GoodnewsUSA.Info: Louisiana

GoodnewsUSA.Info USA: Louisiana

(old site)

When I hear of Louisiana, I think of jumbalaya (shrimp&sausage recipie)! I first tasted this when I went to UMM in 1995-my freshmen year! There were fellow students from Louisiana that shared their "cajun" cooking! I'm now writing this in the wake of... Hurricane Katrina..this has been the topic all over the country this past week (Aug 29th to today, September 3rd of Saturday). I tried to call a friend of mine to see if he has heard from folks (Alex Williams 00', Chris Sherrod 99', etc..) that went to UMM with us "back in the days" from Louisiana. I was an RA to 1 resident-Judy Brown 02' (1-Carol (McFarland) Sherrod other resident that moved to Louisiana to marry a UMM student living there) back in 1997-1998 at one of the residential halls (Clayton A. Gay Hall). Another UMM connection is Tyra Pruitt (picture with Japanese UMM Int'l students), who lived on 1837 Lamanche Street (south eastern corner of the city close to the infamous "media mentioned" St. Bernard Parish) . There is no way reaching them (e-mail or mail), so I tried to call this friend that has kept in touch with them since the UMM days.

CNN: Safe List A-Z Names of Victims/Survivors
Earthlink, Hurricane Katrina Listings

Today (Friday, September 9th), I just got an e-mail update of a former UMM student from the gulf coast region. She was a student I knew from the Gateway program....

Date: Thu, 08 Sep 2005 09:21:07 -0500
To: "Alpha Omega"
From: "Mike M
Subject: Re: Sal-UMM Alumns from LA?

Hi,

We heard that they are okay. One of our students, Keisha Fletcher, was okay, but she and her whole family of 32 had to relocate to a military base in Alabama.

You're welcome for the key chain.
Mike

2008 Hurricane Season

Hurricane Ike Task Force Eagle Fly Over of SW Louisiana

"Louisiana National Guard Task Force Eagle flying over flooded areas of Houma and SW Louisiana "

  • Louisiana coastal areas flood from Hurricane Ike by The Associated Press Saturday September 13, 2008, 12:50 PM (oregonlive.com)

    • "LAKE CHARLES, La. -- Southwest Louisiana was spared a direct hit from Hurricane Ike, but coastal areas were inundated with a storm surge that crawled some 30 miles inland, flooding thousands of homes and making many roads impassable. Rescue crews launched about 30 boats Saturday to look for stranded residents, a day after some 160 people were plucked from the floodwaters near Lake Charles. A nursing home also had to be evacuated and a deputy was injured when his vehicle hit a temporary levee.
    Ike's storm surge breached levees and soaked areas still recovering from Labor Day's Hurricane Gustav. Officials said the flooding was worse than 2005's Hurricane Rita, which hit the Louisiana-Texas border.
    "We've got a major flood event," Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach said.
    Ike came ashore in Galveston, Texas, on Saturday morning, with 110 mph winds. But its impact was felt 120 miles away in Lake Charles. Water reached as far as the civic center downtown, some 30 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico.
    To the south, about 1,800 homes and business flooded on Friday in coastal Cameron Parish and Gov. Bobby Jindal said then he expected water to eventually inundate all 2,900 homes in the area. A nursing home in St. Mary Parish was evacuated overnight, according to Jindal's office, but the number of residents moved was not immediately clear.
    A spokesman for the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries couldn't say exactly how many people had been rescued Saturday.
    "They tell us 'There are a dozen people here, four here, six there.' But when we get there the numbers don't normally match up," he said. "The only reliable figures are at the end of the day, as they're counted as they get off the boat."
    In Plaquemines Parish, near New Orleans, storm surge was reportedly creeping toward the huge Conoco Phillips oil refinery in Jesuit Bend. Other local levees were overtopped, though teams of deputies, National Guard troops and civilians blocked the floodwater with sandbags.
    In Terrebonne Parish, crews were working to plug at least four breaches, but the federal levee system built after Katrina was holding. Floodgates were closed in canals that protect New Orleans and pumps were operating.
    Plaquemines sheriff's deputies in airboats and flatboats helped round up hundreds of horses and cattle. Parish President Billy Nungesser said he woke about 4:30 a.m. to hear calves bawling because they'd floated away from their mothers. He said he helped rescue about 25 calves and dozens of other livestock."

    Hurricaine Gustav

    (PRAYER ALERT!!)

    Gustav Becomes A Hurricane, Threatning New Orleans

  • Gustav hits towns outside New Orleans hardest Levee breach feared in Plaquemines; winds drop below hurricane threshold, MSNBC staff and news service reports updated 1 hour ago (Monday, September 1st of 2008)

    • "NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans' levees were holding their own Monday, but other communities across southern Louisiana saw Gustav slam into their backyards — tossing trees onto homes and pushing floodwalls to their limits — as it pushed inland, weakening to a tropical storm but still dangerous. The nearly 2 million people who left coastal Louisiana on a mandatory evacuation order watched TV coverage from shelters and hotel rooms hundreds of miles away. While New Orleans wasn't submerged, there were scores of homes that suffered damage. More than 1 million customers were without power. Gustav came ashore Monday morning as a Category 2 hurricane. At 10 p.m. CT, the National Hurricane Center reported that maximum sustained winds were 60 mph, well below the hurricane standard of 74 mph. The center was located about 20 miles southwest of Alexandria, La. ...
    ..NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans' levees were holding their own Monday, but other communities across southern Louisiana saw Gustav slam into their backyards — tossing trees onto homes and pushing floodwalls to their limits — as it pushed inland, weakening to a tropical storm but still dangerous. The nearly 2 million people who left coastal Louisiana on a mandatory evacuation order watched TV coverage from shelters and hotel rooms hundreds of miles away. While New Orleans wasn't submerged, there were scores of homes that suffered damage. More than 1 million customers were without power. Gustav came ashore Monday morning as a Category 2 hurricane. At 10 p.m. CT, the National Hurricane Center reported that maximum sustained winds were 60 mph, well below the hurricane standard of 74 mph. The center was located about 20 miles southwest of Alexandria, La....
    In Terrebonne Parish, in the southeast part of the state, several homes had torn roofs, but winds were still too fierce for officials to fan out and assess how bad the damage was.
    Keith Cologne of Chauvin, a town in Terrebonne, looked dejected after talking by telephone to a friend who didn't evacuate. "They said it's bad, real bad. There are roofs lying all over. It's all gone," said Cologne, staying at a hotel in Orange Beach, Ala.
    The storm was expected to move into Texas overnight and drop as much as 20 inches of rain there by Thursday. Seven U.S. deaths were tied to Gustav: four evacuees were killed in Georgia when their car struck a tree; two people were crushed by a tree in Baton Rouge; and a woman leaving New Orleans died in a car accident.
    While Louisiana residents dealt with Gustav, communities from Miami to the Outer Banks of North Carolina were surprised Monday by the news that Tropical Storm Hanna had become a hurricane and could make landfall somewhere along that stretch of coast in a few days.
    And a new tropical storm, Ike, formed east of Hanna in the Atlantic on Monday. Forecasters said it could become a hurricane in a few days and was moving to the west-northwest but that it was too early to project landfall anywhere. ...
    -Humanitarian Aid
  • Ministry launches lightning-fast emergency response in the Gulf Posted: 3 September, 2008 (from Mission Network News)

    • "USA (MNN) ― Aid teams are already on their way to the Gulf to help with the cleanup after Hurricane Gustav slammed into Hurricane Katrina's footprint.
    Bill Adams, Director of Disaster Response Services for the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, says they were ready for a quick response.
    Their teams were already in the vulnerable areas building homes for Hurricane Katrina's survivors. The agency has an active list of over 2,000 volunteers, some of whom are already scheduled to arrive on the Gulf Coast over the next few weeks to continue ongoing reconstruction projects after Hurricane Katrina.
    They pulled most of their teams back once word of the storm arrived. However, CRWRC-DRS construction coordinator Arnie Gustafsen is traveling from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to southeast Louisiana assessing damage and determining emergency response needs. Gustafsen will travel to the Houma and Lake Charles, Louisiana areas as safety and weather allow.
    Once they are able to gauge an appropriate response, "We hope to get back building homes. The other area where the eye of the storm actually came in is in Houma, Louisiana. There we're going to send a team that will be heading down to Houma. The roads are still closed."
    CRWRC has more than 30 local emergency response partners in the Gulf States who will experience the impact of Gustav.
    "Our volunteers and local partners have rebuilt about 5,000 homes in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi in the last three years," Adams notes. "Those families and homes are again in jeopardy, in addition to those who are still living with damage from Hurricane Katrina on a daily basis."
    Adams says many families are reliving their nightmares of three years ago. "We tell our people 'Go in, start to help, and then when people ask you, you take the opportunity.' More often than not, we have an opportunity to share our faith and to pray with people who are really hurting."
    Click here if you want to help with funding for the recovery effort. .."
    Relief Agency ’Prepared to empty warehouses’ in Response to Gustav By Michael Ireland Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service Wednesday, September 3, 2008
    "SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI (ANS) -- Convoy of Hope (COH) has setup and is distributing aid to victims of Hurricane Gustav from a Point of Distribution (POD) in New Iberia, Louisiana, and volunteer teams, eager to serve, are coming from across the country to assist in this disaster response.
    COH President, Hal Donaldson, says: "Like most Americans, I am sure you have been watching the news to see how hard the Gulf Coast would be hit by hurricane Gustav. While the damage is not nearly as severe as it could have been, let me share with you some of the staggering statistics."
    Donaldson said nearly two million Gulf Coast residents have been evacuated from their homes.
    "Three more storms are coming on the heels of Gustav -- Hurricane Hannah is expected to strike as soon as Friday, followed by potential hurricanes Ike and Josephine. Significant flooding is expected throughout the region as all eyes remain on the levees.
    "Gustav also caused flooding in some Florida locations, including Orlando and Sanford. In Louisiana, all parishes remain closed with roads blocked as 1.4 million people remain without power (estimated to be down another two to three weeks), and boil water orders are in effect in two parishes," Donaldson said.
    This is shaping up to be an active hurricane season, he said.
    Donaldson added: "Though this could have been much worse, there are still thousands of people who need our help! We're prepared to empty our warehouse if necessary to help people in their time of need. We are counting on the generosity of donors, churches, and corporate partners to come alongside us at this crucial time."
    Donaldson said that as COH trucks pulled into town, fourteen cars followed their Mobile Command Center through the flooded parking lot entrance to receive much-needed help.
    "From here we will serve the hard-hit areas of Houma, New Iberia, Lafayette, Louisina, and others. We are receiving many requests for assistance and relief products from hospitals and other entities. We will continually monitor affected areas and assess the potential to set up additional PODs. "
    Convoy of Hope mobilizes, resources, and trains churches and other groups to conduct community outreaches, respond to disasters, and direct other compassion initiatives in the United States and around the world.
    Convoy of Hope, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, serves in the United States and around the world providing disaster relief, building supply lines and sponsoring outreaches to the poor and hurting in communities. During a COH outreach, free groceries are distributed, job and health fairs are organized and activities for children are provided.
    Convoy of Hope receives excellent ratings from two nationally recognized charity watchdog groups. Charity Navigator gave COH their coveted 4-star rating for sound fiscal management and the Independent Charities of America and Local Independent Charities of America awarded it the Independent Charities Seal of Excellence, for meeting the highest standards of public accountability, program effectiveness, and cost effectiveness. Fewer than 5 percent of charities in America meet or exceed these standards. Historically, less than 10 percent of donations are used for Convoy of Hope operations.
    Donaldson explained that Corporate and private partnerships allow Convoy of Hope to multiply every donated dollar to about $7 of actual relief product; $6,000 can fill a tractor-trailer with relief product, serving upwards of 7,000 people.
    He added: "Your $100 gift can provide $700 of water, ice, food, and supplies. A $200 gift can help bring relief to over 1500 people. You can touch hundreds, if not thousands of lives with your gift today! Large or small, your gift will have an immediate impact!
    "Thank you for your compassion toward the victims of hurricane Gustav and the series of storms that are following. We will continue to keep you abreast of our activities in the wake of these storms. Your secure online gift will have a direct impact on the lives of hurting people."
    You may donate through this link: www.convoyofhope.org/go/donate "
    Louisianans can return to powerless homes, from CNN (Tuesday, September 2nd of 2008
    " BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (CNN) -- New Orleans residents can begin returning to their homes on Thursday, Mayor Ray Nagin said Tuesday night, but he urged them to be aware of the hardships they will face. Utility poles are leaning or on the ground Tuesday in Franklin, Louisiana, after Hurricane Gustav. Utility poles are leaning or on the ground Tuesday in Franklin, Louisiana, after Hurricane Gustav. Click to view previous image 1 of 3 Click to view next image more photos » "The picture's not as good as we thought it would be," Nagin said almost 36 hours after Hurricane Gustav roared into the state with 110 mph winds.
    The loss of electrical power was New Orleans and Louisiana's biggest problem. More than half the state's residents -- 1.4 million households -- were lacking electricity Tuesday, Gov. Bobby Jindal said. Some may not get it back for weeks.
    LaFourche parish residents, some of the 2 million who evacuated statewide, were allowed to return home on Tuesday, but their homes may be without power for three to four weeks, according to the Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans.
    Officials in New Orleans said 13 of the 14 transmission lines that supply the area were not working Tuesday.
    President Bush will travel to Louisiana on Wednesday to survey areas damaged by Hurricane Gustav, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said Tuesday.
    Bush will talk to local leaders about recovery operations, Stanzel said.
    The president declared 34 of Louisiana's 64 parishes a federal disaster area late Tuesday, making residents there eligible for federal aid.
    Louisiana was still feeling the effects of Gustav, now a tropical depression, on Tuesday.
    The electricity outage is "obviously a huge challenge as we're trying to get critical services back up," Jindal said.
    Hospitals were among services suffering from downed electrical lines.
    "It's definitely challenging down here," said Terri McNorton of Baton Rouge General Medical Center. Among the center's 295 patients at its suburban and downtown campuses, only those in intensive care got air-conditioned rooms. Staff and visitors were encouraged to use the stairs rather elevators to save power, she said.
    Outside New Orleans, some residents were being allowed to return to their homes as early as Tuesday afternoon.
    In Mississippi, 92,000 households remained without power, and 108 shelters were housing more than 14,000 evacuees Tuesday in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav, the state Emergency Management Agency said. Video Watch damage and flooding in Mississippi »
    The agency said wind gusts in some areas were delaying the process of repairing outages.
    It also said portions of roads in coastal counties remained closed.
    Jindal noted that the levees and flood walls in southeast Louisiana held up to the storm's wind and rains, to the relief of citizens and officials alike, but that water did overtop New Orleans' Industrial Canal.
    "As many of you have seen, we do not have reports of widespread flooding in southeast Louisiana," he said. "We do not have the breaches." Video Watch a tour of an area that had close call with Gustav »
    Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Tuesday said evacuations and preparation prevented a repeat of Katrina, which flooded New Orleans and killed more than 1,800 people in 2005.
    "The only reason we don't have more tales of people in grave danger and more loss of life is because everybody heeded the governor's instructions, the mayor's instructions, the parish president's instructions to get out of town," Chertoff said at a news conference with Jindal.
    Seven deaths along the U.S. Gulf Coast were linked to Gustav, including four hospice patients who died during evacuations before the storm made landfall Monday.
    The U.S. Coast Guard has not made any rescues or acted on any calls for distress in the Gulf Coast region due to Gustav, a spokesman said Tuesday.
    "Not a single rescue, and we have not had to respond to any spills or leaks" along the petrochemical complexes around New Orleans, Petty Officer Larry Chambers said. Local Coverage
    As damage assessment teams began aerial flyovers of Gulf Coast refineries and offshore platforms Tuesday, early reports showed that the industry weathered the storm well.
    The hurricane's path steered the storm right through the heart of the region's biggest concentration of oil and gasoline producers. The Gulf is home to 25 percent of U.S. oil production.
    "We're still in assessment mode, but so far, things are looking good," said Cathy Landry, a spokeswoman for the American Petroleum Institute. "Also, early reports are saying flooding at refineries hasn't happened, which was one of the big problems during Katrina and Rita."
    Gustav was reduced to tropical depression status early Tuesday, with top winds of 35 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. iReport.com: Did you stay? Share your story advertisement
    Gustav knocked over trees and power poles across the region. High water closed most of U.S. 90 in Mississippi and Louisiana, and winds sent whitecaps cascading over the levees in New Orleans. Video Watch how Gustav hit one community hard »
    Gustav came ashore near Cocodrie, Louisiana -- about 80 miles southwest of New Orleans -- at midmorning Monday and then moved along the coast to the northwest, avoiding a direct hit on the Crescent City. Houma, Morgan City and other coastal cities took the brunt of the storm."

    Other Post-Katrina Stories

    From: Greg B.
    Subject: FW: Billy Graham in New Orleans
    Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 09:38:43 -0500
    Dear friends,
    "In what might prove to be the crowning achievement of an illustrious career in ministry, the 87-year-old evangelist, Billy Graham shocked the16,300 in attendance at the Celebration of Hope crusade in New Orleans Arena on Sunday Night. Touted in advance as possibly his last evangelistic crusade, Graham invited the packed house of evangelical Christians and the hundreds of new converts to join him on the one mile walk from the arena to New Orleans' infamous Bourbon Street. "While we have seen God do tremendous things here the past couple of evenings. Yes, it is true that a great healing and a great many salvations have occurred within the confines of this auditorium. Still yet, there lies a great mountain in this city which needs to be conquered.� Then taking from the Biblical Book of Joshua Chapter14 he read, "I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this Day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day," his voice suddenly sounding more forceful than during his 22 minute sermon >"I last preached in the City of New Orleans in 1954 and I felt then that there was some unfinished business. Tonight, in what very well might be my last evangelistic service, I aim to finish that business and lead as many of you that would follow me to the multitude of lost souls that fill Bourbon Street tonight. That is my mountain! That is where we shall see the harvest!" said Graham as the stadium erupted in cheers that lasted the next several minutes. Utilizing a waiting mobility scooter, the elder Graham joined his son and heir to the ministry, Franklin across the Arena floor and through the opened doors leading towards the French Quarter. In a show of solidarity and determination reminiscent of civil rights marches of the 1960's, nearly the entire capacity crowd joined in the 20 minute trek while singing, "When the Saints Go Marching In". As the march crossed Canal Street and >headed northward towards Bourbon Street, many onlookers stood instunned silence as the massive crowd of people began singing in unison the Christian hymn, Amazing Grace. Upon entering the west end of Bourbon Street, BillyGraham was soon recognized by partiers. Soon those joining in the march began to approach those partying on Bourbon Street with the Gospel message that they had heard preached just a half hour before. Graham himself joined with a group of local street evangelist in ministering to a man who had survived Hurricane Katrina in the lower 9th Ward. Within 30 minutes the entirety of Bourbon Street was packed with Christians and the once blaring music of nightclubs and strip joints had been replaced by weeping and worship as people poured out their drinks and sought prayer from the Christians who were now reaching out to them."I have never seen anything like this in my life," >said a 20 years New Orleans Police Department veteran, Tom Phillips. "This is unbelievable! We thought a riot was going to break out, but this looks more like a revival than a riot!" >Two hours later, a glowing Graham sat back down on his scooter and smiled. "Now I know how the Apostle Paul must have felt at the end of his ministry. Do the work of an evangelist; make full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." Hours later hundreds of Christians remained on the street ministering to the many people eagerly waiting to receive prayer and ministry. New Orleans will never be the same. >And the press remained mute on this "news item.� Did anyone see it on TV, hear it on radio, read it in the paper? Why are we not surprised? Can't have THAT just prior to a major election, now, can we? Well, just on a whim, spread the news, anyway. It cost our elder brother, Billy Graham, more than any of us know to make that effort. The least we can do is publicize it.JESUS IS LORD!

    1-2 Punch! Hurricaine Rita on Saturday, September 24th

    I'm currently watching pictures of the devestation from this second hurricaine that veered more east of New Orleans (eye went along the border of Eastern Texas & Western Louisiana.

    Some Cities Hit:

  • Lake Charles

    • Why did God "might've" let this happen?

    Probably/likely the same answer as the Asian Tsunami or 9-11 ! We need to learn from these past natural disasters/human catastrophes and stop pointing our fingers at others, and start pointing to ourselves! God is in control of the weather and if you read stories of God's judgment/wrath in the Old Testament, there is a commonality-His people turned away from Him! How has the south and our nation turned away from God...

    Louisiana:
    -Mardi Gras (sex, drugs, pornography-present day "Sodom & Gomorrah"?)
    -past slavery
    -past and current racism (blacks, indians, etc..)
    -U.S. political involvement (e.g. Middle East-ironically this happened after watching images of Israelities ("God's chosen people from the Old Testament) being removed from their homes in the 9-11 statement by Anne Graham Lotz)

    I'm not an expert on this, but this is just some answers I've heard that has been talked around since this state and natural disaster!

    What to do now?

    As a Christian, we need to ask God for forgiveness as individuals and a nation! We can't go back to the same old life because that past caused this situation.

    PRAY

    From : Tom W
    Sent : Friday, September 2, 2005 5:14 PM
    To : saldapal@hotmail.com
    Subject : FW: Prayer

    Hi Everyone,
    As you know, the US has experienced horrific devastation and loss of life as a result of Hurricane Katrina that roared through the Gulf region earlier this week. I received a list of prayer directives from the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and thought I�d pass them on to you. Let�s be praying for the Lord�s intervention at this time and that people would ultimately turn their hearts to Him as a result of this tragedy!

    Lord bless you all!!
    Tom Waters

    Prayer Directives:
    * Courage and comfort to people still trapped by the flood waters
    * Healing and health to the injured
    * Comfort for those who have lost loved ones and those who have not yet heard from their loved ones in the affected regions
    * Rapid deployment of relief supplies �Efood, water, medical supplies and clothes
    * Strength, courage and wisdom to the medical personnel helping the injured; to persons searching for survivors; to relief workers taking in food, water and medical supplies; and to those who are counselling the bereaved and grief-stricken
    * Courage for police and the National Guard who are seeking to restore order and provide security
    * Guidance for pastors, church leaders and lay people as they seek to provide spiritual counsel and help
    * Strength, courage and wisdom to those directing the emergency response
    * An end to the violence and a spirit of lawfulness on the part of all
    * An outpouring of generosity from the Christian community towards those affected by this tragedy
    * That people will seek the Lord at this time of tragedy

    Elijah List:
    "But that is the beginning and not the end of the matter. The end is to pray and give and help and share the gospel, and sacrifice and repent and fight and pray in the Spirit more yet.
    I and the Elijah List staff want to encourage you to seek God that the Spirit of Repentance would be granted and released to all of us, Christian and pre-Christian alike."    -Elijah List
    WORD OF THE LORD THAT CAME FORTH ON AUGUST 12, 2005
    To the United States of America ... "Know that today this nation is being realigned. Get ready, for refuge cities will begin to arise throughout this land. They will begin to rise up from state to state to state all along the East coast, all along the Gulf, and all along the West coast. . . .more

    Stories from T.V.

  • Montel Williams Show

    • "Senator Sharon Weston Broome of Baton Rouge then joins Montel as he visits various shelters to talk with individuals and families who survived Hurricane Katrina, each with an incredible story to tell. Finally, Montel speaks with a very candid Mayor of Baton Rouge, Mayor Kip Holden, about the catastrophe." I was watching this on Monday, September 6th and was encouraged to hear the interviews Montel had with victims of the hurricaine. One lady said, "all these stories give glory to God!". Another cool interview was with Pastor Larry of Bethany World Prayer Center. Two days later, I was watching TBN (Breakthrough-Pastor Rod Parsley)and this same pastor was being interviewd. Pastor Larry shared about 750 of 800 victims that came to their church for shelter gave their lives to the Lord after a salvation invitation message!
    "Bethany immediately opened its north campus as the City of Hope, an evacuee shelter which began housing, feeding and caring for the spiritual needs of 850 displaced individuals. Approximately 450 remain in the shelter one week later.
    President George W. Bush and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco accompanied Pastor Stockstill on a visit to the evacuees in the City of Hope on August 5th. �Baton Rouge is standing as a beacon of light around the world as we open our hearts, homes and pocketbooks to our fellow Louisianans,� said Pastor Stockstill. �We want to thank our President, our Governor, and all of our friends in the Body of Christ around the country and the world for the assistance that has been pouring forth; it is most gratifying, but it must continue.�
    In a little over one week, Bethany�s 10,000-member congregation has prepared and served 36,000 meals, made up 12,000 beds and laundered 24,000 towels and washcloths and 36,000 articles of clothing. And this is only the beginning. Projections are that as more and more people who were staying at hotels and with family members begin to run out of money, the shelters will continue to grow.
    In addition to the donations from the community and churches across America, Bethany is spending approximately $10,000 per day to meet the needs of the displaced families and relief workers.
    At Bethany�s Center of Hope on its southern campus, Camp Champions was opened to provide the same needs for the many of the hundreds of hurricane relief workers making the daily trek to New Orleans to continue evacuations and to locate the dead. Bethany is serving approximately 200 workers a day at Camp Champions.
    When we look in the eyes of these battle-weary workers who are at ground zero in New Orleans--seeing the despair, the pain, the death, the destruction�a hot meal, a shower and a clean bed, along with prayer and counseling, go a long way toward their own recovery,� said Pastor Stockstill. �People are separated from their families, their homes, their jobs, their schools, their playgrounds,� said Pastor Larry. �This is what we�re dealing with at Camp Champions.�
    In the past week, President George Bush, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, entertainer John Travolta, and Pastors T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn and Rod Parsley, along with all the major news networks, have visited Bethany�s operations.
    Bethany is also working with the statewide Pastors Resource Council, organized by the Louisiana Family Forum. This council is responsible for collecting and distributing food and supplies for church shelters across the state.
    �One of the most exciting outcomes of this tragedy is the unity in the Body of Christ,� said Pastor Stockstill. �Together we can confront and overcome the enemy; we will continue to serve these individuals until every single person is enjoying the quality of life that God has planned for them.�
    The City of Hope is located at 13855 Plank Road in Baker, Louisiana, a bedroom community of Baton Rouge, and can be reached at 225-774-1700. Camp Champions is located at 10877 Reiger Road, at the Three Crosses, in Baton Rouge and can be reached at 225-293-1355.
    Donations can be made at lifelinefoundation.com or bethany.com Hurricane Katrina Relief.     -Katrina Relief Report

    from the disaster zone When the Saints Go Marching In

    "We finally arrived at our destination, Victory Church, located on the far end of town in a suburb of the city called Metairie.
    On one side of the church is a local Anheuser-Busch factory, and on the other is the official practice facility of the New Orleans Saints � which was also serving as a staging area for FEMA and other military relief operations. But on the grounds of this church campus, dozens of the Saints of God were busy practicing the love and compassion of Christ with the help of Operation Blessing and several church networks from across America.
    We pulled into the church parking lot behind a long row of cars waiting to get supplies for their families. A sign in the front of the church said �free food � 9 to 4�. We learned later that local radio stations were also encouraging people to come to this shelter that had partnered with OB to distribute food, cleaning supplies, water, and other necessities.

    Pastor Frank Bailey met us and welcomed us into the church � an impressive facility that had been transformed into an impressive human machine of compassion and kindness.
    Friday, September 16th-I was watching CBN's 700 Club this morning and was encouraged by the above story. They interviewed the Chief of Police (city?) and he mentioned that this disaster was a "cleansing" of the city of it's 200 annual murders. They believe they are probably the safest city in America right now! He was optimistic about the city will be rebuilt, but pessimistic that the city might turn to its' old ways of sinful nature (e.g. crime). As long as the city learn from this disaster and change for the better for God !

    Pastors Resource Council
    Dream Center, homeless shelter for victims

    How can I be used?

    Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2005 11:06:13 -0700 (PDT)
    From: "GoodNews Morris"
    Subject: Sal-New added topic for COPC mtg...

    "Hi_________,

    I hope Labor Day Weekend was restful. I was wondering if you've been getting e-mails from others about new topics to add for the Sept 14th meeting. As many have had their eyes of the Hurricane Katrina devastation, I was wondering if I could throw some "action relief" topics as a community:

    HRA-Housing: How many vacant housing units we have in our city that we can use to house victims from the recent hurricane or future city, state, nation emergencies?

    Morris Elem School Bldg: Can this be a possible use (e.g. shelter, Salvation Army expansion, etc..)?

    "New" Morris Elementary School: Are we looking for new students? How about students from the gulf coast (watching KSAK during the 11a-12noon hour about Minnesota hosting 3,000 victims from the gulf coast and being located in Camp Ripley, which is not too far) ?

    Sal:)
    P.S. Morris Community Church is willing to house a family/victims at our old church building (211 E. 6th St.). Contact Pat Franey, pastor. I'm sure there are other church organizations, families, or others in the community that probably have the same willingness. I feel using or UMM Alumn/Morris Community (e.g. daughter of LA Mayor) connections (listed in website below) is a good way to start?

    http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/goodnewsumm/usa.louisiana.html

    From: "Morris Community Church"
    To: Undisclosed@, Recipients@
    Subject: Announcements 9-9-05
    Date: Fri, 09 Sep 2005 07:31:39 -0700

    4. Adopt A Hurricane Victim
    AFA is seeking to find churches that would be willing to adopt a hurricane victim family for the next three to six months. If your church would be willing to adopt a family, please fill out the form and email it back to us. We in turn will contact a family needing shelter and have them get in contact with you directly. You can interview them to see if their needs and your facilities are compatible and to secure references such as their previous local church and pastor. We suggest that you screen the family carefully. While 99% of these people will be very appreciative, there is always that 1% who can create problems.

    It is not necessary that these families be put into individual homes (although the local church may do that if desired). Churches with family life centers which have shower and food preparation facilities can be used in this effort.

    These people need a place to stay for the next three to six months until they can get back on their feet. AFA's role is simply to put the local church and needy family into contact with each other. After that is accomplished, AFA steps out of the picture .

    Hurricane Katrina Related Links:

    LOCAL

    2006 UMM Spring Break Relief-Efforts Trip to Post-Katrina Louisiana Area
    -There will be a packed 16 passenger UMM Van hauling some "relief volunteer college students" as part of their Spring Break trip. This trip (preperation mtg.) is spearheaded by Lutheran Campus Ministry. They left on Friday, March 3rd and will be returning the week after.

    Cookout to aid Katrina victims
    09/10/2005

    Morris area residents and businesses are planning a community-wide fund-raising festival to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina. The event, which features a community cookout, raffles, auctions and music, is Oct. 10 at the new Morris Area Elementary School, said Carol McCannon, one of the event organizers. The event grew from the tragic aftermath of Katrina, which all but wiped out several gulf coast cities, including New Orleans. Rod Searle, general manager of the Prairie Inn, put the idea for the festival to McCannon, and a group of interested participants grew quickly, McCannon said. �(As of Thursday), there are 17 people saying, �Yeah, we all want to do a piece of this,� � McCannon said. The tentative theme revolves around �the food court comes to Morris,� McCannon said. Restaurants would donate and serve food free of charge, and activities would include music, dancing, art displays, raffles and silent auctions, she said. Cash donations are the goal, but the group also will be arranging to store any food or material donations that come in, she said. �We want to provide people a cool place to come and eat free,� McCannon said. �All they have to do is open their pocket books.�

    Those wishing to get involved in the event can call McCannon at (320) 589-6083, Searle at (320) 589-3030, Morris Mayor Carol Wilcox at (320) 589-3945, or Margaret Payne at (320) 589-2808.
    *The Key contact is Dave Swenson of Student Activities at 589.6418 or dswenson@mrs.umn.edu
    Rose Sale Fundraiser for $20, which proceeds from sale will go the the Katrina Relief courtesy of Praire Community Services Fund

  • Riding out Katrina 1,500 miles away 09/03/2005

    • "Pilar Eble, a Lafayette, La., native, is the daughter of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who faces the daunting task of trying to manage the hundreds of thousands of New Orleans-area refugees and the cleanup and rebuilding of the city.
    �We�re both kind of shellshocked,� Pilar Eble said of her and Michael. �You want to help, but you know you can�t help.�
    Pilar Eble tried to find words to describe the situation, finally realizing that the Indonesian disaster late last year served as the only apt comparison.
    �It�s our tsunami,� she said. Flooding not common
    The Eble�s moved to Morris in 2003 when Michael took an assistant professorship in studio arts at the University of Minnesota, Morris. Since then, he�s added the position of Humanities Fine Arts Center Gallery curator."

    Lutheran Campus Ministry gives New Wine lowdown on New Orleans plight 04/29/2006
    By Brian Williams Sun Tribune

    "The New Wine performers are set to follow in the footsteps of the Lutheran Campus Ministry to Louisiana. An LCM group spent spring break working to help in the recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Now the New Wine group from First Lutheran Church will get its own experience in the weather-ravaged region. Before departing, the New Wine troupe will perform �Kingdom Tales,� a musical that was written by their director, Pastor Todd Mattson. New Wine will be performing in �dessert theatre� on May 7, 10, 13 and 14 at First Lutheran at 7 p.m. each night. Advance tickets must be purchased. �Kingdom Tales,� which Mattson estimates he wrote in 1990, takes a contemporary look at a number of Jesus� parables. The New Winers will take their music and message with them when they board the vans for their annual cross country venture. The vans will be pointed toward New Orleans in mid-June. The tour will include performances in Sioux Falls, S.D., Springfield, Mo., Memphis, Tenn., Lafayette, La., and Slidell, La. Slidell is where the group will offer their help rebuilding in the aftermath of the powerful hurricanes. New Wine will work out of Peace Lutheran Church in Slidell. Peace Lutheran has an experience-tested system for hosting volunteers from all over. The church has a retreat center that will provide overnight accommodations. New Wine will perform at Peace Lutheran and at another New Orleans-area Lutheran church. By day, the music and message will be put aside in order to confront the monumental task of recovery. The New Winers� efforts are coordinated by Lutheran Disaster Response. Slidell was the home base for the LCM group from Morris, as well. The LCM group made a presentation to New Wine Sunday, with pictures, giving the New Winers an idea of what they can expect when they get to New Orleans. The LCM group did a lot of �mucking houses� when in New Orleans, but it is still unclear the exact nature of the work that awaits New Wine, according to Mattson. �Mucking� is a process of shoveling out up to six inches of sediment found in the homes that have been closed since the onslaught of the floodwaters. Supervisors ensure that all the necessary health precautions are taken, Mattson stressed. �This is via protective outerwear and equipment,� he said. �Because of policy age restrictions set for Lutheran Disaster Response volunteers, it is likely that most or all of the �Winers� will be put to tasks that are less potentially hazardous.�
    New Wine will perform �Kingdom Tales� as part of the send-off worship and potluck set for Sunday, June 18, at First Lutheran. The kids are expected back June 29. New Wine has its final performance set that evening at the church. New Wine has also been invited to perform at the Southwest Minnesota Synod Assembly on June 10 in St. Peter. The dessert theatre begins in the sanctuary, where dessert orders will be taken and the first half of �Kingdom Tales� will be presented. A 30-minute intermission in the fellowship hall will be followed by the conclusion of �Kingdom Tales� in the sanctuary. This year�s New Wine group includes: Dustin Anderson, Shanda Arbach, Jessie Bergerson, Bess Boever, Dani Bormann, Megan Braaten, Jacky Brustuen, Geoff Brustuen, Angi Buchanan, Jen Buchanan, Melissa Bumann, Samantha Buro. Tom Crouse, Thore Dosdall, Rachel Dudding, Matthew Edwards, Ben Ehlers, Emily Ehlers, Ray Finzel, Matt Forcella, Jason Grasshoff, Kayla Grasshoff, Joey Grussing, James Heily. Crystal Heinrichs, Trevor Hopkins, Megan Hoyer, Joshua Johnson, Young-Min Joo, Jeremy Jost, Anika Kildegaard, Hannah Kill, Corey Lembcke, Jimmi Lembcke, Johanna Luetmer, Mack Mattson. Sibley Mattson, Charles Michealson, Mike Morales, Justin Moser, Stephanie Noel, Fiona O�Halloran-Johnson, Alyssa Peterson, Lauren Peterson, Drew Quandt, Kelsey Raasch, Phil Rudney, LeeAnn Schatzke. Sean Schultz, Carter Smith, Katie VanKempen, Holly Varnum, Peary Webster and Tyrone Webster.     Give us your feedback on this article.

    A ship of state in stormy times Morris Sun Tribune
    Published Saturday, September 09, 2006

    " In her introduction of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco at Tuesday�s Opening Convocation, University of Minnesota, Morris Chancellor Jacquie Johnson took note of all the pioneering Blanco has accomplished in her career.
    Blanco is the first woman from the Louisiana city of Lafayette to be elected to the state House of Representatives. Blanco then became the first woman to serve, and then chair, the state�s Public Services Commission.
    And finally, Blanco became the first woman governor of Louisiana with her 2004 election. Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (right) meets with University of Minnesota, Morris student Donna Semans following the UMM Opening Convocation at Edson Auditorium Tuesday. Louisiana governor at UMM
    Blanco speech at UMM �As you can see, she is good at firsts,� Johnson said.
    One first Blanco could have done without, however, was being the first governor to deal with the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.
    But Blanco made clear to the audience packed into Edson Auditorium that she always has relished being first in line to tackle challenges like those that unfolded in the wakes of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.
    �How you meet unexpected events shapes your life,� Blanco said. �Life, as I�ve often told my children, simply is not fair.�
    Blanco is the mother of Morris resident Pilar Eble and the mother-in-law of UMM studio art professor Michael Eble. She was scheduled to address last year�s freshmen class convocation but had to postpone her appearance following the Aug. 29 arrival of Katrina.
    Blanco was invited back this year, and she spoke at length about how the challenges of those storms and her political and family lives placed her in situations she never could have dreamed of.
    Blanco also spent considerable time recounting the days after Katrina hit and voiced strong opinions about the federal government�s reaction to the disaster and the media�s role in shaping -- or misshaping -- public perceptions about Louisiana and New Orleans.
    Blanco recapped her life as a school teacher, wife and mother. She left her teaching career soon after giving birth to the first of her six children and spent 15 years as a stay-at-home mother.
    A job at the Census Bureau put Blanco into the public eye, and people soon encouraged her to run for state office.
    The prospect seemed far-flung, given the city�s history, and caused trepidation in a household that included all those kids and an �army of pets,� including an alligator.
    But Blanco told the students that she�s never been one to adhere to rigid guidelines about what she could or couldn�t do, nor was she able to map out her life well into the future.
    People need to be flexible to change their direction and jump at opportunities, but should do so in the context of �committed living.�
    �Life will expand your horizons if you put yourself in the right place at the right time,� Blanco said. �Nobody is going to do this for you. At the end of the day, you will never regret playing an active role shaping the world we live in. You will never regret bringing your values to the table.�
    Blanco spent five years in the state House, seven years on the Public Services Commission, and then ran twice and was elected twice as Louisiana�s lieutenant governor.
    Her election to the Louisiana governor�s office in 2004 proved wrong the �false prophets� who held steadfast to the �11th Commandment� that Louisiana would never elect a woman as its chief executive.
    �Stereotypes can be broken if we all work to define expectations,� she said.
    Stereotypes were a continuing theme as Blanco�s speech focused in on Katrina and Rita.
    Blanco�s administration was making strong advances in economic development, job creation, eliminating poverty and improving education rankings when the hurricanes dramatically altered her attention.
    She defended the actions of her administration in the hours and days following Katrina�s landfall, noting that in the first 36 hours after Katrina hit, the number of people safely evacuated was double the population of the Twin Cities.
    Blanco also laid a lot of blame on the federal government for its slow response to the state�s calls for help, and and the media for painting distorted racial and social pictures of the state and New Orleans for the rest of the country.
    �Many believe the federal response was slow because the pictures on television were primarily those of African Americans,� Blanco said. �Frankly, I think the issue is a lack of competence.�
    Unlike the White House, Blanco said, her administration presented all its documents related to its handling of the storms.
    �I said, �Take the cuss words out of the emails and send it all in,� � Blanco said. �I knew the evidence would show that at the state level we did all that we could do, but were outmanned by the power of nature and I was calling for help every single day.�
    Media reports were sensationalized because its easier and it sells, Blanco said. But in many cases the reports even hampered rescue and relief efforts.
    A majority of New Orleans� population is African American and there is poverty, but all levels of social strata were affected -- including middle class African Americans and whites -- and that poverty played no role in the response, she said.
    �This was a non-discriminatory storm,� Blanco said.
    Buses evacuating people from New Orleans already were running late because of federal bureaucratic bungling, and now media reports were scaring bus drivers away from venturing into the city because of the overhyped dangers of looters and other lawlessness, she said.
    �This irresponsible reporting caused people to make negative assumptions about the larger population,� Blanco said.
    The storms also exposed fatal flaws in the country�s ability to respond to crisis, she said.
    �Katrina revealed that America does not fully understand the need for emergency preparedness,� Blanco said. �There is a difference in preparing for a short-term disaster and a long-term catastrophe.�
    In the year since the storms hit, Louisiana �has never been better prepared than it is now,� Blanco said.
    The state has revamped its communications systems, made sweeping changes in hospital and nursing home emergency plans and has upgraded shelter capacity.
    Blanco also said levees have been significantly reinforced since breeches caused the lion�s share of the damage, and the federal government finally is taking serious the state�s efforts to revitalize wetland buffer zones which can help weaken future storms before they reach populated areas.
    But while Blanco expressed pride and confidence in Louisiana�s efforts, she noted that much more progress is needed, and there�s some trepidation in how the state�s coast will hold up when the inevitable storm comes again.
    �The only way we�ll know is to be tested again,� she said, �and we�re not ready for a test.�

    STATE

    Articles

  • Camp Ripley prepares for up to 3,000 Katrina refugees, KSAX

    • " MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The state prepared for up to 3,000 Hurricane Katrina refugees on Monday without knowing when they might arrive, or how.
    They'll be housed at Camp Ripley, a National Guard post near Brainerd. Department of Public Safety spokesman Kevin Smith said the state could take more refugees if the Federal Emergency Management Agency asks.
    Once they arrive, refugees will get medical and mental health services along with food and shelter. They'll be housed in 20 dormitories that have 184 beds each.
    "We're building a mini-city in a week," he said.
  • Minneapolis gears up for Katrina evacuees, from MPR

    • The city of Minneapolis is preparing to handle as many as 1,000 displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina.
  • Minnesota groups aid Katrina victims in new and interesting ways Through packaged meals, books for children and resettlement assistance, local groups give in abundance by Bryan Malley (Minnesota Christian Chronicle)

  • Minnesotans helping victims of Katrina, from KARE 11
  • Personal motive drives volunteer St. Paul man hopes to find his sister BY JEREMY OLSON (Pioneer Press-Mon Sept 5th)

    • HOW TO HELP
    "Marcus Troy hopes he'll recognize one of the arrivals when he volunteers to help refugees from Hurricane Katrina as they reach Minnesota's Camp Ripley soon.
    The St. Paul man, originally from New Orleans, hasn't heard from his youngest sister, Tamara Billings, since the hurricane devastated the Gulf Coast Aug. 29. She lives in "the heart of New Orleans" with her three children.
    Evacuees will spend as many as 45 days in Camp Ripley. Red Cross chapters and community leaders throughout the state will arrange to find more permanent housing.    "
    A Web site, http://Minnesotahelpers.com, has been established for people who want to publicize the availability of housing, cars, or other needs for Katrina victims.
    The United Way has been designated the point of contact for offers of assistance for evacuees coming to Minnesota. Especially needed are nonperishable food, water, medical supplies, cots, blankets, clothes (fall and winter), toiletries and diapers. Call the United Way at 211, 651-291-0211 or 1-800-543-7709.
    People still looking for family or friends in the South or any evacuees who may need assistance can call the State Emergency Operations Center hotline at 651-297-1304 or 800-657-3504.
  • Survivors of Katrina receive warm meal, hope in Minneapolis State Wire September 7, 2005 0907BC (Star Tribune)

    • "MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Nearly two dozen New Orleans residents have arrived in Minneapolis, courtesy of a conglomerate of black churches and leaders who sent a bus to the Houston Astrodome to help those displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
    When the evacuees arrived Tuesday evening at Shiloh Temple International Ministries, they stared awkwardly out of the chartered bus. But embraces and smiles from church members broke the ice.

    UPDATE:

    =>5 YEARS LATER:

  • After Katrina: 'The Sanity We Have Now Is a Gift From God', aolnews.com

    • "...As bad as it was on the Gulf Coast, it was hard to find the right words to describe the situation in New Orleans. The Walmart, stripped by looters who included city cops, was now under 24-hour guard, even though there was nothing left to steal. Reports of more shootings still swirled, although by that point the city was virtually empty save for the military and officers from an array of law enforcement agencies from other states. Rumors grew so wild that one -- my favorite -- had sharks from Lake Pontchartrain swimming the streets of the affluent neighborhood of Lakeview.
    But the phantoms were unnecessary. The real, hard numbers are plenty shocking on their own, even today. Katrina killed 1,836 people in Louisiana, another 221 in Mississippi. In the New Orleans metropolitan area, more than 182,000 homes and office buildings were destroyed. Damage figures ran to $100 billion. To say the events were unlike any disaster that has ever befallen an American city -- a profound statement on its own, for being true -- has now become cliche. New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast are fundamentally changed. Its residents as well, but not just by the storm. The road back has left its marks, too.
    "It's like a death," says Tracie Morris Schaefer, a photographer who documented the stories of the holdouts for a traveling exhibit called "Why I Stayed."
    "Everybody I know is a little different. Friends you never thought would get divorced are divorced. Friends you thought were better off financially couldn't rebuild. My mom was dealing with Alzheimer's, but Katrina pushed her over the edge."
    Maurice Sholas, 40, a Harvard-trained rehabilitative pediatrician forced to relocate to Atlanta, calls Katrina the great equalizer. "I have resources, friends and family. I'm educated, politically connected," he says. "That gave me a false security that I would be fine. I would not be fine."
    'How Is My Life Different? How Is It Not?'
    It took more than three weeks to finally pump New Orleans dry again. With the power out, nightfall fell like a curtain and was eerily silent. The most frequent noise, aside from the rumbling of National Guard jeeps, was the lonely barking of abandoned dogs.
    Mayor Ray Nagin holed up in the Hyatt Hotel, across the street from the Superdome, where 26,000 residents, mostly poor and black, sought refuge in conditions that descended into chaos. The police chief, Eddie Compass, did his bit to feed the rumor mill by suggesting that a baby had been raped there.
    Every day or so, Nagin emerged to brief the media. At one session, he announced that a selection of Cadillacs "appropriated" by some New Orleans police officers -- the force lost 500 squad cars to the flood -- were being returned the dealership, with thanks. A few days later, Nagin announced his police chief, by then under siege, was stepping down. Nagin hung on for another 4½ years before exiting the stage last spring, much to the relief of his worn-out constituency. The Hyatt, battered severely, never reopened. Renovations finally got under way this month.
    For those affected by the storm, all of life today falls neatly into two categories: pre-Katrina and post.
    Post-Katrina, Joe Landry is a municipal court judge. Pre-Katrina he worked as a part-time city prosecutor. The federal and state courts were displaced for months, but the municipal court reopened that October. With no furniture. Everyone sat on the floor. The lawyers wore shorts. The pre-Katrina docket had disappeared with the flood. The new docket consisted mostly of citations for curfew violations and public drunkenness.
    "I understood the intoxication better than the curfew violations," he says. "It was a time when a whole lot of alcohol was consumed just to numb the pain."
    Landry, 54, and his wife, Kay, 53, lucked out and secured a spare bedroom in Baton Rouge for the evacuation. Five adults and a dog wound up sleeping in it for five weeks.
    After the storm, he launched a flat-bottomed boat from the interstate and headed toward Lakeview, where his extended family lost 12 houses. "I'll always remember that first sight," he said told me recently in the living room of his rebuilt house. "A gentleman, dead, floating, tied by his ankle to a street light." (Landry had planned to move into rental property he owned in western Louisiana, but Hurricane Rita polished that off. "Just to make sure we lost everything we owned," he said.)
    Landry showed me the water line, halfway to the ceiling, just below a shelf where "Rising Tide," the story of the great Mississippi River flood of 1927, lay on its side. Another bit of Katrina humor? New Orleanians would beg to differ. The hurricane did not flood their city -- the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for that because faulty levees gave way. A federal judge agreed, and if you try to talk about what Katrina did to their city, you will be corrected.
    The events of Aug. 29, 2005, led to the largest displacement of an urban population that the nation has ever experienced. Once scattered across the country, people stayed on the move. For David Payton they carried away with them his dream of running for public office, which disappeared when his political base dissolved in the diaspora. Payton himself, now 45, moved nine times. Steve Himelfarb moved six. Known locally as the Cake Man, he owned the Cake Cafe in the French Quarter. Both survived the storm, but not the drastic hike in rent that followed in Katrina's wake. Himelfarb, 47, gave all of the cafe's food to the police and decamped for New York in search of work so he could save enough to rebuild his business.
    "How is my life different? How is it not?" he asked when we met at the new Cake Cafe at the corner of Chartres and Royal in Foubourg Marigny, just outside the Quarter. He described the interim before he reopened in 2007 as "living in a bad B movie." But he would not change the experience. "I was more alive and aware at a pure psychological level than I had been for a long time."
    The Upsides of Anger
    Cheryl Wagner, a writer, distilled the frustrations of those early post-Katrina months in her 2009 memoir, "Plenty Enough Suck to Go Around":
    So when the hammer breaks in your hand and you drive to the hardware store to replace it but the hardware store flooded and never reopened and you finally find a place that is open and you have to get a thirty-dollar hammer or no hammer at all and you suck that up and grab the last one and head to the checkout and the telephone is still out so they can only take cash and you go to the ATM and it's smashed and then you finally somehow, someway get cash and go back and get that golden hammer, but also a nail in your tire, don't get mad. Just take the deepest breath of your life and figure out how to get that tire fixed.
    The Times-Picayune, which won the Pulitzer Prize for its Katrina coverage, has done its own part to capture the nightmarish and seemingly endless application process homeowners must survive to qualify for federally funded grants to finance the reconstruction of storm-damaged homes. The newspaper dubbed the program, called Road Home, "the hellish Inquisition."
    Rage became one of the most useful byproducts of the endless tangling with dysfunctional bureaucracy, and spawned thousands of new civic activists. Pre-Katrina, Patricia Jones, 35, was a mom with her own quiet bookkeeping and tax-preparation business in the mostly impoverished Lower Ninth Ward. Post-Katrina, she's the outspoken head of the Neighborhood Empowerment Network Association, prodding, poking and agitating to get help rebuilding the Lower Nine, where fewer than 3,000 former residents -- about 30 percent of the total -- have returned.
    "The Road Home? We thought, fine, we'll fix up our house quick and be back. It was delay after delay. Then it was, wait a minute, how much are you going to give me? First it was $125,000. Then it was $70,000. I said, 'Come again? I just refinanced my house. My house was built in 2000, it's not even old.'"
    Jones moved on to the Small Business Administration and obtained a loan to close the gap between the Road Home money and the cost of repairing the house. The ground shifted again at the closing. Her family could have the loan only if they used it to pay down the Road Home grant.
    "I could see why people walked away," she says. "We've been hit from so many angles, the partial sanity we have now is a gift from God.'"..
    Five Years after Hurricane Katrina

    Good Morning America: New Orleans 5 Years After Hurricane Katrina , from youtube.com
    5 Years Later: Reflections on Katrina , from youtube.com

    Ministries

  • Blue Stone Ministries, based in Lexington, South Carolina

    • ""Speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights of all the down-and-outers. Speak out for justice! Stand up for the poor and destitute!""-Proverbs 31:8-9
    "Third World America"-St. Bernard Parish profiled

    "Documentary of current condition of New Orleans area two years after Katrina, and how the body of Christ is accomplishing most of the rebuilding. Includes info on how you and your church can help the people of the area. "
  • Kingdom Oil, based in Minneapolis

    • Rev Devon Miller was featured in KSAX Ch. 5 on Wednesday, Sept. 7th 11-12p news. He was speaking about the needs (housing, schools, etc..) for the 3,000 plus victims coming to Minnesota as Gov. Pawlenty was behind him

    NATION

    Churches


    *see Bible

  • Churches in Louisiana, from bellsouth

  • Victory Fellowship, AG church where a friend (Juan Jose, former housemate of mine) is helping with Blood N' Fire (personal support site)with the Katrina Relief clean-up

    • Victory Fellowship; 5708 Airline Hwy; Metairie, LA 70003
    (504) 733-5005
    Email: info@victoryfellowship.net
    Website: http://www.victoryfellowship.net
    " turned in and saw a line. As I stood in line I noticed a church worker was giving instructions to the people. I raised my hand and asked if it were possible to have two plates in order to bring one to my husband. The man Dave(???) Said as he put his arm around me, I could have all I wanted. It was the most humbling moment of my life. As I got close to the food line, he took over and instructed to be sure to give me all I wanted. I looked around, I did not see the red cross, united way or the united fund, salvation army or even the church of my faith and I started to cry. Here was the best people who gave their time and your money to help us, complete strangers.
    Irony is that my husband and I volunteer in the inner city of New Orleans and help raise money to feed approx. 300 people 6 days a week and now here I am in a food line.
    How do I say thank you to your church. The taste of that BBQ and green beans, beats any 4 star restaurant. Words cannot ever express to you what these hot meals mean to me and my family and the countless others you have served.
    I pray for you all and your church and will always try to remember you in my prayers. Your service and food were a gift that I will remember forever and from the bottom of my heart I wish to thank you, each of you.
    May God bless you and all and give you and your church the rewards not only that He promised but that you deserve.
    Mrs. Charles
    Metairie (map)
    Rebuilding New Orleans-Blood N' Fire
    "One thing I learned is that the Mississippi River was first called Rio de Espiritu Santo � River of the Holy Spirit -- by the early Spanish explorers in the delta region. They were captivated by its powerful waters steadily flowing, often overflowing, carving out new life over thousands of miles from Minnesota down to New Orleans.
    The other day a man came into the tent at Victory Fellowship in Metairie where we were serving our great hot barbecue and sides prepared on our 30-foot pit. He towered way above the tallest man on our team. At six foot seven and way over 300 pounds we took him maybe for a linebacker for the Saints who once practiced next door to the church.
    He came in the tent to get food for his family. He only got as far as the closest tent pole; he leaned against it and began to cry. There was nothing left of his or his family�s life as they had known it. He didn�t know what to do. He was devastated. Two of the BnF team went over to him and began praying and comforting him with the amazing love of Jesus. It brought new life and hope and gave him the strength to go one more day and believe that God indeed had a plan and a future for him"

    Recommended Resources

    Local-GoodnewsMorris

    Crime

  • UMM Grad Involved in Phone Scheme Meant to Embarrass LA Senator , Updated at: 01/28/2010 4:17 PM | KSAX.com By: Megan Brown ksax.com

    • "NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Four men charged with trying to tamper with a senator's phones - including a conservative activist known for targeting ACORN - hoped to record embarrassing hidden camera footage to document allegations her staff was ignoring calls critical of her stance on health care reform, an attorney for one of the four said Thursday.
    Attorney J. Garrison Jordan denied the four men were trying to disable or wiretap the phones in Sen. Mary Landrieu's office at a federal building in New Orleans.
    "You're dealing with kids," he said. "I don't think they thought it through that far."
    Instead, Jordan said, they hoped to get embarrassing video footage of her staff handling constituent calls.
    The four accused in the scheme include James O'Keefe, made famous by posing as a pimp and targeting the community-organizing group ACORN in hidden camera videos.
    Jordan said his client, Robert Flanagan, the 24-year-old son of a federal prosecutor in Louisiana, did not intend to break the law when he entered the office posing as a telephone worker Monday.
    No matter their intentions, the four face the serious charge of entering federal property under false pretenses for the purpose of committing a felony, which carries up to 10 years in prison. They are free on $10,000 bail.
    Charged along with O'Keefe and Flanagan were Joseph Basel, 24, of Minnesota and Stan Dai, 24, of the Washington, D.C. area. The four are due back in court Feb. 12.
    Authorities said O'Keefe was using his cell phone to try to capture video of two of his fellow defendants in Landrieu's office before their arrest. The two posing as telephone repairmen - wearing fluorescent vests, tool belts and hard hats, one of which had a hidden camera - asked to see the phones at Landrieu's office.
    The fourth is alleged to have waited outside in a car with a listening device to pick up transmissions.
    O'Keefe has declined to discuss what he and the others were doing in Landrieu's office. But late Wednesday he told his Twitter followers that the government "concedes no attempt to wiretap."
    Last month, protesters marched in front of Landrieu's office in Baton Rouge to criticize her support for health care legislation and complain that they couldn't get through on her office phones.
    Landrieu said at the time that her office received a high volume of calls.
    "Our lines have been jammed for weeks, and I apologize," Landrieu said in interview with The Advocate of Baton Rouge in December. "But no amount of jamming is going to keep me from supporting a good work for Louisiana and the nation."
    Andrew Breitbart, whose biggovernment.com site launched O'Keefe's ACORN videos and who has since hired O'Keefe as a contributor, also downplayed the federal case.
    "Their uniforms were outlandish," Breitbart said in an interview. "This was like 'Hee Haw,' a blatant clown-nose-on spectacle to make a salient political yet mildly humorous point."
    O'Keefe hinted last week that he had a new, high-profile stunt in the works. Four days before he was charged in connection with the Landrieu incident, he promised his audience at a conservative think tank's luncheon they would be hearing about a project he was working on in New Orleans.
    He wouldn't elaborate, according to people who heard his speech at the Pelican Institute's event last Thursday in New Orleans.
    "He just sort of alluded to the fact that we would all find out real soon. And we did," said Audra Shay, a Mandeville resident and chairwoman of the Young Republican National Federation.
    Flanagan worked part-time with the institute, writing for its blog and helping with luncheons.
    During the luncheon last week, audience members peppered O'Keefe with questions about Landrieu, but he didn't indicate that she was a target of his project, said Robin Edwards, a Baton Rouge resident and co-founder of the Louisiana Tea Party Federation.
    "He just said he had a project going in New Orleans, but he wouldn't say what it was," Edwards said. "I figured it had something to do with ACORN."
    Shay said O'Keefe told audience members to "stay tuned" for the results of his New Orleans project.
    "Everybody in the room knew something was going on, but nobody knew what the hell it was," she said. "I never thought it was going to be this."
    Shay said O'Keefe repeatedly stressed that he hadn't done anything illegal on his earlier investigative projects.
    "It's bizarre, because the guy is not stupid," she said.
    Shay said she spoke with Basel, who attended the luncheon with O'Keefe, and asked him about booking O'Keefe for a leadership conference hosted by the federation. In the aftermath of O'Keefe's arrest, she didn't know if she would follow through with an invitation.
    Michael Madigan, O'Keefe's lawyer, said Wednesday that his client was not trying to wiretap or interfere with Landrieu's phones, but he would not explain why O'Keefe was there. He also would not say whether O'Keefe was working for someone or was on his own.
    "The truth will come out," said Madigan, a Washington lawyer who represented Sen. Howard Baker, the Republican who famously asked during the Watergate investigation, "What did the President know and when did he know it?"
    UPDATE: Former UMM student charged in federal case ambitious, talented, Published January 26 2010 morrissuntribune.com
    Acquaintances know Joe Basel, a former UMM student facing federal charges for attempting to tamper with the phone system of a U.S. senator, as passionate, hard working organizer
    Minnesota Independent Affidavit
    4 Arrested in Phone Tampering at Landrieu Office By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON and LIZ ROBBINS Published: January 26, 2010 nytimes.com
    "NEW ORLEANS — Federal officials charged four men on Tuesday with plotting to tamper with the telephone system in the New Orleans office of Senator Mary Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana. One of the men was a conservative activist who gained fame last year by secretly recording members of the community group Acorn giving him advice on how to set up a brothel...
    *see GoodnewsEverybody.com Issues: Sex
    O'Keefe releases his version of phone case, from Morris Sun Tribune.com Published January 29 2010
    " Colleague of UMM graduate charged in incident at New Orleans federal building releases statement Friday morning stating there was no attempt made to wiretap or tamper with senator's phone system..
    LA Senator Phone Scheme: University of Minn. Morris Reacts to Grad's Involvement Updated at: 01/29/2010 11:43 AM | KSAX.com By: Anthony Kiekow
    " LA Senator Phone Scheme: University of Minn. Morris Reacts to Grad's Involvement
    MORRIS, Minn - In July, 2009, Joe Basel's future looked bright after receiving a degree in management from the University of Minnesota, Morris. But now he's facing charges that could put him in jail for the next ten years.
    Paula O'Laughlin was one of Basel's political science professors at UMM. O'Laughlin said Basel was an active participant in the university's student political scene on campus, but didn't get into any trouble.
    "I was surprised when I heard...It's surprising whenever you hear of someone you know allegedly doing something illegal," O'Laughlin said.
    The University of Minnesota Morris released an official, but brief, statement about Basel on Thursday.
    "Joel Basel graduated in July of 2009. He was a very active student leader in his time on the University of Minnesota, Morris campus."
    Basel, 24, Adam O'Keefe, 25, Stan Dai, 24, and Robert Flanagan, 24, were arrested Monday after allegedly entering Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu's office posing as telephone repairmen.
    Basel and the other men are said to have wanted embarrassing footage of Landrieu's staffers handling constituent calls.
    Landrieu had recently been criticized for allegedly dodging calls that were critical of her stance on health care.
    In a statement Landrieu said the plot was "unsettling" and she'd like to know the "motives and purpose."
    The men have been charged with entering a federal building under false pretenses for the purpose of committing a felony.
    The FBI is heading the investigation.
    According to O'Laughlin, Basel has no history of being involved in "anything like this" while attending the University of Minnesota, Morris campus.
    "I'd characterize him as a student that was involved with a lot of issues across the spectrum. He wanted to make a difference...but I'm surprised," said O'Laughlin.
    One of Basel's alleged accomplices, James O'Keefe, also recently made news when he secretly filmed a meeting with the community organizing group ACORN.
    O'Keefe had posed as a pimp trying to enlist financial support from ACORN.
    As a result of the footage ACORN lost federal funding.
    All four men are free on $10,000 bail and are due back in court Feb. 12.
    Written for the Web by Anthony Kiekow
    akiekow@ksax.com
    NATION:
  • O'Keefe Defends Himself in First Interview Since Arrest Updated: 4 hours 32 minutes ago (Tuesday, February 2nd of 2010)

    • "(Feb. 2) -- Conservative activist James O'Keefe calls his arrest after an incident at a U.S. senator's office "a huge misunderstanding." ..
    O'Keefe and the others are charged with entering federal property under false pretenses for the purpose of committing a felony. In a statement issued Friday, he denied they were trying to wiretap Landrieu's phones. Speaking to Hannity on Monday, he accused those who labeled the caper another Watergate of slandering him and committing "journalism malpractice."
    UPDATE:
    U.M.M. Grad Pleads Guilty in Federal Tapping Case
    April 8 kmrskkok.com

    " Former University of Minnesota, Morris student Joe Basel pleaded guilty last Friday in return for reduced charges in the phone tapping case of New Orleans Senator Mary Landrieu.
    According to the Bellingham Herald in Washington, Federal prosecutors will charge Basel and three others with entering a federal building under false pretenses, a misdemeanor instead of the original felony charges. The new filing carries a maximum sentence of 6 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. A date for their next court appearance has not been set.
    Eddie Castaing, attorney for Basel, said his client agreed to plead guilty to the new charge so he can "resolve the case and move forward with his life".
    According to the complaint filed last January, 3 men entered Senator Landrieu's office, one used his cell phone to try to capture video of Basel and another man posing as telephone repairmen asking to see the phones in Landrieu's office. The fourth allegedly waited outside in a car with a listening device.
    The 24-year-old Basel was hired in 2006 by the senate caucus to work for the election campaign of state senator Bill Engebrigtsen against Dallas Sams, and is a 2008 graduate of U.M.M. where he was one of the founders of the conservative U.M.M. student newspaper "The Counterweight." "

    State-GoodnewsMinnesota

    Nation-GoodnewsUSA

    Cities

    -Thibodaux
    *met Passion, who is from here and is part Puerto Rican on Wednesday, February 21st of 2007
    Map from Google
    Information & Resources
    Wikipedia

    Maps

  • Louisiana Travel Region Maps

    • -New Orleans
    City Map, population of 500 K

    Ministries

  • Christian Life Missions, 100% goes to relief!
  • Operation Blessing, from CBN

    • Operation Blessing Hurricane Katrina Relief Activities-Update Reports!
    I just watched more testimonies of the relief effort today (Tuesday, September 20th of 2005) as Hurricaine Rita becomes a threat. I was touched by a story of a man, who came to BBQ for +6K relief workers in LA. They were almost running out of bread, so he prayed for more. Then a soldier found more found downstairs of this building, which built their faith! Then he shared a touch story of his 32 year old daughter that died earlier this year from cancer and 4 of her kids were left without a mom. He shared how he never lost his trust in the Lord!
  • Louisiana Conference-United Methodist Church
  • Samaritan Purse, Franklin Graham

    • Franklin Graham Tours Devastated Area
    �I was in Indonesia after the tsunami,� he said. �What has happened here is just as bad, maybe worse in some cases. There�s incredible devastation. It�s like a war zone. It�s going to take a long time to rebuild. These people need our prayers and they need our support.�
    Graham said that Samaritan's Purse is committed to helping the region rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Volunteer teams equipped by our Disaster Response Units will be in the storm-damaged area for months to come, making emergency repairs that help families stay in and return to their houses.
    "I expect that Samaritan's Purse will be here for another year, maybe longer," he said. We want to save as many of these homes that are still standing as we can. If you lose another home to a rainstorm, that�s another family that might have to go to a shelter.�

    Other Organizations

  • American Red Cross
  • FEMA
  • Katrina Relief, a network to churches, gov't organizations, volunteers, etc..

    • *found this link from the Pastor's Resource Council

    Mission Trips

    -Post
    Hurricane Katrina-St. Bernard Parrish focussed

    "A team heads down to New Orleans to lend a helping hand post Hurricane Katrina."

    States Helping/Effected

  • Mississippi
  • Texas

    • Science

    -Environmental
    OIL SPIll:
    Oil Spill Wreaks Havoc on Gulf Fishing Industry - CBN.com

    "May 12, 2010 — As the clean up effort intensifies, oil continues spilling into the Gulf of Mexico. Each day, the futures of fisherman grow dimmer... The Christian Broadcasting Network CBN http://www.cbn.com"

    *see GoodnewsEverybody.com: Prayer-needs, reports, requests, testimonies, etc..

  • Vietnamese fishermen in Gulf fight to not get lost in translation By Jessica Ravitz, CNN June 25, 2010 2:24 p.m. EDT

    • "..For the Vietnamese-Americans living in the Gulf Coast region, the oil disaster is especially complicated. It's made murky by language barriers, cultural misunderstandings and a history of challenges that have shaped them for more than half a century.
    Their ties to seafood run deep and wide. A third of all fishermen in the Gulf are Vietnamese, making them arguably the most affected minority out there. More than 24,000 people of Vietnamese origin live in Louisiana, according to the last completed census. About 6,000 live within a two-mile radius in the neighborhood of New Orleans East -- distinguishing it, the area's priest says, as the greatest concentration of Vietnamese people outside of Vietnam...
    Day Of Prayer In Louisiana To Ask For Help With Gulf Oil Spill Catastrophe

    *see GoodnewsEverybody.com: Prayer-needs, reports, requests, testimonies, etc..
    -Documentary
    HBO Documentary Films: If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise Trailer (HBO)

    -Geology


    "As Louisiana residents evacuate, Gov. Bobby Jindal and CNN's John King talk worst-case scenarios for the flooded state."

    "..13 No temptation[a] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted[b] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[c] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. ..-1 Corinthians 10:13 (New International Version)

    r> *see God Won't Give You More Than You Can Handle christianmind.blogspot.com

  • Louisiana residents evacuate as spillway fills lowlands By the CNN Wire Staff May 16, 2011 10:45 p.m. EDT cnn.com

    • "Morgan City, Louisiana (CNN) -- Residents in Louisiana's Atchafalaya River basin packed up treasured possessions and scrambled to build makeshift levees Monday as federal authorities diverted more water their way from the swollen Mississippi.
    "We just moved in here, and now we're in the process of moving everything out," said Jake Nolan, of the town of Krotz Springs. But he added, "I have no choice. If not, I'm going to lose everything."
    Krotz Springs, with a population of about 1,300, is now in the path of hundreds of thousands of gallons of water now entering the Atchafalaya basin every second since the weekend opening of the Mississippi's Morganza Spillway. The controlled release succeeded in dropping projected flood levels for New Orleans and Baton Rouge -- but that was little consolation to those living along the Atchafalaya, which parallels the Mississippi through southern Louisiana.
    "Hope you appreciate this Baton Rouge. You're welcome," read one sign posted outside a home in the path of the flooding.
    Signs of resilience in flooded lowlands
    In Krotz Springs, about 20 miles from the spillway, Mayor Carroll Snyder told CNN that workers are scrambling to put together a temporary levee to protect about 240 homes on the south side of town.
    "They're not happy with it, but it's something that we've been knowing for quite some time -- that it was inevitable, that it would have to be opened," Snyder said. "They've come to deal with it.".....

    "...The weather service predicted the Mississippi River will crest at 45 feet in Baton Rouge, the Louisiana capital, on Tuesday. That is 2.5 feet lower and six days earlier than the weather service had forecast prior to the opening of the Morganza spillway. On Monday, it was 44.6 feet.
    In New Orleans, the river on Monday was already cresting at 17 feet, one week earlier and more than two feet lower than previously projected by the National Weather Service. It is also four feet lower than the historic level recorded in New Orleans in 1922.
    But six days after the Mississippi River crested at Memphis, Tennessee, the water remains 11 feet above flood stage, according to the National Weather Service. President Barack Obama spent about 35 minutes privately speaking with flood victims and responders during a visit to Memphis on Monday, according to Press Secretary Jay Carney....

    Sports

    -Football

    Carrie Underwood Singing the National Anthem Super Bowl XLIV

    "MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - Carrie Underwood was on center stage Sunday as she sang the National Anthem before Super Bowl XLIV.
    The 26-year-old country star performed in a dazzling white pantsuit in front of the sold-out crowd at Sun Life Stadium in Miami."
    Super Bowl XLIV 2010 Highlights New Orleans Saints 31-17 Indianapolis Colts

    "The New Orleans Saints won their first Super Bowl with a surprise 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Miami. Drew Brees hit a record-equalling 32 passes for 288 yards, with touchdowns to Pierre Thomas and Jeremy Shockey. And cornerback Tracy Porter returned an interception from Colts quarterback Peyton Manning 74 yards for another score to seal victory. Garrett Hartley kicked three field goals of over 40 yards as the Saints came back from 10-0 down early on. Indianapolis, who won the NFL title in Miami just three years ago, went into the game as favourites. No commercials or ads or megan fox sadly. "
    Saints QB Drew Brees talks about Jesus

    "Sharing the Victory Magazine sits down with New Orlean's Saints QB Drew Brees. Find other great resources at http://FCAResources.com"

    Television

  • Extreme Makeover Home Edition - The Usea Family 1 of 10, from youtube.com

    • "Ty Pennington and the show's designers are heading to the final stop on their 50-state tour to surprise the Usea family of Westwego, LA, and the Noah's Ark Missionary Baptist Church in New Orleans, with the news that they'll be rebuilding the Useas' homes as well as the church in just seven days, on the two-part Season Finale of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," In a first-ever effort to put together a coalition of past builders from all over the country, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is calling on the building industry to join forces and help with what may be the toughest challenge yet. With Hurricane Katrina still taking a toll on families on the road to recovery and resources and manpower scarce, it will take the efforts of the entire country to come together to make a difference..." Extreme Makeover Home Edition - The Usea Family 7 of 10, from youtube.com

    Weather Sites

  • National Hurricaine Center

    • -Hurricaine

    {2012}

    -ISAAC

    Jim Cantore in the Worst of Isaac August 29, 2012 5:40am ET

    "Early Wednesday morning The Weather Channel Meteorologist Jim Cantore experienced the full force of Hurricane Isaac in the French Quarter of New Orleans."

  • Isaac claims fatality as thousands forced to evacuate By Josh Levs and Chelsea J. Carter, CNN updated 11:22 AM EDT, Thu August 30, 2012 cnn.com

    • "(CNN) -- Isaac slashed its way further inland Thursday, claiming its first fatality and stranding residents in flood-prone areas even as it threatened to wreak more havoc in the days to come. Although it weakened, the hurricane-turned-tropical-storm was still dumping heavy rains, creating danger as water levels rose along the northern Gulf Coast. The storm has had a "major impact" on Mississippi, Gov. Phil Bryant told CNN in Gulfport. "This is a man-made beach," he said, indicating the area where he was standing. "Most of that sand is gone. Thousands of homes have been damaged; people have been out of their homes and will be." A tow truck driver attempting to clear debris on a road in Mississippi was struck by a falling tree, officials said. The incident took place at midnight, said Amanda Harris, deputy director of the Pearl River County Emergency Management office. The National Weather Service said it received reports of the fatality in Picayune, Mississippi. On Louisiana's border with Mississippi, residents of Washington Parish were alerted that the Bogue Chitto River was expected to rise by 14 feet overnight. To the southwest, in St. John the Baptist Parish, National Guard troops looked for people stranded after thousands were forced to flee when a surge forced water over the banks of Lake Pontchartrain. "What we're doing is we have got law enforcement and fire personnel who are going door to door to notify people," Tommy Thiebaud, the Washington Parish director of emergency services, told CNN. Some areas could see 25 inches of rain, the National Weather Service said. Isaac's maximum sustained winds had dropped to 40 miles per hour as of 10 a.m. CT (11 a.m. ET) and it was moving north-northwest at 9 mph, the service said. "On the forecast track, the center of Isaac will continue to move over Louisiana today, over Arkansas on Friday, and over southern Missouri Friday night," forecasters said. State by state: Isaac soaks region Residents get saved from rooftops In Plaquemines Parish, southeast of New Orleans, 3,000 people remained in an area close to an 8-foot-tall levee that was threatened by rising waters, Gov. Bobby Jindal's office said. About 100 people who had ignored an evacuation order were rescued Wednesday in a flooded part of the parish, officials said. On Thursday, authorities from the sheriff's office and National Guard "will begin looking house to house to make sure they got everyone," Parish President Billy Nungesser said. "We didn't have time to panic," Rafael Delgadillo of Braithwaite, Louisiana, told CNN on Thursday. He, his wife and daughter were rescued by a neighbor Wednesday. "We were in survivor mode," he said. Nearly a million customers were without electricity across Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. Utility companies reported more than 978,000 customers without power. Water boiling advisories were being issued in a number of towns and cities along the Gulf Coast. Open Story: Isaac soaks Gulf Coast A flash flood emergency was issued for Slidell, Louisiana. Surge flooding from Bayou Bonfouca and the W-14 canal gushed into parts of the city, and sudden inundation of up to 5 feet was possible in low-lying areas, the National Weather Service said. Evacuations were under way in the city Thursday morning...
    'Worse than Katrina' in Plaquemines Parish August 29, 2012 10:40am ET

    "NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reports from Plaquemines Parish, LA where the Parish President says the levee over wash from Hurricane Isaac is worse than it was during Katrina."
  • Isaac leaves distress, perspective in southeastern Louisiana By Brian Todd and Greg Botelho, CNN updated 10:38 PM EDT, Fri August 31, 2012 cnn.com


    • "Braithwaite, Louisiana (CNN) -- For Urban Treuil, there's no escaping the misery. Because of Hurricane Isaac, Treuil's home in Braithwaite, Louisiana, is ruined by floodwaters. So, too, is the gas station and convenience store he owned and ran in the community, 15 miles by car and 10 miles as the crow flies from New Orleans. But all that pales to what Treuil, the fire chief for Braithwaite and Woodlawn in Plaquemines Parish, saw when he and fellow volunteer firefighters steered their boat up to the home of a couple he knew. Inside, they found the pair floating in the kitchen, the first of at least three fatalities in Louisiana being blamed on Isaac. "It's not something I want to see, and I hope it's the last ones we do see," said an exhausted Treuil on Friday, a day after he pulled the couple from the home. In terms of total deaths, Isaac doesn't compare to Hurricane Katrina, which led to nearly 1,800 fatalities in New Orleans and the vicinity seven years ago. Isaac struck Louisiana on Tuesday night as a Category 1 hurricane, not a Category 3 like Katrina.
    Isaac pounds Gulf Coast Don't tell that, though, to the thousands of residents in St. Tammany, Ascension, Plaquemines and other parishes who Friday found their homes and hometowns still deluged. Even with a few drops of drizzle falling all day and with levels down considerably from the previous day, waters were still 10 feet deep in spots. "This is unbelievable. Deja vu, man," Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish said Thursday as he surveyed the town of Ironton, inundated by floodwater and sludge. "There is more water here than Katrina." It was a sentiment echoed by an assistant fire chief in the parish, while on a boat moving through an area in which floodwaters almost universally covered the first floor of 200 homes. Red carpet still out for New Orleans tourists Most people had heeded a mandatory evacuation order issue Monday, but not all. Video footage from CNN affiliate New Orleans WWL showed rescuers pulling out an ax and hacking an attic vent. Soon after, 70-year-old Fred Leslie climbed out and slid down his roof. Rescuers also managed to get out his four dogs, one of whom fell into the water and another who jumped into a reporter's arms. Dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, Leslie said that he had evacuated ahead of Katrina. He told WWL that he'd stayed this time because "I didn't think it would happen again." But within just five minutes, Leslie said his home was "six feet deep" with water. He then grabbed whatever he could, got the dogs, and rushed to the attic. There will be no rebuilding here this time, as Leslie did after Katrina. "It's just one of those things," he said, still drenched, of the storm. "I'm going to find someplace else. I'm getting too old for this." About 35 miles northeast in Slidell, along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, CNN iReporter Vincent Molino said that he came across at least 10 vehicles flooded and "unsalvageable" while surveying the city Friday. Water had also gotten into several homes, especially those without crawl spaces or, like Molino's, not built up on stilts. Ironically, some of the luckiest residents were those who'd had their homes destroyed by or after Katrina -- because their rebuilt homes were elevated or otherwise protected, per new requirements to qualify for insurance. Businesses along one strip in Slidell, a community of about 27,000 people, were soaked in an inch or more of water, even though they are about five miles from the lakefront. "There are so many ups and downs," Molino said of the floodwaters. "It seeps in all these weird ways." At the same time, Molino said that many people he'd talked to were both philosophical and confused about what Mother Nature had wrought this time -- "happy" that they weren't hit harder but still "shocked that this, basically, tropical storm could have made such a strong surge." Inside New Orleans, anyone who lived through Katrina knew it could have been worse. That didn't change the fact Friday was not a fun day -- "hot, muggy, sticky, nasty," especially for the many without electricity, according to Eileen Romero, another iReporter. Some kept their refrigerators and such running with generators, which in Romero's case required five 5-gallon gas containers to operate every 24 hours. A shortage of gas made keeping generators humming and cars moving difficult, and lines were long at the grocery and other stores that did open for business. Yet they were bright spots under the still gloomy skies, Romero said. Such the electrician from down the street who came over to fix her generator, she recalled. Or those who cleared limbs and branches from their neighbors' sidewalks, piling them up with no questions asked. New Orleans, and all of southeastern Louisiana, has been here before -- not just being socked by a hurricane, but rallying around each other afterward. And they're doing it again, said Romero. "It's just people helping people," she said. "It's amazing to me, it's nice to me. It's a beautiful kind of thing." CNN's Brian Todd reported from Braithwaite and Greg Botelho reported from Atlanta. CNN's Dugald McConnell contributed to this report.

    Global-Multicultural

    101 Ways to Change the World
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