French Quarter has been flooded. News reports say over 80% of New Orleans is under water.

With the floods in India and Thailand and here, I'd say these are some biblical signs. (40 days and 40 nights)

Good thing I'm not a biblical person.

The Doc

Looks like the cost of damages from Katrina may be from $12 to over $26 BILLION smackers. Yikes!

http://www.breitbart.com/news/na/D8CA8TM80.html

Just the damages to the Casino that was flooded to the second floor were up to $100 MILLION dollars!!

I can't even imagine just the little day to day things that we take for granted that they're gonna do without. Not only gas and electric and water, but how many people do you think actually have workable cars now? You probably won't even be able to rent or buy another one as I'm sure all the dealer lots are ruined too. It's like the whole state is just gonna stop functioning. Pretty scary.

And no bignets for a while

They showed on one newscast a sofa on the street that had been blown out of the 16th floor of a hotel. Imagine if it could blow out a sofa, what would have happened to any people who may have been in that room. All you see are windows blown out of tall buildings. They look like a bomb went off in them.

Has anyone seen the video of the poor man who lost his wife and keeps saying "That's all I had, she told me to take care of the kids and grandkids..."

My heart is in the pit of my stomach right now.

Yes I saw that earlier. They were holding hands, and their house collapsed in two and he had to let go of her. There are thousands of stories that are unbearable to even think of. I'm watching the news conferences and such and you just can't fathom that this is real. It's also unthinkable to think of the amount of time it will take to rebuild. Where do you start? Bridges and highways have collapse. I don't know if I can watch too much more. It's too hard to bear.

Don't watch. It will make you miserable too. I'm not saying you should be ignorant when such a horrible thing happens, but try not to think about it too much. That's what I try to do, but it's not easy (remember the Tsunami

You know I've not been able to watch the coverage of the aftermath until tonight. How heartbreaking. The damage is enormous and I fear for so many more lives that were lost.

Then just now my CNN alert says:

"Reports of shootings, carjackings and looting in the area near the Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, a policeman tells CNN."

Can you imagine taking advantage of a disaster like this. Some people are totally lacking decency.

TIS

Very true, TIS. But I can't blame the looters who are stealing food because they have none to give to their families because stores aren't open. This is the case sometimes, people get desperate. Of course this isn't the case alot of times, and it is dispicable was some people do.

We so often take our everyday comforts for granted - water, electricity, having access to the medicine we may need. It's such a shock to think of doing without those basic things. In addition, your home is now part of Lake Pontchartrain, along with all your wordly possessions. And yet you consider yourself lucky if your family is together and unharmend. It does put things in perspective, doesn't it?

You are so right SB. Thank God for the blessings we have. When I went through Hugo the power was out. The water worked but we couldn't drink it. If it wasn't for our Coleman stove and lanterns for light I don't know what we would've done.

Desperate? Their kids are gonna eat tv's and microwave ovens?? Their kids are gonna eat clothing?? Most of them are fuckin' thieves, plain and simple!

Anyone else see the slow deterioration of the governor of Louisiana? She's really "slowin' down". (Granted she's in a spot no human being should be in.... I hope she'll be OK).

I saw the Governor's news conference and did notice how totally worn out she looks. The lady Senator at teams seems like she needed to walk her through some things she was talking about. She's a political leader, but she's still human. I'm sure she's in the same boat as everyone else in that she's probably lost her home too. On top of that she has to lead the town. I definately think she's nearing a melt down. As I'm sure they all are. This is too much for mere mortals to handle I think. God bless them all!!!!

In a perverted way, the situation in New Orleans reminded me of the old Sam Kinnison routine about people in Africa starving and living in the desert. In the routine he would scream about moving; there's no food there; it's sand.

I saw a profile of the New Orleans topography. The entire city is below the level of the Mississippi River and Lake Ponchatrain. How did they ever build a city there? How could they think that Mother Nature could be tamed by some levees and pumps? The arrogance of man.

This is just devastating. So many people without anythng left but the clothes on their backs. You are so right SB, it really does put things in perspective.

Anyone hear from SaladBar yet?


Don Cardi

It reminded me of how Tom Van Essen looked at the news conferences following September 11th, as if he could hardly bear up under the weight of the catastrophe.

Exactly. I don't know how they'll all gonna get through it. But in times like these people somehow find the inner strength to just march on. They're probably all just running on adreneline. It's like they can't stop, because once they do they might just collapse.

Boy, this really makes me think of how devastating a major earthquake would be here in CA. One of those things you've always known is possible, but think it's never gonna be that bad. How quickly we could lose everything but "the shirt on our back". I wonder if any state is really prepared (or if it's even possible) for a devastation like that. You could be physically, emotionally and financially doing ok, only in minutes to lose everything you have. Even still, I'd rather lose everything I have than any of my family.

TIS

I've been looking at alot of the pictures of this disaster on line, as I'm sure lots of people have. This one just literally blew me away. It looks like a bomb went off. It reminded me of pics of the Murrah Federal Building in Oaklahoma bombing.

They were actually discussing that on the news last night, TIS. They were saying how people in Louisiana, etc. must view hurricanes the way that people in CA view earthquakes. I remember my father telling a story about a guy he met in basic training who lived near the Mississippi River. Every spring, when the banks would swell, they would move up to the 2nd floor of their home, then come back down when the water receded, scrape the mud off the walls, and start over again!! Can you imagine? But I can't imagine devastation like this. It's not just a few homes or a few neighborhoods. The entire city is just GONE. I read one report where they likened New Orleans to Atlantis.

Edit: Beth, that picture is a killer.

really, 80% of New Orleans flooded? Damn...

Speaking of which, rumor is that the New Orleans Saints(NFL) may have to play either in a new location or play in new locations weekly until the Superdome(which did protect thousands from the storm, but now being evacuated) is repaired.

Rumor also tells that one likely location is the location of the yearly Alamo Bowl(college football) at the dome stadium in San Antonio, Texas.

Of course its nothing new. When the lethal California wildfires threatened San Diego awhile back, the game between the SD Chargers and the Miami Dolphins was simply moved with 3 days notice to the Arizona Cardinals' stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The NFL and owners decided to make the tickets free, and for both below-par .500 clubs, major sell-out.

Of course, one wonders how all those teams(LSU, Tulane) will deal with this crisis.

Don't think this is a huge priority for people stuck on roofs just at the moment :rolleyes:

80 deads right now ...

Desperate? Their kids are gonna eat tv's and microwave ovens?? Their kids are gonna eat clothing?? Most of them are fuckin' thieves, plain and simple!

Anyone else see the slow deterioration of the governor of Louisiana? She's really "slowin' down". (Granted she's in a spot no human being should be in.... I hope she'll be OK). [/b][/quote]I never said all of them were like that. How are those TV's and microwaves going to work when they are flooded up to their roofs? And yes SC, alot, most of them are thieves, but soem of them are desperate. Food is running out, they have to evacuate the city.

I just heard on CNN the number of dead could easily be over 1000.

Wow...

The Doc

P.S. Bush is now saying recovery will take "years".

This is worse than originally thought. It could take years and years for this recovery to be complete! I listened to an interview on the way home today and the policewoman being interviewed was crying that there was no electronic communication possible and therefore the authorities are not able to know where survivors are. A reporter called in and was saying that there were thousands of people roaming the side of a highway and gave the exit number and highway number where these people were roaming and the policewoman being interviewed immedeatly distpatched rescuers to the location. This happend live on the radio during the interview.. It was very sad and disheartening.


Don Cardi

Katrina had such widespread destruction. Mississippi, Louisiana. Can you imagine all the dead people underneath all that water? That just breaks my heart.

Same thing happened to Shepard Smith a little earlier on Fox. Exit 235 by the Superdome.