Life after Katrina

longfamily

New Member
Original Poster
We stayed through Katrina, 45 miles from New Orleans. Today is the first time I am able to go on-line as we just got our electricity back on (but most importantly cable for the modem;)). The parish (county to those of you not familar with Louisiana) that I live in was one of the areas now considered a disaster area. We always believed that we lived to far inland to get hit hard by a hurricane, but no one ever considered that the hurricane might come in from the side of the state rather than the south.

My husband and I played in the winds until they started really blowing random debris at us. At one point during the storm the door frame was literally showing movement and my hubby had to brace it under the door with a short shovel. We couldn't sleep through the storm so instead opted to peek through a window from time to time to watch our neighborhood being blown to bits. When we opened the door later in the day we were fortunate that my house had not taken any damage. Unfortunately that was not true of the rest of my area.

After 4 days of 98 degree heat and no communication to the outside world, even a landline, we journeyed to my parents house in Baton Rouge where we became refuges. Imagine my horror as I watched CNN for the first time since the storm. I found out that the establishment that I worked at (in New Orleans) would be conveniently inaccessable for months if it still stood at all. Now I am a refuge with no job...figures:brick:. I think the worse thing that I heard in my 3 days as a refuge was all of the wronge information being broadcast about how evacuations went prior to the storm, how things were handled towards evacuations after the storm, and the racial comments made about the decisions surrounding the evacuations.

It really annoyed me that on every national channel I turned to I was hearing about how our state and local governments dropped the ball. What wasn't being reported was that prior to the storm, public transportation buses were being sent to bus stops all over the city to pick up people and take them to the Dome. What wasn't being reported was that no one wanted to get on those buses. No one left those idiots there, it was their choice not to go. It was never a black/white thing either. New Orleans is not an area where you typically need a car. Most people in the inner city don't have one regardless of race. These are the people who needed transport...the city is 65% minority..do the math. It was never about color. Nagin did his best to open the Dome up for the people who could not get out. no one could have ever guessed that the Dome would not stand up to Katrina and by all accounts it should have. That amount of people could never have been evacuated from the city with public bussing before the storm. Had the people that stayed in their homes made the choice to leave, even to the dome, thousands would not have died.

more later on the lies of the media....and boy, there's some whoppers!!

Congratulations to those who weathered the storm. It will only be a half-life for a short amount of time:) Hang in there.
 

Computer Magic

Well-Known Member
It's good to hear from you and and glad you are safe. Everyone on the forum was worried about you. It's also good to hear someone's perceptivet that actually live's there.


Stay safe and keep in touch.
 

ClemsonTigger

Naturally Grumpy
We're so glad you checked in an all is OK!

Don't know if you realize or not, but many of us have been doing headcounts of our "family" here, and you were one of the later ones to check in.

You're in our thoughts and prayers as we all move forward.

Thanks for your insight on the story beyond the media hype.
 

SpongeScott

Well-Known Member
Glad to hear you are okay. And having lived in New Orleans, I know that what you are saying is the truth. A very unique city with a very unique people.
 

rainfully

Well-Known Member
Thank you for sharing your story! I'm glad you and your family are safe and it's wonderful news that your home stood up to the storm. :)
 

LilWalt

Active Member
I am from Louisiana as well. My area was not quite as bad as New Orleans and Northshore area. The media has made it worst then it was on the evacuation part. The people that were stranded were there by choice. I think the Mayor did a great job of warning people.

Glad to hear you made it through okay. I live in Hammond and the population has doubled in a matter of days.
 

WDWScottieBoy

Well-Known Member
So glad to hear you made it safely, and the house didn't receive much damage.

Is there anything you need from us?

Also, anyone else that has been a victim of Katrina, what can we do to help you? Any personal needs that you could use. I'm more than willing to run to the store and help those in need! :kiss:
 

Debbie

Well-Known Member
I'm so glad Longfamily posted what she did. Factual elements to this scenario are being witheld.
Our lives can never be the same. Good things HAVE to come from this. I've actually thought of the story of Noah's Ark. New Orleans was just listed as the number one murder capital of the U.S. and after watching the looting on TV; I felt ashamed to say I was from New Orleans. I was so embarrassed and heartbroken to learn of the looting and the mall that I grew up going to, was torched. Why? Why did they do it?
I don't mean to turn this into a sociallogy class or a debate and if this thread turns this way; then I hope it's deleted. But the horror I felt while watching this on CNN was enough for me to want to find a street pharmacist.
The despair of not being able to contact family members for days; even by text message
Not knowing how my father was (he is holed up in Algiers)
Running to Katy, to save money, to buy a generator, gas, supplies such as toilet paper and items to last a month
Having to comfort my son who was panicked about his father and grandparents and calling the local diner in Brazoria, telling them my situation, and them calling TJ's aunt from the check they used to pay for Sunday's lunch, who in turn got him to talk to PawPaw
Arguing with Cingular in Sugarland, and pleading with them to give me a cell phone replacement for Don because he lost his. and them telling me that they would have to mail it to me :brick: . We live in the East division apparently and Texas is in the West, and after explaining that when I write my check every month; it's to Cingular Wireless, not Cingular East or West. (I walked out with a phone)
Driving all nite to go home and protect our property and shaking as we got into Boutte.
Driving to Morgan City while my neighbor covered our house so we could get more rounds of ammo, more gas, and more staples.
Staying up all nite until the Military got here.
Mattresses from one end of the den to the other so relatives, and friends could sleep in A/C
Going into Jefferson Parish Monday was so eery. We unfortunately were headed to West Jefferson Medical.
Going back again to help my girlfriend and her husband pack for a month and put the fridge out on the street :hurl: and she asked to make sure I had Smith&Wesson with me.
But there has been some good up to now:
Standing in line for FoodStamps and being treated with dignity by everyone around us
Standing in line at AllState and watching the compassion of the agents
Our Armed Forces will always be heroes to me. They have been so respectful, compassionate, ready with a smile.
Going a second day in a row to bring Father In Law to get Stamps and his shaking everyone of our soldier's hands and identifying himself from WWII, and their respect of his value to this country (I took a picture of that moment)
The MPs waving whenever waved to and acknowledging the numerous 'thank-yous' at the Monsanto plant.

Katrina has forever changed my perspective. More later
 

longfamily

New Member
Original Poster
WDWScottieBoy said:
Also, anyone else that has been a victim of Katrina, what can we do to help you? Any personal needs that you could use. I'm more than willing to run to the store and help those in need! :kiss:

So glad that you asked

I don't personally need anything but there are alot of people here that do. Our community hasn't really seen anything from FEMA and Red Cross. There were 1.5 million people displaced by the hurricane and out of that number less than 200,000 are in various shelters around the state and other areas (Texas, Utah,etc.) The Red Cross is truely focused on those people that are in shelters not necessarily with the rest of us. Then of course are the extra workers that are here for clean-up.

I don't know if you guys realize but 70% of our community, not in shelters, are now recipiants of food stamps. There is literally a 30 hour wait in most areas. These are not people abusing the system, these are people that will not make a dime for the month of September and likely the month to follow. Let's hope that the situation improves by Thanksgiving. In the areas most affected by the disaster (pretty much all of the area of South Louisiana that is east of Baton Rouge and the southern parts of Mississippi and Alabama) We are still in lines for everything including two hour gas lines. There are even lines to get into Wal-Mart. And it doesn't matter if you stand in those lines or if you were eligable for food stamps because once it's finally your turn there is no food left anyway. You can't find meat anywhere so I guess we are all going to become vegans:eek:. That's okay, they say it's better for you anyway, lol. The restaurants that are serving food are having a tough time because they can't get any food either! Our local donut shop opened for two days with no donuts...couldn't get product in to make them. This thing has really made a mess of things.

Then to make matters worse we have these peole here from Asplundah (sp?) and FEMA, Entergy, Cable, Military, you name it they're here. These poor guys are working 12 hour shifts. There are two shifts so they never stop. When they finally lay down for the night it's usually in a tent or hard wood gym floor. They are working in 95+ heat, long hours, and have to share porta potties and portable showers when they are available. The local restaraunts try to keep them fed at a discount or for free and the Red Cross helps out in that area.

If you guys really want to help, get together with some friends and pack a truck, trailer, or semi:lookaroun with some really helpful things that will benifit these people. We can get water and food (mostly). If you truely want to help real people, the ones not getting the $2000 debit cards from the gov. These are the things we all need right now:

For Refuges:
meat, run of the mill veggies(onions, potatos,etc.), we still need generators, batteries, gas, school supplies including computers and software to help accomadate all of the displaced students, personal products like deoderant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, diapers, hairbrushes, baby wipes, soap. shoes, socks, underware

For military/workers:
Towels, wash clothes, soap, shampoo, socks, clothing detergent, razors, bug spray

If you can donate your time that would be great too:

In small local shelters they need people with skills to entertain kids to come. These children have nothing to do all day long. They need people to set up a kids program. Readers, clowns, jugglers, a transit zoo.

Medical staff is needed, clean up crews are needed, we need people to help us rebuild. Cars are needed, bicycles...not everything lost was insured.

In a month or so:

We will need furniture, carpeting, toys. If you can donate it, that would help a family or two more than you can imagine. People will need donations to help buy personal medications, pay bills, rebuild. The greatest number of people affected by the hurricane are those people who did not have insurance and fell into that grey area where they make to much to qualify for government assistance but can't afford this delay in getting back to life either.

I'm sure the government will help as much as they can but with 70% on food stamps it's going to be hard to break out of this poverty without a job to go back to for awhile.

If you can help physically, do so. We sure do need a lot right now. And if you can't help but want to do something, donate a buck to the red cross. And remember Mississippi because they aren't reaping the Red Cross benefits as much either.

Thanks so much!
 

MKCP 1985

Well-Known Member
Thanks for sharing your story. My life has been affected, too.

In the days initially after the storm, there was no Red Cross. People in my community went days without being able to bathe and without having any food or drink available. The meat in my 'fridge that I couldn't eat before it spoiled had to be thrown away. There was no ice. People who could get generators couldn't use them because there was a shortage of gasoline, so you could either use your generator or drive your car, but not both. During this time, it was infuriating to hear (on a battery operated radio) that good people wanted to come to where I was and help, but they were being told not to come, to send money to the Red Cross instead.

The Red Cross did show up, about 4 or 5 days later, and things got better. Shelters were opened and food, water and ice began being distributed. But thankfully, some people didn't get the news that they weren't needed. Volunteers started showing up with heavy equipment, and they started getting trees cleared out of the streets, and off of elderly people's houses. They started helping the elderly get soaking wet furniture and carpeting out of their houses, to minimize mold and mildew from spreading.

People stared sending food and people to my church and my church started feeding the community daily from 11-2, thousands of people every day. I've met and spend time visiting with volunteers from Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Indiana and Texas who came down to help in any way they could, free of charge. (The Red Cross can NEVER do by itself what all these people have done.)

For the past few days, I've been gutting the house I lived in for the past four years (but not the one I'm currently living in - we moved 3 months ago). Tearing out carpeting and drywall until there is nothing left but the studs. A buyer wants it as soon as it can be ready for sale - there is a housing shortage. I'm also building out new office space because the building in which my office is located will be closed for repairs for the next 6 months to a year. Everything was going okay with the buildout until we learned yesterday that we won't have telephone or internet services for a month, minimum. :brick:

There has been a return of water and power, but we still don't have residential telephone service or cable/internet in many places (like my house - I'm at my parents' home which is 5 hours north of my own).

Schools are trying to reopen. My children have been attending classes out of town, and I am taking them home to start a new school beginning Tuesday of next week. Their new school is graciously able to accept students whom had previously been enrolled at other schools severely damaged and not able to reopen any time soon. My children's friends have scattered all over the USA - boarding and enrolling in schools from Hawaii to Chicago, to Atlanta, to Florida.

Thank you and God bless you to those who have come to the Gulf Coast and have helped restore electric power, and who have sent food and water, and clothing and medical supplies. People have shown their good side.

I don't have daily internet, so I'm not on here too much these days, but if anyone wants to keep in touch, please send e-mail and I will keep in touch.
 

tigsmom

Well-Known Member
Doug, I can't begin to imagine what you have been going thru. I also thank God for all of the brave & wonderful people who have helped out in so many ways... kind of helps to restore my faith in humanity.

I'm glad you are able to have your family back together as I feel that there is nothing more important in this world. You have a hard road ahead of you, but it sounds as if you are up to the task.

I'm sending my email address to you - please let me know how you are doing when you get the chance... I'm a very good listener. :kiss:
 

darthdarrel

New Member
Doug, it does mt heart good knowing that you are slowly picking up the peices of your life after this tragic event, my prayers are with you and your family in this crisis. :wave:
 

Woody13

New Member
From the National Weather Service;

Katrina Will Likely Be Recorded As The Worst Natural Disaster In The
History Of The United States...producing Catastrophic Damage And
Untold Casualties In The New Orleans Area And Along The Mississippi
Gulf Coast...and Additional Casualties In South Florida. The Extent
Of The Physical And Human Devastation From This Hurricane Cannot
Yet Be Estimated.

This Horrific Storm Formed From A Tropical Wave...becoming A
Depression About 175 Miles Southeast Of Nassau In The Bahamas On 23
August. It Became A Tropical Storm The Following Day. Katrina
Moved Northwestward Through The Bahamas...and Then Turned Westward
Toward South Florida And Gradually Strengthened. Katrina Became A
Category 1 Hurricane And Made Landfall On The Miami-dade/broward
County Line During The Evening Of 25 August. Katrina Moved
Southwestward Across South Florida...dumping Over A Foot Of
Rain...toppling Trees And Power Lines And Damaging Homes And
Businesses In Miami-dade And Broward Counties. Katrina Also
Brought Heavy Rains And Sustained Tropical Storm Force Winds To
Portions Of The Florida Keys. After Crossing South Florida And
Entering The Gulf Of Mexico...katrina Began To Strengthen...
Reaching Category 5 Strength On 28 August About 250 Miles
South-southeast Of The Mouth Of The Mississippi River. Katrina's
Winds Reached Their Peak Intensity Of 175 Mph Winds And The
Pressure Fell To 902 Mb...the Fourth Lowest Pressure On Record...
Later That Day. Katrina Turned To The Northwest And Then
North...making Landfall In Plaquemines Parish Louisiana Just South
Of Buras With 140 Mph Winds...category 4...at 610 Am Cdt On 29
August. Continuing Northward...katrina Made A Second Landfall Near
The Louisiana/mississippi Border At 1000 Am Cdt...with Maximum
Winds Of Near 125 Mph...category 3. Katrina Weakened As It Moved
Inland To The North-northeast But Was Still A Hurricane 100 Miles
Inland Near Laurel Mississippi. Katrina Continued To Weaken And
Became A Tropical Depression Near Clarksville Tennessee On 30
August. At Month's End...the Remnants Of Katrina Were Racing
East-northeastward Near Binghamton New York.
 

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