I was watching the news last night and again this morning, and I just cannot believe how widespread the damage is from Katrina. I've got a cousin who lives in Baton Rouge, but I think that city was spared the absolute worst of it. Apparently, officials claim that anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of New Orleans is under water and that it could take up to 6 months before people are allowed to return to their houses, if there's anything even left.
6 months, people. That's just mind-boggling.
From the photos they're showing, Biloxi, Gulfport and Mobile got whacked just as hard, if not harder, than New Orleans. One reporter was talking to a guy in Mississippi who couldn't find his wife, and they both started crying, then I started crying. I feel like such a schmuck, and really wish I could do something useful to help.
I know after a really severe tornado outbreak hit where I have alot of family, the National Guard wouldn't even let you in unless you were related to someone in the town or with the Red Cross. I had to give them my name and my relatives' names and addresses. I suppose they do that to control looting and rubbernecker types. I know the cleanup after the tornado seemed to take forever, and we didn't have to deal with flooding as an issue - just the debris from the demolition of 2/3 of the buildings in town, toppled trees, a water tower that lay crumpled like a tin can and no power. I think most everyone there was just awestruck that more people weren't hurt - considering the tornado was so powerful that it scoured the concrete off the highway on I-35 near Moore.
Anyhow, where my family lives is a really small town, so I'm imagining Katrina is all that multiplied by about 10,000.
