el twe

Nola, great to hear it you're okay. I've been wondering about having our Jazz Band at school do a benefit concert (Nyawlens being the birth place of jazz). Best of luck to you, and don't worry about the bike.

junioroverlord

Must worse than the bigs ones, sadly. This is the worst disaster to hit the US ever. I'm usually not an emotional person but I feel overwhelming saddness whenever the subject comes up. Cities are destroyed in bad action movies, not in real life.

I know horrible things like this happen world wide, but by human nature I feel it stronger when its so close to home. My gut reaction is to find a way east and go help out anyway I can. But I know I can't. I feel bad going on with my life like nothing has happened.

Anyway, enough of that. I'm glad you got out Nolageek and I wish you well.

evanyc

glad you got out Nolageek. where did you live in NOLA? most of my friends live in the bywater and their places are definitely 10ft under water. most of my friends are homeless and posessionless now and some are just looking for work in NYC now because their jobs are most likely gone as well. everyone i know is safe though, so i feel lucky.

the situation down there in insane... this is what i typed up elsewhere...

"
the areas we are seeing a lot of footage of in NOLA, the 8th and 9th wards which are the worst hit, are some of the poorest areas in the city. i've spent a good bit of time there and was even there last week, and i've taught in the south bronx for 3 years, and the south bronx doesn't come close to touching new orleans for poverty. there's a bumper sticker in new orleans "New Orleans: Third World and Proud." it's basically true.

there's also an insane amount of racial tension, largely due to all the economic inequality, and that's what is exploding right now and leading to the armed mobs of looters taking everything and shooting at police AND rescue/relief workers. they've been breaking into individuals apartments and taking personal posessions, not just items from stores. michele's brother used to own a building in the french quarter that i was doing renovation on while i lived in town. his friend bought one of the condos. that friend went back today and all of his valuable stuff was gone.

it's insane. there is no lighting in the city and people are not going to be allowed in for probably a month or so. the situation is going to get worse most likely"

<a href="https://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/WWL083105lawless.1242410b.html">the state of chaos and anarchy that is now developing is pretty terrifying</a>

evanyc

the mob was also trying to break into a children's hospital and the hospital workers were blocking the door and setting up barricades to protect the kids inside

BostonFixed

Not to take anything away from the severity of what happened in nola, but the recent tsunami was pretty bad, many times worse than nola...

evanyc

what's the point in comparing?

MKRG

I wonder who is going to belly up to the bar and help us out. Bueller...Bueller...Bueller.......

el twe

My mom and I were just discussing this. Although the tsunami took 100s of 1000s of lives, think of the material losses for the survivors. These people had next to nothing, and the survivors in Nola had so so much. Now, I realize that this is a very shallow and greedy comparison, but if you look at it, this really is what is going on. Here in the States, we are so materialistic that this kind of loss (a computer, a bike) is devistating.

karmical

my former sheriffs' dept is just 2 parishes over to the west of NO along I-10...

after long consideration i emailed them today, explaining my current situation and asked them if they needed any help.
its no big deal really, i still have a badge and my commission only recently expired, it would be nothing to pick up a reseve deputy commission and jump back into the game, cause they look like they need all the help they can get down there...

i wouldn't be the person i am today without spending 10yrs in LA, the least i can to is to offer...i just didn't think sending $$$ or blood was enough


i'll let you all know the outcome of this...


NOLA geek...

stay up....

evanyc

karmical - that's awesome and as someone with lots of loved ones in louisiana i really appreciate that.

junioroverlord

Not to take anything away from your post but I did say in the US.

rusholme

this has been found to be untrue. everyone at the hospital is fine, and patients have been evacuated. the racial tension is insane tho. maybe if we didnt leave our poorest people (read: black) behind to die so obviously - why is the 9th ward the lowest part of the city anyway? hmmm....

they didnt know the tsunami was coming; we knew katrina was coming. anyways, there's no tally to be kept - everyone's at zero now.

evanyc

rusholme, where did you read that was untrue. i heard a second report of it on the news tonight. i dont doubt that it could be untrue though, it's total chaos down there and communication is near impossible.

yeah, i love how they ask everyone to evacuate but there is no support given to those who are financially unable to do so.

sloppy robot

thats nuts

manboy

I'm certainly in awe.

In fact, I'm wondering if New Orleans will even exist anymore. I mean, what would be the point of building a new levee and pumping out what is basically a man-made reef?

The loss of life, ways of life, history, and property is mind-boggling. I can understand the will to rebuild. I'm not from there, so I don't know, but I'm wondering if it's time to let New Orleans sink into the Gulf like it's been trying to for years. I'm all for monuments in the rubble and a "New New Orleans" further inland.

I only wish I could help the situation now. If I thought I could in any way, I'd volunteer.

Nature's a harsh mistress.

sunninho

So true. These incidental possessions like bikes, computers and cars are things we constantly and carelessly talk about tossing, selling or upgrading to the newer, latest version. When it comes down to it, we only have ourselves and loved ones. Those are our greatest losses.

griffin_

2 to 4 months?
you really think it will be that long?

Raiyn

You got out with the stuff you can't replace - your life and the lives of your cats. Evreything else is just stuff and stuff can always be replaced. Did you have any kind of Renter's Insurance?

jandops

yes
its way worse than you can imagine.
i just got back from volunteering at one of the special needs shelters here in baton rouge. they needed volunteers to just talk to and comfort the people arriving. they were coming in on huge army caravantrucks. these people have seen no news coverage and dont really even know what the hurricane has done. ive heard stories so horrible about death and destruction. i talked to people with no idea where their spouses/children were. ive spoken to old ladies air-lifeted off roofs. someone described to me the stench of the festering super bowl after having no AC for 3 days in 100degree heat.

yea my crappy house and everything in it is probably destroyed. but i dont even care. ive seen people much much worse off than i.

i hope they can get some help its what they really need.

Raiyn

The Red Cross needs cash donations ASAP. https://www.redcross.org/
This is much better than donating material items as it's much easier to convert the funds in to exactly what they need rather than having to inventory and transport randomly donated items.
If your employer is matching donations by all means do it that way

sunninho

Keep up the good work and keep your head up! :thumbs way up: Lots of work to be done. If I lived down there, I'd be there with you.

bkrownd

Hoooboy, if the house is flooded, it'll probably have to be demolished and rebuilt. Just the infrastructure and debris will probably take a month to clean up. Even then, is there even a job and workplace to come back to?

I never understood why people live on the south atlantic and gulf coasts. You know something like this will happen in your lifetime. (In Florida make it multiple times in your lifetime) Don't people think about that first?

jandops

its not just flooded, its inundated with toxic water. i have freinds that are moving away and never coming back.

i guess youve never lived here..

theres more soul on any given street corner in new orleans than in any city ive ever had the opertuity to visit

lotek 

Do you ever consider that you are on a volcanic rock with a propensity to erupt? why stay
there?
I agree that there are some places that we should not build/live i.e. barrier islands, below
sealevel in a hurricane prone area.
But what choice did alot of these people have? I'm not talking about the high dollar
houses on the gulf, I'm talking about the local poor who lived where ever they
could to find jobs. Where do you think these people are gonna live? Especially if
they worked in the fishing/shrimping industry.
So where do you go? Califiornia? no has earthquakes. MidWest? no tornado's.
NorthEast? No Nor'Easters can get you. Pacific Northwest? part of the ring
of Fire, just waiting for a blow that makes Mt St. Helens look like a firecracker.
no matter where we go there will always be some danger/threat of natural
disaster.

turd

hearing personal and first-hand accounts from both survivors and helpers is great. where are you all posting your thoughts and updates? i'd like to link you from my site so ppl in ny have a better POV...