Hurricane Katrina
Me, Pam, and the pups went to Dallas for Katrina. When we returned home on Tuesday, we were amazed at the destruction. New Orleans is in ruins. The water rose 10-15 feet in some places. On the news, I saw bodies floating through the streets of New Orleans. Every window on the north side of the Marriott Downtown was blown out. Even the roof of the Superdome (being used as a shelter) was partly destroyed. As the water rose, many people were forced to saw through their attics to reach the safety of their roofs. In response to this, helicopters are air-lifting people from their rooftops. People have died in the streets while waiting for food to be airlifted to them. Looters have broken into stores and have even fired at helicopters and medical workers. In one case, men armed with AK-47s entered the police station in the French Quarter. In another case, men fired on medical staff in Charity Hospital. In response to the looting and civil unrest, the mayor of Gulfport has instructed his officers to shoot and kill looters on site, requesting that they label the bodies with the words LOOTER to be disposed of later. Governor Blanco has instructed her police officers to eradicate looting by ANY MEANS NECESSARY.
The aftermath of Katrina is already being called the worst disaster on American soil. Experts suggest that as many as 30,000 people may be dead. Luckily, our house in Baton Rouge was spared. Mark’s parents and grandmother are staying with us. Jesse has spent most days at work, helping organize local efforts. There’s even talk that his son Joel will be called to complete search and rescue procedures.
I brought my mother into Slidell two days ago, expecting to find my stepfather dead. When I last spoke to him, the eye wall of Katrina (140 mph winds and multiple tornadoes) was passing over his house. Thankfully, when we arrived in Slidell, he was alive and well. Slidell, however, was a ghost town. Every telephone pole had been downed. Trees had been uprooted, and most homes and business were reduced to skeletons of metal and wood. My mother’s house has two pine trees through the roof. The entire skyline is filled with the branches of trees. Most of the streets are impassable. In all my life, I’ve never seen a storm cause this much destruction