How many of you remember what today is, Aug 29, 06?

Question

Today is the one year anniversary of hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. It claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Many people don't even care about it anymore, but for those of us who suffered & are still suffering it's fresh in our minds. We still have not finished rebuilding. There are still homes piled like match sticks because the people can not afford to rebuild. There are people still trying to get on their feet. There are companies who have reopened, but many will never rebuild. Many people are still hurting from the loss of loved ones. What's stands out in your mind about the tragedy? What do you think could help take away the emotional distress? What do the people in Florida do when the get hit time and time again by hurricanes?

Answer 1

What stands out most in my mind? Besides the devastation?
The wonderful volunteers who left their own homes and went to go help.

What could take away the emotional distress? Learning why these things happen and what will be done to change it.

And letting them know that people care about what happened to them. Many helped out in this time of crisis (and are still helping) and then there are those whose hearts went out to them but were unable to make the sacrifices that some were able to.

What do we do in Florida?
We rebuild not only our own homes but those of others. The ones who helped us fix our house were from Miami, which is a 3 hour trip from where we lived at the time. Some of us could not help in the physical labor, like me, so we found other ways to help.

Answer 2

I think what alot of people fail to take into account is that many of the residents, particularly in the Ninth Ward, either didn't have the resources (transporation, money for evacuation expenses, etc.) OR they had elderly relatives who refused to evacuate and didn't want to leave their relatives. Keep in mind, if the levees had held in New Orleans, there wouldn't have been nearly the loss of life there.

I've been reading the special reports about the effects of hurricane Katrina on the other states involved. Truly heartbreaking. In our local newspapers, there have been special articles about Katrina evacuees relocated to the area where I live. Some people don't realize how incredibly difficult surviving something on the scale of hurricane Katrina AND having to relocate is! Many have few resources to help them start over, they're away from what they had come to know as home AND they're trying to mentally recover from a horribly traumatic experience! That's a pretty full plate to deal with.

What stands out in my mind is watching the news and seeing bodies floating in the water. Also, the thousands of people without water, waiting in the hot sun, many with small children, seemingly just being left to fend for themselves. I have no experience in large scale evacuation, but any fool knows the buses in New Orleans should have been moved to above sea leave before the hurricane hit. Any fool knows that, if the city doesn't have a plan in place for large scale evacation, the combination of a poorly functioning levee system and many very low income residents is not going to have a good outcome.

I'm so sorry you've had to go through this. My heart goes out to you. Severe emotional distress is something that takes time, prayer and small successes to buoy the spirit.

I don't understand why someone would live in an area that has seasonal hurricanes. But, then again, considering earthquakes, people could ask me why I live in California.

I just hope everyone affected by this eventually gets back on their feet and is able to somehow go on with their lives.

Answer 3

I did not remember that today was the actual day.

What stands out in my mind that hardly any rebuilding has been done. They have been passing bill concerning abortion in LA but nothing for the people. I don't understand the priorities of the governor - to me they are so far out of wack that it's unreal.

I don't think anything can take away the emotional distress besides time.

We, in Florida, stay prepared from the 1st day of Hurricane season to the end. We have food supplies, gas and generator, water supplies, batteries - basically enough to last 1-2 weeks. Plus we have gotten boarding up the house down to a science where it only takes 2 hours to install and less to break back down. You also get more weather savvy with more years experience. It seems like a lot but folks all over the USA have weather plans. An example is the mid-west and being plagued with tornados every year. Funny, since we live far away from water's edge in the Panhandle - it's the tornados that spout from the hurricane that worry us not flooding or storm surge.

Answer 4

I'm a Floridian born and raised, (non-redneck) and we are used to being hit with hurricanes in alot of areas, but some would be as devastated as New Orleans or the other areas Katrina hit, if a big one came. Andrew was a bad storm for the Ft. Lauderdale area, and a few others. There is not alot you can do other than build a strong basement type structure to hide your stuff in and evacuate. Unfortunately, my husband insists on riding out storms at home everytime. I'm just glad we have never been hit directly at our house. If we were, we would be killed or homeless just like some of you guys over there. The racial issue was blown out of purportion, in my opinion. Bad people who are violent, reguardless of color are what prevented some help from coming through in some of those areas where those issues arose.

Answer 5

Although I do feel sympathy and i wish there was more i could do to help, i can't help but be disappointed in the 'victims'. They were told to evacuate and they chose not to. They chose to put themselves, their friends, and their family in danger. All those lives could have been spared. I also find it very disheartening that people are finding a way to blame President Bush for this NATURAL disaster. It isn't his fault that Hurricane Katrina struck, nor is it his fault that the insurance companies don't have any money for the people bc they were greedy and pocketed it. And the racist turn on the levees is just ridiculous! It was a natural disaster!! Not some murder weapon used by the white portion of the government.
Out of all this though, one thing is for certain. Next time they are told to get out, they will. I hope
My greatest sympathy to those who lost there homes and family. I only hope that you can get your lives back. Good Luck

Answer 6

That the tragic loss of lives was unnecessary. If the people would have evacuated when told to do so.
If Nagin has used the resources at his disposal.

Also I was listening to the BBC News this morning
and they are reporting a 50% rise in crime
on the corridor between New Orleans and Houston
where the New Orleans refugees went.

Answer 7

First of all, it didn't claim "hundreds of thousands of lives". Second, where was your state government, Lousiana, when this was happening? Whimpering in a corner, obviously. Third, the one thing that stands out in my mind is the amount of FRAUD, the looting, and the rise in crime in the area. This is a testimony to poor, uneducated, badly mannered people who don't take responsibility for their actions and feel entitled to take whatever they want. I would like to say that they are in the minority, but they are the ones on the news. (By the way, the ethnicity of those involved is irrelevant - there are whites, blacks, hispanics, and asians who are guilty of these things...)

Yes, the aftermath of Katrina was tragic, but prior preparation and good law enforcement could have prevented a lot of problems.

Answer 8

yes i do remember and i have been watching documentaries about it and did not realize how bad it still is,my thoughts and prayers are with you all

Answer 9

kinda hard to forget ITS MY BIRTHDAY............. AS HISTORY SAYS IT WILL REPEAT ITSELF AND PEOPLE LEARN TO LIVE WITH IT..... i thought i had the soulition as in Germany there are no powerlines above ground, but someone told me due to the water table being so low that it was not possible to put in underground lines...oh well live with it

Answer 10

It killed almost 3,000 people. It's in the 2,000s.