Hurricane Season 2005 (Katrina & Rita)

[Soul_Immortal]

Hey everyone.


http://www.katc.com/


I hope everyone down and around there stays safe.

[AlKilyu]

www.redcross.org

Volunteers Mobilized Nationwide to Support Katrina Relief
Lesly C. Simmons , Staff Writer, RedCross.org

Tuesday, August 30, 2005 — The American Red Cross has mobilized thousands of volunteers to respond in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which completely devastated parts of Louisiana and left at least 55 people dead.

The Red Cross plans to send close to 2,000 volunteers in the area to begin the initial response in the next few days.


Red Cross emergency response vehicles (ERVs) will visit damaged neighborhoods like this one in Florida after Hurricane Charley last year.

“Volunteers are truly the lifeblood of the American Red Cross, and we are calling on them now by the thousands to help support relief efforts in Louisiana and other states after Katrina,” said Pat McCrummen, American Red Cross disaster spokesperson. “We are looking at a long term, very significant response to this storm.”

The Red Cross is mobilizing every available resource from across the country including thousands of staff and volunteers to respond to this storm. Red Cross volunteers and donors are neighbors helping neighbors.

Volunteers are already on the ground staffing shelters for tens of thousands of people in five states—Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas.

The Red Cross is launching the largest mobilization of resources for a single natural domestic disaster, in part because the extent of the damage is so widespread over a large geographical area. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin including sending nearly 1,900 staff and volunteers into the field in the next few days, and sending more than 250 Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) out to provide food and water to affected residents.

The best way to help is by making an online contribution to the Disaster Relief Fund at www.redcross.org.

If you are interested in volunteering for the American Red Cross, the place to start is your local chapter Red Cross. There you can learn about the training courses necessary to become a disaster volunteer. For more information, visit your local Red Cross chapter online.

Trained disaster volunteers often start by volunteering on local Red Cross Disaster Action Teams, which respond to disasters 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Red Cross responds to more than 70,000 disasters each year, the vast majority of which are house and apartment fires. Disaster volunteers who gain local experience also are eligible to serve as part of the Red Cross Disaster Services Human Resources System to be deployed to disasters around the country.

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of this disaster and thousands of other disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. Call 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.




If anyone knows of any other places to donate, please post them here. Thanks.

[Empty_Purple_Stars]

Following is a list of other Web sites offering disaster relief information:

Federal Emergency Management Agency
Phone: 1-800-621-FEMA
http://www.fema.gov/

Louisiana Homeland Security
http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/

City of New Orleans
http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx

Louisiana Governor's Office
http://www.gov.state.la.us/

Catholic Charities
Phone: 1-800-919-9338
http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/

FEMA Charity tips
http://www.fema.gov/rrr/help2.shtm

National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
http://www.nvoad.org/

Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
http://www.la-spca.org/

National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
Ande Miller, Executive Director
Email: amiller@nvoad.org
Phone: 703-339-5596

Local Red Cross contacts —

American Red Cross - Southeast Louisiana Chapter:
2640 Canal St.
New Orleans, LA 70119
Phone: (504) 620-3105 or (800) 229-8191
Fax: (504) 827-2135
http://www.arcno.org/?id=5&sub=3

Regional Service Centers —

NORTHSHORE REGION:
Regional Office
619 N. Tyler, Suite D
Covington, LA 70433
Phone: (985) 892-4317

Boothville, LA:
Phone: (985) 534-7449

Slidell, LA:
Phone: (985) 643-5608

Hammond, LA:
Phone: (985) 542-3469

Bogalusa, LA:
Phone: (985) 732-4227

BAYOU PARISHES REGION:
Regional Office
1231 Canal Blvd.
Thibodaux, LA 70302
Phone: (985) 447-3229
(Mail to: P.O. Box 102, Thibodaux, LA 70302)

Houma, LA:
Phone: (985) 872-6584

RIVER PARISHES REGION:
107 Maryland Dr., Suite D and E
Luling, LA 70070
Phone: (985) 785-0647

LaPlace, LA
Phone: (985) 652-9963

American Red Cross - Northwest Louisiana Chapter
4221 Linwood Avenue
Shreveport, LA 71108
Phone: (318) 865-9545
Fax: (318) 868-4111
Email: redcross@louisianaredcross.org
http://www.louisianaredcross.org

Red Cross Disaster Assistance info: (866) GET-INFO (866-438-4636)
http://www.redcross.org/contactus/


FEMA Regional Offices —
http://www.fema.gov/regions/

FEMA Region IV
(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee)
3003 Chamblee-Tucker Rd.
Atlanta, GA 30341
Phone: (770) 220-5200

FEMA Region VI
(Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas)
Federal Regional Center
800 N. Loop 288
Denton, Texas 76209
Phone: (940) 898-5399

State Emergency Organizations:

FEMA State Emergency Contact — http://www.fema.gov/fema/statedr.shtm

Alabama Department of Public Safety
Phone: (334) 242-4445
Website: http://www.dps.state.al.us

Alabama Emergency Management Agency
5898 County Road 41
P.O. Drawer 2160
Clanton, Alabama 35046-2160
Phone: 205-280-2200
Fax: 205-280-2495
Website: http://www.ema.alabama.gov

Florida Division of Emergency Management
2555 Shumard Oak Blvd.
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2100
Phone: 850-413-9900
Email: florida.disaster@dca.state.fl.us
Website: http://www.floridadisaster.org

Florida Emergency Preparedness Association
Phone: 850-906-0779
Fax: 850-893-1845
Email: fepa@fepa.org
Website: http://www.fepa.org

Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
Phone: 225-925-7500
Fax: 225-925-7501
Website: http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov

Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness
7667 Independence Blvd.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806
Phone: (225) 925-7500
Fax: (225) 925-7501
http://www.loep.state.la.us

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. Box 4501 - Fondren Station
J, Mississippi 39296-4501(601) 352-9100
Toll Free Phone: (800) 442-6362
http://www.mema.state.ms.us
http://www.msema.org/mitigate/mssaferoominit.htm

Georgia Emergency Management Agency
P.O. Box 18055
Atlanta, Georgia 30316-0055
Phone: (404) 635-7000
Fax: (404) 635-7205
http://www.State.Ga.US/GEMA/

[MrMaelstrom]

I'm sending in my old vynil copy of "Walking on Sunshine". What a fucked up name for a hurricane. Was the person who named it absent in the 80's or what?!!!!

Good luck guys. Pull yourselves together.

"United we stand, divided we fall, together we can stand tall"
Public Enemy - Power to the People

[edible_eye]

i'm glad people are logging on to say hi - at the very least, it's relieving anxieties all around about whether or not people in the line of fire are ok.

i hope you're (universal) not suffering any ill wrath personally.

[MrMaelstrom]

Which states were actually hit?

Sorry, but I haven't watched the news for a while, since my whole country is going up in flames due to forest fires and it gets me down...

[edible_eye]

i saw that on the news also, mael and i wondered - back when i saw it, about 2 weeks ago - whether or not you were all right. obviously, you've signed on and proven you are, so i never asked.

those fuckers are still burning?!?!?!?!?

[MrMaelstrom]

Yup, as soon as they are put out somewhere, someone else starts another somewhere else.

People keep talking about upping the prison time for firestarters (whatever you do, even if you kill 5000 people and admit it and say you would do it again, the maximum penalty in this country is 20 years for whatever crimes you may commit), but every year it's the same shit pulled off by loggers and real estate developers wanting to get their filthy hands on forest area for development, with local councils and authorities turning a blind eye to it all in exchange for some grease on their hands.

Disgusting, really

And my small country still burns...

The Linx (look it up, it's a predator feline exclusive to the Iberian peninsula) is almost extinct, the few wolves we had left are dying out, so are the foxes and wild boars, eagles and hawks due to little or no territory left untouched....

I swear to you, I feel like picking up a gun and stalking the woods looking for these fuckers....

[Empty_Purple_Stars]

Originally Posted by MrMaelstrom

Which states were actually hit?

Sorry, but I haven't watched the news for a while, since my whole country is going up in flames due to forest fires and it gets me down...

Lousiana and Mississipi and Alabama..

New Orleans is pretty much destroyed.. And even Portuguese you should be able to gasp in horror at that..

Biloxi and Gulfport Mississsippi where also pretty much pounded into toothpicks..


My thoughts are also with you and your countrymen in their time of pain as well..

Hugs..



















They are now saying that THOUSANDS are suspected to be dead in New Orleans and the surrounding parishes..

Oh my God...

:cry:

[MrMaelstrom]

I'm really sorry. I had no idea. I thought it was just another of those seasonal hurricanes that go through Florida that everyone in the US is usually prepared for.

How did this come to be? I usually know about upcoming storms hitting the US days ahead of time... and I'm in Europe...

Were authorities unprepared? Did they underestimate the size and power of the Hurricane? What happened?

[edible_eye]

what happened is - this was one, big mother fuckin' storm.

someone else can probably give you specifics...

[Empty_Purple_Stars]

Originally Posted by MrMaelstrom

I'm really sorry. I had no idea. I thought it was just another of those seasonal hurricanes that go through Florida that everyone in the US is usually prepared for.

How did this come to be? I usually know about upcoming storms hitting the US days ahead of time... and I'm in Europe...

Were authorities unprepared? Did they underestimate the size and power of the Hurricane? What happened?

Here are some links with some of the details..


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,167306,00.html

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

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,167289,00.html

The biggest nightmare is that New Orleans is a bowl basically..

That bowl is stuck between the Mississippi river on one side, and a giant lake ( 25 miles by 35 miles ) on the other..

A 3 block section of that levee broke AFTER the hurricane had already past, and that giant friggin lake is filling up New Orleans..

I am watching fox news for whoever gets it, and there are THOUSANDS of families from the 9th ward projects that have been stranded on the Orleans Ave. bridge for TWO FUCKING DAYS, with no food, no water, NO ASSISTANCE AT ALL.

I am watching cops just drive by these people and completely ignore them..

2 people with injuries have died on the overpass..

I realize that emergency officials have their hands full, but if they can get to them why cant they at least tell them how they are going to get them out. They wont even talk to these poor people, and they're trapped on this freeway with no water, no food, in 100 fucking degree heat.

The governor says everyone must get out of New Orleans but how can they get out if no one will help them.

I guarantee if these were people from the Garden District trapped up there they wouldn't have sat there for two fucking days with nothing and no direction, while the cops try and run them over when they try and flag them down for medical treatment for people who are dying..

I know NOLA, and I know the attitudes many of the police have there, and these people aren't people to most of them, and its making me pretty friggin angry..

The Fox News guy even cornered some cops and demanded answers why these thousands of people are trapped dying up there with no help, and he jumped in his car and drove off without a word..

WHAT THE FUCK??

Is it just me??

[MrMaelstrom]

Shit..... I'm am deeply sorry for my comments and I apologize to all. I also had no idea that the aftermath was still bearing tragedy on those there...

Good luck to all

[Empty_Purple_Stars]

Originally Posted by MrMaelstrom

Shit..... I'm am deeply sorry for my comments and I apologize to all. I also had no idea that the aftermath was still bearing tragedy on those there...

Good luck to all

You didn't say a thing wrong, so no apology needed..

Promise..

I am still watching the news, and there is a little boy my son's age, who is unconcious in his mothers arms on that bridge from heat stroke. He is about to die, and no one will do anything.

It is the Orleans Ave. bridge on I-10 East..

The police keep driving through, and wont stop or do anything to render aid.

This child will DIE, if he doesnt have his body temeprature lowered IMMEDIATELY.

E_E can back me up on this, when you go from heat exhaustion to heat stroke, ESPCIALLY in children, the risk of death is VERY high, if not likely if left untreated..

How can this be happening??

[tekajo]

i quit watching the news earlier today. i've shed enough tears.
Mael i haven't seen anything you said that warranted an apology.

You asked about preparedness....NOLA has been waiting for this storm for decades now. They knew it was coming only a matter of time. They thought they were fully prepared for such a situation.

*sigh*

As for the firebugs over there, it may just be open season on 'em.

[Morpheus_Noctifer]

We just got power back in our apartment here in Baton Rouge a few hours ago. I can't find words to express not only how happy we are but also how blessed we feel that we only lost power and our refrigerated and frozen foods. We moved to BR from New Orleans only two months ago when I changed majors and schools, and it hit home early yesterday that had I not decided that, we'd have lost at least all our stuff. Two of my best friends live there, and they got out, but neither have any clue as to what's left of their home.

The whole thing is one of those situations where you can't find any words to describe what happened or how to respond. It was what we feared would eventually happen but never thought we'd be alive to see.

[Panther]

It's incredible the way that so many people have nothing to go back to their homes for anymore. If the city even ever drains, there won't be any point in returning.

All the people who lived have to restart, whether it be in a new area, or a drained NO.

Not to mention all the dead, either from drowning or neglect.

And the city itself. So many years of history gone. No more beautiful houses that belonged to the plantation owners, no more crowded city streets full of life, no more mystery, or enchantment.

Just a waterlogged and shaken version of its former self.

[Bodnoirbabe]

I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like down there. I hear they're comparing it to the aftermath of Hiroshima.

I've been trying to watch the news to see what's happening and the progress of the cleanup, but it makes me want to cry so i have to turn it off.

I've donated a good portion of my check to the Red cross, but i feel so like i should be able to do more.

[Empty_Purple_Stars]

Those people are STILL trapped up on that section of I-10E at Orleans Avenue..

OMFG..

Shepherd Smith says that emergency personnel have stopped going down that section of the bridge now. There are still THOUSANDS of refugees up there and now people that have needed medical attention for the last THREE DAYS have started to die..

There are people just laying dead on the freeway shoulder now..

He and his news crew finally had to leave because the situation has deteriorated so badly up there that they were in danger.

Why won't someone do something, everyone knows they are up there..

How could so many people be left to die??

There are elderly people, and handicapped people, and small babies still up there.. And as the sum comes up there again today, they will ALL be up there in 100 degree heat and humidity, with NO water and NO food for the THIRD or FOURTH day in a row..

How the fuck do you just sit there and watch people who saved themselves from the disaster, die waiting for help??

I never thought I would see the day where I watched thousands of people start to drop fucking dead on live tv in the USofA without any help..

The land of the free ad the home of the brave eh?

Sob..

[tekajo]

i keep reading about people wanting to do more, other than donating to the red cross or locating an individual shelter amongst the thousands of shelters setup across Gulf Region, the only thing i can think of is flying down here and jump in head first into the sludge and pull people out of NOLA...

...better yet, climb atop the Dome with a 7magnum and start picking off those running around with AK's shooting at the fucking helicopters.

[Gnossos]

Morpheus- I am so happy to hear that you both are OK! I've been worried about you since Sunday. I hope that your other family members are also safe. -Gnossos

[Panther]

That's sick. Too sick for words.

Why would they do that? What the hell is so difficult about acutally doing what you're supposed to do, especially during a disaster?

[FenrisQueen]

The article I read on AOL News pretty much said the same thing as everybody else, but that's just awful. For the first time, I'm happy that I don't have cable. I can't even read the news articles without crying. People are living like animals. Doesn't anybody care? I just can't believe this could happen and we wouldn't be better prepared.

I know I'm just a high school kid, and that I still have a lot of growing up to do. But right now I just wish that I was five years old again,l so I could be scooped up into my Mom and Dad's arms and be told everythings okay, and be trusting enough to believe them. Because now I'm old enough to know that it won't be.

[Morpheus_Noctifer]

Originally Posted by Gnossos

Morpheus- I am so happy to hear that you both are OK! I've been worried about you since Sunday. I hope that your other family members are also safe. -Gnossos

Thanks, Gnossos. The latest word we have is that everyone "should" be ok, but should is like "if" in this instance. It's a big word, and processing all that's happened, and is still happening, is very very difficult. Tragedies like this bring out the best in most people, but they also bring out the worst in others, which makes them even worse.

[Spazik]

Oh Jesus Tap-dancing Christ. I get sick of all the Hurricane Katrina shit on Fark and come here and yay theres more.