of you. This is a big help in keeping my head together.

Yeah, that's pretty gay. :D

are you trying to steal Subby's title?

Hey, I'll take some gay right now. Take what you can get, huh? :)

Hang in there man, with something this humungous happening, we've all gotta stop and realize we're all together in this. We're all thinking of you and yours even as we think of our own.

Sure. I'll bet Cam will even be good enough to give you a reach-around. :eek:

:D

EaglesFan - awesome news. You've become a regular topic around my house this week & this is certainly going to be well received downstairs (tonight you were on-the-way-to- dinner conversation, I even tried to steer them to Olive Garden as a show of solidarity ;)
No dice on my end either).

Render & Masked - glad to hear there's good news on your respective relatives.

PumpyTudors - Dang, this is the third thing I've typed in this post to you, neither of the first two got it right, maybe 3rd times the charm. ... ... Aw crap, this ain't gonna be right either. I can't say "I know how you feel", but I sure can say that I feel an awful lot for what you must be going through. I don't know why yours is the story that made me cry for the first time amid all the stories, but it did. My heart goes out to you & your entire family, along with as sincere prayers for comfort & relief as I've ever uttered.

Pumpy, I just got back to my computer and your posts have brought tears to my eyes as well. I think I'm feeling something similar to what you are feeling on a MUCH smaller scale. I was thinking about it earlier. I feel bad about my good fortune. I think it is a variation of survivor's guilt or some similar phenomenon. In any case, I'm not going to try to overintellectualize this, but you as well as your entire family and the entire city are in my prayers.

Dola -

I've just been trying to hold it together for my family and myself the last few days. I'm not ashamed to say I'm crying right now as my wife is sleeping in the bed beside the table.

Gay. ;)

Believe me, I know where you're coming from. We each have our own separate situations, but I think our feelings come from the same place. You're doing a terrific job handling this entire situation, and I can only imagine what it's like. Everything's going to be great for you.

Well, one of the Imperial League owners checked in today with us. He lives in Slidell and is moving all around it sounds like.

Still waiting on another owner who lives in Gulfport. :(

edit: and expect plenty of wet/dry vacs to be down there, that was what my company sent down there on our trucks, as they do with most hurricanes I think.

I've just read through most of the twenty whatever page thread on the Hurricane. I posted there, but I don't think the last few pages of that thread put me in the best frame of mind, so my post there really doesn't convey my feelings about the events, and how they have affected many of the posters in this thread.

My heart goes out to everyone here who has been displaced or had their family uprooted or even lost by this disaster. You and yours are in my throughts and prayers.

It is odd. This week I was completely slammed at work. I've been putting in 16 and 20 hour days all week long. I left relatively early 6PM Thursday night, and that is when I learned on the radio that the levees on Lake Pontchartrain had failed. I knew what that meant for New Orleans, and only then did I start to understand why that Katrina Thread at FOFC had been at the top of the page for so long. Earlier that day I was actually a more than a little pissed with a vendor who had diverted the generator I had ordered weeks ago to a company in Mississippi. Oops.

Wow reading this thread has made ME cry (just reading such emotional notes from people).

Pumpy, I can't exactly know what you're feeling, but it does remind me a bit of how I felt on 9/11, being separated from my family, all of us in areas near the sites of 9/11. I'll still be thinking about you and your family. You sound like a very strong family, which I've found is quite often the most important factor in getting through these things, so I have faith that you all will.

As for the rest, thanks for keeping this on-topic and please keep us updated with how things are going. We are family here on some level, and I want to know how the family is doing.

I guess I'm allowed to cry, though, I *am* a girl..

/tk

AFAIC, everybody "human" is allowed to cry as needed through this one.

Sorry,that was my lame attempt at at least getting a smile out of people in response to some of the previous "gay" comments (which again, I took as levity on some level), etc.

Sorry if that was mis-represented or misunderstood.

/tk

Once again, I'm glad to hear that everyone is safe and sound... :)

Saw this article this morning, and I'm amazed that they're going to be shipping evacuees 1100 miles to the west. Of course, with Houston already bursting at the seams I'm very glad to see El Paso stepping up to help out however it can.


Also, in an article about New Orleans Saint (and former Miner) Brian Young it sounds like the Saints will be playing their games at LSU this year.

Compared to this board, I have massive survivors guilt. I live up here. My parent's house and sister's apartment are in a part of town that seems to have come out pretty OK. My Aunt's house East of the City is gone (probably still underwater). My best friends parents' house was in the middle of most of the looting. It's probably gone. But, unlike Pumpy, I know that everyone has gotten out and safe. Unlike EF27, I have no property down there. I'm fucking lucky as hell--even though that's hard for me to beleive sometimes.

Like Pumpy, I want to be there helping. It is really nice that I have my sister and brother-in-law up here. Taking care of them has helped us feel like we are doing something.

My wife and I were talking. What finally causes us to break down aren't the pictures of the Superdome and other large landmarks. It's the pictures of the little places that are ruined. The places around the corner that you recognize that are looted out or drowned. It's all the little things that you didn't even know that you were taking for granted that you may never get to do again.

And it's knowing that there are so many . . . . so many people that I passed on the street hundreds of time driving to school, going downtown, getting a cup of coffee--who are dead. Dead.

Yours wasn't (at least not by me), but mine was I guess. I was trying to joke back with you kinda the same way, I just meant "don't worry, it's not just a girl thing".

You meant well, I meant well, we each misunderstood ... but y'know what, let's not worry about it. Hopefully we're all clear now & this thread can continue to serve its good purpose.

This has gotten me, too. I have tried to describe it to the people I've been meeting at my new job (even though I'm only going to be at the job for a couple of days, when people find out that I'm from New Orleans, they open up to me with thoughtful comments and questions). I tell them about how I recognize so many of those places that I've seen, and that's why I can't watch any more news coverage. I stopped watching three or four days ago, and I don't think I'm going to watch any more for a long time.

I didn't read any of the other thread, so I'm probably coming to all of this a bit late. Having said that, I'd just like to say that New Orleans FOFCers have been in my thoughts and I'm sincerely hoping things will end up working out for all of you and your families. What a terrible, terrible event.

*Caution* Humor Ahead ... repeat *Humor Warning*

I had to laugh a little after I read your post the first time, major "WTF" moment.

I read "...that NO FOFCers have been in my thoughts" as the word "no", not as the abbreviation for New Orleans.

I thought you had finally snapped completely until I read it the second time.
;)

JIMG - Holy crap! Good catch! I've edited my post. *phew*

Yeah, this is part of what gets to me too. I think of all the places Kathy and I dated (yes they were dates) and I realize that we may never get to go to those places again. We truly do take so many things for granted that we don't even realize at the time.

I've had to stop watching the coverage as well. I'll read the text from the updates at wwltv or wdsu's websites, but I'm just overloaded on the pics for now.

I know what you mean. I sit here in perfectly dry, calm weather with no gasoline shortages. Other than my love for the region based on traveling through it once (and wanted to have gone back), I have no personal connections. But my heart does go out to Pumpy and his family friends, as well as to all of the have endured losses, deaths and displacements. What little I have contributed, I do hope and pray that it will make a difference. I also pray for perserverance, patience and attention to those needing care in all of the ways possible. Through this tragedy, I pray that those in Gulf Region and everywhere else can walk within the peace, joy and comfort of our Lord.

We're still holding hope for my gf's great aunt and her great aunts friends. Her name is Doris Breland and she was last seen in her home in Pascagoula Mississippi. Just a bunch of lil 90 year old ladies :( just the thought and I start bawling again, she the sweetest little thing you could ever imagine :( we know the whole area where her home is was destroyed, they said they were going to ride it out, were just hoping someone forced them out in time.

I thought the exact same thing when I saw it... :)

Well, with no general Hurricane thread I wasn't sure were to post this. I guess this will do.

Just watching FOXNews, it is amazing how there are still people sitting at houses surrounded by water still. Watching helicopters drop boxes of food and water down into the water and the people wading out into the water to collect it. This never ceases to shock me, every day.

And now FOX is showing that the white people have lost their mind. There are people swimming in a pool. The pool water looks kind of clean, but is surrounded by te nasty flood water. Wacky mofo's.

Oh and about crying as people were talking about early in this thread. Don't worry, I have gotten the teary eyes several times over the last week. Mainly when I have to see some of the kids or pleas to find family members, it is hard not too.

My family has found a house in Lake Charles to live in. My aunt recently moved, but has not sold her old house yet. They just need to get some furniture. At least my mother's spirits are better since she was joking about how stupid it was that it took her 48 hours to remember this.

Where is Lake Charles?
Glad to hear your mom's got her humor back. :)

/tk

Lake Charles is in the southwestern corner of La. It is about halfway, between New Orleans and Houston.

Yeah, Lake Charles is about 25 miles from the Texas state line on I-10.

I'm very glad to hear about your mother finding a place to live, Masked.

I'm hearing from some of my friends and colleagues and am glad to hear that they are safe. A few of my colleagues are volunteering in Baton Rouge, and I'm feeling guilty that I'm not there volunteering. At least I'll be able to volunteer in Shreveport and maybe head to Baton Rouge as well once I get my family settled in at the apartments next week.

I am not sure how many displaced people are there, but judging from the packed hotels the other day when I drove through, there has to be plenty who will need to be going into shelters/temp housing in Shreveport soon. I would think there will be need for volunteers in that area for sure. Of course, I guess this pretty much is true for most 'untouched' towns int he area. You just don't here much about it from afar....

edit:spell check.

My thoughts and prayers are with all of you (and everyone not on the board) affected by the Hurricane. Such a tremendous tragedy...it's great to hear that most all of you are doing well, though.

This isn't directly related to me, but this is from a friend of mine who doesn't mind me sharing this email. There are a lot of heroic stories that we haven't heard and I thought a few uplighting tales might be nice. This friend of mine is an internal medicine doc who did some great things along with a friend of his who is an Intensive Care Specialist:


I have just arrived in Houston.

We spent 6 days in Methodist Hospital with very limited resources. Without Mike Parker half of the 700 people in Methodist would have died. We went as long as 12 hours with no generator power and had to bag all of the vent patients we had no suction, etc. Mike P got to his boat and with the help of many people procurement of diesel and water was done. We were able to keep the vents on in the ICU 80% of the time. The rest of the hospital was completely without power.. We ate very little, and slept less than 2 hours a day. We lost 14 patients. In my opinion about half were headed there anyway.

Jan McC did a laparotomy in the ICU without power or suction. We had to move several patients to the roof that weighed 350 plus and one that weighed 500 plus lbs. We had patients on the roof for hours. UHS tried to send us supplies but several boats and helicopters were taken by FEMA. On Thursday we started evacing patients. It was not until the army showed up on Friday in full Helo force with Chinoos that we could move patients quickly.

I am very proud of my fello MDS, nurses and medical staff. With a coordinated team effort a bigger catostrophe was avoided. We had several near misses. Time does not allow me to tell you everything.

Several people including Natalie Barroccas and my wife and family and people I don't even know got the message out. For the first 2 days Methodist did not exist in media.. I thank them all for their help.

I think that this will make us all better and loving people. I will never stay for another Hurricane like that but I thank God that I had the opportunity to stay a Methodist and play a small role in helping my fello man. There are many Heros in this story.. When we get together I will share them with you.

I don't know if you all have seen it, but this map is a Google interactive map like the FOFC Map we have, but it's got reports from people on area status: http://www.scipionus.com/

Edited to add: Based on the above map, looks like my brother's place escaped flooding, but they say that looting is rampant in the area, including many residential break-ins. We're assuming the worst, in terms of looting, since he lived on the ground floor.

/tk

Good news about my uncle. He's on a bus to San Antonio right now. My aunt and cousin (who lived together) still have not been heard from.

That is excellent news about your Uncle. I will continue to pray for your Aunt and Cousin. Hopefully, they just haven't been able to make contact. Kathy and I just heard from a few friends today who were only now, finally able to make contact.

"Salt in the Wound"


http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_09.html#076625

Quote:

Saints to move?

That is goodd news about these two places, which have been the unfortunate focus all week. I do, however, take exception to calling the Superdome a "shelter". It was never set up to be a shelter, which ended up being one of the biggest mistakes, I think.

I guess now they start concentrating on doing a house to house search. Knowing the many blocks within the city, I suspect that will take a long time to do a systematic search. I also wonder what percentage they will find bodies, whether most of them got out or would it be a higher percentage.

The 82nd Airborne Division is now in New Orleans. Let's go kick some ass All Americans.

When will this situation go from "Another narrowly-averted hurricane disaster" to "holy shit it's actually happening this time" to "It's like a third world country now" back to "It's getting better" ? :(

I'm pretty far removed from this disaster, as I was with 9-11, living in California and all. I suppose the only way I could really know the pain you all are going through would be (knock on wood) if my area suffered a disaster like that. I was just down in Huntsville, AL last month.....They're probably pretty torn up about it....

Pumpy, Masked, and everyone else who has family or friends there, I have you in my thoughts, and look forward to hearing some good news...

Not sure if this has been posted, I have missed some stuff after all.....

http://www.nola.com/forums/searching/

Basically a missing persons list....loooooooooooooooooong list.

There is no communication infrastruture in place. No one can be contacted by their home or cell phone. Lots of people don't have access to their primary email, etc.

I understand that, I just wanted to pass along the site. :)

I got this from another board tonight, provides some info on the condition of the French Quarter, fyi:

from (deleted name), owner of A Gallery for Fine Photography on Chartres St.:
THANKS - Too much to say right now.

I got a few things out and have them in Baton Rouge.

Just got out last night. I could have stayed, my supplies would have lasted for seven more days.

But, the fires have started.

The reports of looting downtown are exaggerated. Yes, they broke into the grocery stores, drugstores, gas stations, for food, etc. Canal Street had a few hours of thugs doing sports shops, but all other shops and the ENTIRE French Quarter is safe and untouched. The storm did glass and roof damage and trees UPTOWN. Just needs to be swept. Looks LESS dirty than a typical Mardi Gras day.

THE FLOOD did NOT get into the French Quarter, and along the river to AUDUBON PARK.

I stayed and helped and photographed and bicycled these areas every day.

NO shooters, some idiots, but everyone doing the best to get along and survive. Other flooded areas, it is very desperate and there are some battles going on, but very isolated.

Just kind of an update from the Lafayette area. I have been looking for a house of my own. I was taking my time since I have a lease at my apartment until december- but since the hurricane every apartment in town is booker and just about every house is selling so fast...I'm not sure what this is going to do for the future populations of Lafayette / New Orleans- Don't know if these people will settle and stay here, or if they will move back in a year or so.

Local news from down here about stuff going on to help those in the hurricane....NEWS ARTICLE

My favorite part....

I think too many people equate gentlemens clubs with the dregs of society. It's nice to know that not all club owners are totally bad people.

Is it just me, or did the WWL streaming video quality go downhill after Yahoo took over the hosting? The video seems to stop every 5 seconds or so for me.

This is a morbid thought but the number of fatalities sounds like we will be looking at deaths in the tens of thousands range., which is incredible in an advanced country that had fair warning. I am not insinuating any blame here BTW.

If some of you folks are still thinking about giving money to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina, I'd like to recommend the Search Dog Foundation. This organization rescues dogs from shelters, and trains them to be search and resuce dogs. To date, they've sent twenty six dogs to search for survivors of the hurricane.

They don't receive any government funding, but respond when the government calls on them. They've sent teams to the Oklahoma City bombing site, the WTC on 9/11 and most recently the mudslides in Southern California.

If that doesn't convince you, howabout a gratuitous cute puppy dog picture? This is Cody. He and his handler Linda are in Mississippi looking for survivors.

Canal repairmen killed by police......wonderful.

Heard it on FOx News too. Apparently they were Army Corps of Engineers, Oh boy! Looks like there are some itchy fingers and nerves over there.

FOX is putting out a different story now, hopefully this one is right.

They say that the contractors are alright, and that guys with guns indeed were the ones shot as first reports said. I think they said the contractors were shot at by the 'bad guys' I guess.

Not to derail this important piece of news, but PLEASE keep things of a political bent out of here. I'm hoping that this thread will be a place where our New Orleans (and other affected areas) residents can check in and let us know they're OK. I don't want it to turn into the mess that the other Katrina thread was. Besides, there are other threads here for general news related to Katrina.

EDIT TO ADD: Sorry, I probably sound like a bitch, but I just don't want a nightmare to start like the other one did...(though the news is quite important...).
/tk

Update - AP is now reporting that some Corps of Engineers contractors were fired on and the police responded and killed some of the assailants. WWL-TV of New Orleans, using Lousiana Public Broadcasting facilities, is reporting this and has retracted the story saying the contractors were killed. For those in Louisiana, apparently LPB has given its studios to WWL for the time being.

Damn, let me add that another AP report is now saying some contractors were killed. This report was filed after the one I cited above, and the WWL announcers gave the sequence of reports and retractions. So no one seems to be sure about this one.

Another update. Corps of Engineers rep at a news conference this afternoon said Corps contractors were fired on but none were hit. All other details still up in the air, but it appears no contractors were killed.

Along with the notes above about local support for the Hurricane victims. Our church is offering to bring a family displaced by Katrina to our small town in CA. We have a parsonage with no tennant, and a couple of members who own small/mid-size businesses that are offering employment. So if we are able to locate a family willing to forsake the Gulf Coast, and start again in California we're in position to give them a good start.

i was up in boston last night at a punk rock basement show/party. and the guy who owns the place has a show there about twice a month and charges people 5 bucks to drink from the kegs. anyway, around 40-60 people show up and he usually makes enough money to cover the kegs and any equipment that gets busted (mic stands, etc etc).

well last night he made the announcement that he was passing the hat around to collect donations for the Red Cross and that he'd match everything that was donated. He also said that he'd be matching and donating all the money people had paid to drink from the keg. It was so great to see everyone reaching into their pockets and dumping pretty much whatever they had into the hat. Spare change, crumpled up 5 dollar bills, everything. I only wish that i had more than 20 bucks on me. It really made my night though

i know it didn't end up being a whole lot of money, but the fact that we could contribute in even this meager way made me feel pretty proud.

Linky

Ugh...

This is very sad. Poor guys had one hell of a time in that city, all politcal B.S. aside. I can't imagine what it was like for them trying to do their jobs.

Mayor Nagin is sending N.O. police and fire fighters on all expense paid vacations to Las Vegas. Begining ASAP.

Linky

Withdrawn out of respect for kristen and this thread. Sorry.

Seriously, if there are going to be pot-shots either way here, can you PLEASE take it out of this thread and start a new thread about said issue?

At least then, the pissing contest will be kept to its own thread and those looking for the updates on conditions and people won't have to comb through partisan bashing? Please?

EDIT: This post refers to something that has since been removed from this thread. Thank you Bucc and the other person who'd posted (flere?) for taking it to a different thread, I (and I'm sure the others looking for the status updates of our FOFC-maters) appreciate it.

/tk

There's a video on CNN that some of you may want to watch called the Faces of Katrina. I was very moved by it, mostly because it reminded me that even this horrible devistation will not break New Orleans. It may change it, but you can't break the spirit of a city with roots this deep. It's just not possible.

This from a La. internet forum.

I just came back from downtown N. O. Had to go through six roadblocks to

Posted by xxxxxx on September 5, 2005 at 3:53 p.m.

get in, first one at I-10 at Gramercy.
I picked up some animals from two houses in the uptown area. Lots of trees down, many roads blocked, roof damage everywhere, but not a lot of major structural damage and no flooding. Saw 8-10 residents moving around in the area from Causeway to Tchoupitoulas at I-10, a few people standing guard over their businesses, but mostly just official and emergency vehicles.

The area around the Dome flooded as far as the eye can see. Still a couple of homeless guys walking the deserted I-10, a few boats putting in the water between the Dome and cemeteries. The interstate is flooded and impassable in both directions at the cemetery. No traffic at all, no people. Helicopters everywhere, Sea Stallions, CH-43's (I think), lots of Huey and even civilian ambulances and police choppers. The sky is full; looked like DaNang.

Saw one boat putting in to pick up a body floating between the fence and the interstate just north of the dome.

On the return trip, saw several convoys of ambulances, looked like one of them (25) was from Mass. or one of the Commonwealth states. Another was from Tennessee. Several convoys of National Guard and one regular Army group. Many 18-wheelers are on the roads headed into the city, getting off at Clearview and Causeway.

We went in on Clearview, to River Road, then Magazine to Jefferson. Came back to Tchoupitoulas to I-10, back to St. Charles, up to Jackson, back over to Magazine, to River Road, to Causeway and I-10 back to BR. Brought two cats and a hamster out of there..all okay, but glad to see a human!

But access is still very limited, River Road and Magazine are still one lane in a lot of places because of downed trees and other debris. The main power infrastructure looks fine, saw no damage to two large transformer substations, and the HV lines all look intact. Lots of downed electric, telephone and cable lines are down in the neighborhoods though, including one huge bundle which crossed I-10. That bundle is now a speed bump on the interstate.

Lots of M-16's, flak vests. NG troopers standing guard on many street corners, fully armed. Wal-Mart on Tchoupitoulas has been set up as a staging area for the military and emergency people, and that whole parking lot is full of equpment and tents.

It's bad, folks, not that you didn't already know it. But it's eerie down there in the Uptown, not a sound but a few birds and a chopper going by, all those blank and boarded houses covered in downed trees and power lines. Surreal, and I was glad to get back to BR.

God bless the people who lived there.......

Just thinking today about the barbeque that we were supposed to host with all of the friends that were supposed to come over today.

2 of them are in Florida with their family. 4 of them are in Houston at various hotels. 2 of them are in Tennessee and are seriously considering buying a home there and permeantly relocating :(

The other 2 I haven't heard from, but I'm fairly sure they are somewhere safe.

Oh well, time to figure out where myself and the family are going to eat tonight.

Good to hear that most of your friends are safe. Are the 2 in Tennessee scared to go back, or just are comfortable in Tennessee? Are you and your wife still thinking about relocating outside the state? Here is a site for Little Rock's restaurants...http://www.hellolittlerock.com/Restaurants.Cfm

I waited on a family (husband, wife, teenage son) today who is from New Orleans. I walked up to the table and asked how them how they were doing (my usual greeting) and the wife said, "Ugh...you don't want to know." I kinda laughed it off at first, and then she mentioned that it had been a long time since they were at an OG and that they were from New Orleans...and I really didn't know what to say except for "Oh...I'm sorry." I wanted to get them a discount or free food or something, but the manager who was there today is a hardass and wouldn't do anything.

After they had eaten I tried to talk to them a little bit about their situation and it sounded like they think their house has some water damage but they don't think it's completely flooded. And once again, all I could do was tell them that I was sorry and wish them the best of luck with their situation...

We've never really thought about relocating outside the state except for in the short term. We will be in Little Rock for at least 2 more days, possibly 4 more days. Hopefully, by then at least 1 of our apartments should be ready and we will move back to Shreveport. Thanks for the link, I'm looking for some more ideas for dinner now, but it looks I've been outvoted and it looks like we are going to a chinese restaurant tonight.

As far as my friends, they just don't want to come back. Their home was in a hard hit area and they feel it is certainly going to have taken heavy damage. They also are enjoying Tennessee.

:(

BYOW.

Update on my family:

A friend went to see my sister and Brother in law's apartment. The roof caved in and everything is lost to water damage/mold. That's the bad news. The good news is that their cat was alive and was rescued and is now safe.

The friend also saw my parent's house, and it only had minor wind damage. That's good news, too.

My Brother-in-law's job will take him to Jacksonville for the short term. They are leaving to go there tomorrow. My sister may or may not be relocated to Houston for the short term.

The stress of dislocation is starting to get to my Mom, but I suppose that that is to be expected.

My nephew went back to survey the damage in Kenner...

He, his brother, and two of his sisters live with their father. They have no homeowners insurance. Luckly, they only got a few inches of water in the house, so most of their clothes and electronices made it. Since they won't be able to stay and dry the place out, they aren't sure how it's going to look in a couple of months, but they still have some property.

My other niece, who does have homeowners insurance, wasn't as fortunate. They had about 2 feet of water in the house, some structural damage from the winds. Good news is that her husband's truck did not sustain damage, as the water only made it up to his bumper.

All in all, the family was rather lucky. Hopefully my brother-in-law didn't lose his stash...that would be just HORRIBLE! :)