<p>They had to do searches because of what happened in the Superdome during Hurricane George in 2000. I believe there is a five day supply of food and water in the Superdome–though no airconditioning.</p>
<p>hi guys I’m a kid here and I have a friend who just started school down in N.O. at Xavier University. Now I admit that I have not read this entire thread but I would like to know if there has been any news on the students at that school? Is everyone ok or is that something to be determined? I tried to call her cell phone but I only got a recording saying that they were not accepting calls due to the storm. I am really worried about her and I’m sure her mom is too, she is the only child.</p>
<p>As bad as it is, I’m really glad it’s not worse. As far as I have heard, all the levees in New Orleans held! At least they have something on which to rebuild now. Does anybody know of other aid agencies assisting besides FEMA and the Red Cross?</p>
<p>On a tangent, I wonder if levees could be made expandable? For example, instead of being made totally of earth, could they be coated in some sort of super-absorbent material that would help keep water levels down, or have some sort of mechanism by which the water pressure on the levee powered something to come out of the top of the levee and heighten it? Does anybody have any experience with levees?</p>
<p>My mom lives on the gulf shore near Biloxi. She emailed that they were going to a hotel “5miles inland” to stay out the storm. Five miles doesn’t sound far enough inland. Still haven’t heard from her. Thanks for all of your prayers.</p>
<p>cgmom, if you go to the USA Today dot come website and look at the ‘maps, photos, and more’ section, you’ll see a photograph of National Guardsmen handing out food and water to those inside the Superdome. Although the location may not have been perfect, it certainly was a safe spot for those thousands of people who found shelter there. I think it can be said with a reasonable degree of certainty that many of those individuals would not have survived this, had they not made the wise decision to go to the Superdome.</p>
<p>willow, I’m not sure of the possibilities with the levees being ‘expandable’ but I did read that there had been two breaches of levees in NO as of last night.</p>
<p>cnn.com seems to have the most comprehensive online reporting and photos; also <a href=“Hurricane Center | NOLA.com”>Hurricane Center | NOLA.com;
<p>Unfortunately, I heard that the leeves broke.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/30/katrina/index.html[/url]”>http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/30/katrina/index.html</a></p>
<p>Thoughts and prayers for everyone in the area. It looked horrendous on TV. Hope all the Tulane kids are fine and safely home by now if they don’t live in NO.</p>
<p>I’d suggest donating to National Red Cross…that’s the least of what we can do.</p>
<p>Everything here is thinking and praying. That’s good. Anyone else give any money to the Red Cross or other relief agencies? I think that’s good for the soul and for the people who need help.</p>
<p>Besides the people in Tulane, let’s think of the people we know in AL and other affected areas. Cangel, I believe, lives in Mobile.</p>
<p>Amen, Marite. So much attention has been give to NO - and rightfully so - but, the people of coastal Mississippi and Alabama took the brunt of the storm.</p>
<p>I will say this in defense of the city of New Orleans. They had a very short time to evacuate 1 million plus people. New Orleans is not a wealthy city, and given the amount of resources and the short time involved, I’m amazed that they accomplished what they did. When all is said and done, I’m sure there will be finger-pointing and accusations flying, but right now, all I can think of is the plight of the people in my son’s adopted city. </p>
<p>My son worked with Habitat for Humanity in high school and has worked with Outreach Tulane to paint schools in New Orleans. I am encouraging him to get involved with the rebuilding of NO. I may be meeting Concerneddad when the work begins. I, too, hope that concerned cc’ers will donate to the Red Cross or their favorite charity so that the people of the Gulf Coast can get the help they so desperately need.</p>
<p>Someone asked about other relief organizations so I’m offering one of my favorites… UMCOR, an excellent emergency relief organization sponsored by the Methodist church. Almost 100% of your donation will go directly to the actual relief effort. Administration costs are covered by outside sources. </p>
<p>Their central warehouse is in Louisiana so I would think they’d be in good shape to supply needed items. I know one of the things they collect continually are “Flood Buckets” filled with cleaning supplies. </p>
<p>Here’s the website for them:</p>
<p><a href=“http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/[/url]”>http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/</a></p>
<p>I can’t even imagine the ordeal these folks have been through and it’s just the beginning for many.</p>
<p>Also, remember matching gifts programs. Many companies have very generous matching gifts program. $50 becomes $100, etc…upto $5000 for the year. They even make it hassle-free to apply.</p>
<p>I haven’t yet read the entire thread but wanted to let Momsdream know that we are back in Ca with our D. We got her stuff unloaded in her dorm and when we heard the news of the school closure went to the meeting. We went back to our hotel and started debating which way to go. We called the airlines and couldn’t get a flight. We then started calling hotels in Houston to find a room for Sunday. It was hard to find and finally got one downtown Houston for a high price. We left NO at 4:30 am thinking we would beat some traffic but tons of others had the same idea. gridlock. 14 hours later we made it to Houston. We were able to find out during our drive that the school would not open till at least the 7th so we changed our flights to fly out of Houston and got D a ticket as well. She will fly back when school reopens. I have to say we were lucky that we had a car rental. I also would say that the people at Southwest airlines were so helpful.
We are thankful to be home and safe but our thoughts are with those who did not get out.</p>
<p>Does anyone know what jmmom’s plans were? They seemed to be hanging around in Baton Rouge rather than trying to get back home. I know her S was smartly headed back to Maine, but I never heard what her plan was. She has been in my thoughts as are all who have been affected. I anxiously await word that everyone’s loved ones are safe and sound. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.</p>
<p>I can tell you that all the Tulane kids that were evacuated to Jackson are fine. I spoke with my son after the storm passed and he reported that although they lost power, everyone was safe.</p>
<p>concerneddad
Has your son been able to hear anything about the extent of damage to the campus area. The Tulane emergency website implied there was staff there “assessing the situation”. Also, with the new breeches in the levees that happened this am, I wondered if that may have caused new flooding?</p>
<p>My son is interested in doing volunteer work to help Tulane/NOLA. You mentioned in another post about perhaps assisting the team your son’s involved with. Any news on that?</p>
<p>My husband was deployed to Jackson as well on Sunday night…he’s attached to the CDC and will be going in for emergency relief today I believe…</p>
<p>Thanks for any info you may have. It really helps to get any updates.</p>
<p>UW developed the weather imaging you saw of Katrina</p>
<p><a href=“captimes.com | The Capital Times: Madison WI News”>captimes.com | The Capital Times: Madison WI News;
<p>I think I recall that the very first grassroots response to 9/11 came out of New Orleans. NO, Missisippi, Alabama deserve an equal response but lets hope we are intelligent and send what is needed - ie funds. I am sure someone attached this FEMA link of disaster relief organizations already, but here it is again. As Achat said, look for matching gift programs also. Even if your employer does not have one, look for programs such as the Lowes gift matching program.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18473[/url]”>http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18473</a></p>
<p>My son and the other TEMS members will be going to Baton rouge today (at least that was the news last night) to get FEMA training in triage. FEMA will then deploy them. When and where they will be deployed has not yet been determined. Once I know what they will be doing, then I will be able to determine how and where I can help.</p>
<p>I will keep the board updated as I get new info.</p>
<p>CD</p>