The devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina may be, judging from what I have seen on television, the end of the city. Just a short while ago, I heard that attempts to plug the breeches in the levees have failed and the flow of water into the city is apt to increase rapidly tonight...possibly taking the water level in the city to three feet above sea level.
Even if the levees are repaired, where can the water be pumped to? How long might it take, even if it is possible?
I fear it may be necessary to completely abandon New Orleans. I fear it may be a city that recognizes, too late, that it should not have been where it is.
I suspect it may be necessary to build refugee camps to accommodate hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people. It is so painful to think about how absolutely horrific it must be to have to deal with the aftermath of the storm.
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I read as much as I could on-line last evening, after having read your blog, as I don't get very good T.V. reception out here in the country. One thing I read, was that to offer housing assistance to folks displaced by the hurricane, calling the red cross was not the thing to do, unless you had already been approved by them as a shelter. So, today, I called one of the largest protestant churches in the city south of me, to offer to house a family of no more than 5, for up to a month. The lady at the church advised me that there are already two churches in town which have already received certification from the red cross to house people in their churches (rec. halls, etc.) and that the church to which I was speaking is in the process of becoming certified. She appreciated my offer, and said she'd pass the offer along to "someone", and that was it. So, as of this writing, I'm hosting no displaced persons in my home. I understand that the local motels are crowded with such persons, and at least one person sepculated that some of those persons are paying for their room and board with credit cards. And likely, they will be out of work for at least a month, or longer, and some may never return to their old jobs, as they will be done away with... as companies don't rebuild in the storm area... but may move a considerable distance away and start over. So tomorrow, I'm going to go to town and see if I can meet a family, or a group of people and offer them shelter in my home. I will be careful, of course, as I know there may be some scalawags(sp?) out to take advantage of "helpers". But I feel compeled to do my part to make a difference for at least some of the people who have been displaced and have nowhere to go... no relatives or friends who can put them up for awhile. Will let you know how my efforts go on a later posting.
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