190 replies to this topic

[tessieca]

I wish we would get a call or e-mail so we could actually do it. My heart breaks to see these people suffering.

I called the Baton Rouge number (see above) early this a.m. I too tried other routes thinking they would not get back to me. Then, this afternoon someone contacted me, took details, and said that it would take 2-3 weeks to coordinate and match families. They said they would call me soon.

We're anxiously awaiting our family .

[Steve Heard]

Okay, blame the victims.

First, it was that they're hooked on welfare. Then it was that they should have left. When you found they had no transportation, they should have walked. When you found they couldn't out walk a hurricane, they should have built their homes on stilts. Now, they shouldn't have lived there at all.

I understand you now.

For the rest of the people out there with compassion, thank you for your support.

FYI, lest you be mistaken, those people weren't demanding that we build them a perfect house, they were asking for a drink of clean water and a ride out of town.

I know, tell them to swim for it, like most decent people would.

Like the lady said, 'let them eat cake'

[CostcoLover]

The average adult can walk 3 to 4 miles an hour.  The days are about 13 hours long.  So 39 to 52 miles in a day.  Baton Rouge in two days.  Higher ground in hours.

Heat wouldn't factor into it, that's why you drink and sweat.

You would burn some calories, but walking burns it slow enough to rely totally on fat reserves.

And with the mass exodus, you could probably hitch a ride in the bed of someone's pickup.

Jason

There are so many underlying assumptions in these statements.

Sure, I too would have started walking if it was just me or just me and my wife or perhaps the two of us and one child, but there are reasons why we might choose to take that course of action.

I know my reason. I have little faith in government and government agencies, so I don't expect to be rescued. If I do get rescued on the way out, great, but I wouldn't count on it. Call us cynics, but hey, we're from NY. That's why after 9/11 and after the blackouts you saw mass exodus and people just walking over the bridges, etc. knowing the numbers of people in the city, most assume they'd wait forever to get any help, and so they get moving.

I don't know about the NO public transit system, but in NYC over 2 million people use public transit daily. Which leads me to assumption #1 - everyone owns a car.

Assumption #2: The information you have available to you in the news media, is available to these people. They have no idea the extent of the damage for all they know it's hundreds of miles of the same misery. For all they know Baton Rouge is gone.

Assumption #3: Isn't it great to be able bodied, and have ready access to means of transportation, access to information, be healthy and physically fit or 'average'?

Many folks that are able bodied are not sufficiently fit to walk 39-52 miles a day.

Consider this. The resources going IN to help these people have taken 4 days to get there, and they didn't have to face the challenges of having been through the experience.

Lets say my family was poor and relied on public transportation. I can certainly walk the distance alone. I have a 4yr old, a 2yr old and a pregnant wife due this month.

Could my pregnant wife walk 39-52 miles a day in mid '80s temperatures with high humidity and no water? Could my 4yr old do it? How about my 2yr old? Maybe I throw them all on my back? Or just go down the block and pick up a rickshaw - oh wait, that's right, rickshaw is gone.

Should I just take my 2 kids and leave my wife behind to fend for herself?

Can't wait until you're 65yrs old + lets see if you're walking 39-52 miles a day.

Assumption #4: These people know which roads are passable and which just lead to dead ends, flooding and devastation.

Assumption #5: All landmarks are intact and you know which direction you're actually going in. Professionally trained soldiers used to orienting in combat conditions and in total darkness are known to get disoriented in this type of situation.

Police, Fire and Emergency personnel in NYC were completely disoriented after the buildings came down on 9/11. Many of these folks are ex-military.

Assumption #6: They have a means to carry sufficient water with them during that walk or were you just expecting that they pop into a 7/11 on the highway and pick up some water with no cash? They can't assume rescue personnel will be on the road waiting for them with water.

This reminds me of all the folks that would say, why didn't the folks just get out of the building after the planes crashed into them. They could have walked down 100+ flights and been out on the street in 15-20 minutes.

They didn't realize that when those planes struck, they shifted the walls in the buildings and jammed the doors, all lights were out and smoke filled the buildings, the planes took out flights of stairway so it would be a 20-30 ft drop if you could see where you were jumping. There was one passable stairway, and you had to be lucky to find it, pick the wrong path and you were gone.

Hopefully, you'll never experience an infrastructure collapse ie. communications, energy, water, food, roadways, etc. where a large region has been wiped out or heavily damaged.

Heck, I know I'm an SOB, but give me a break!

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

There are so many underlying assumptions in these statements. 

Sure, I too would have started walking if it was just me or just me and my wife or perhaps the two of us and one child, but there are reasons why we might choose to take that course of action.

I know my reason.  I have little faith in government and government agencies, so I don't expect to be rescued.  If I do get rescued on the way out, great, but I wouldn't count on it.  Call us cynics, but hey, we're from NY.  That's why after 9/11 and after the blackouts you saw mass exodus and people just walking over the bridges, etc. knowing the numbers of people in the city, most assume they'd wait forever to get any help, and so they get moving.

I don't know about the NO public transit system, but in NYC over 2 million people use public transit daily.  Which leads me to assumption #1 - everyone owns a car. 

Assumption #2:  The information you have available to you in the news media, is available to these people.  They have no idea the extent of the damage for all they know it's hundreds of miles of the same misery.  For all they know Baton Rouge is gone.

Assumption #3:  Isn't it great to be able bodied, and have ready access to means of transportation, access to information, be healthy and physically fit or 'average'? 

Many folks that are able bodied are not sufficiently fit to walk 39-52 miles a day.

Consider this.  The resources going IN to help these people have taken 4 days to get there, and they didn't have to face the challenges of having been through the experience.

Lets say my family was poor and relied on public transportation.  I can certainly walk the distance alone.  I have a 4yr old, a 2yr old and a pregnant wife due this month.

Could my pregnant wife walk 39-52 miles a day in mid '80s temperatures with high humidity and no water?  Could my 4yr old do it?  How about my 2yr old?  Maybe I throw them all on my back?  Or just go down the block and pick up a rickshaw - oh wait, that's right, rickshaw is gone.

Should I just take my 2 kids and leave my wife behind to fend for herself?

Can't wait until you're 65yrs old +  lets see if you're walking 39-52 miles a day.

Assumption #4:  These people know which roads are passable and which just lead to dead ends, flooding and devastation.

Assumption #5:  All landmarks are intact and you know which direction you're actually going in.  Professionally trained soldiers used to orienting in combat conditions and in total darkness are known to get disoriented in this type of situation.

Police, Fire and Emergency personnel in NYC were completely disoriented after the buildings came down on 9/11.  Many of these folks are ex-military. 

Assumption #6:  They have a means to carry sufficient water with them during that walk or were you just expecting that they pop into a 7/11 on the highway and pick up some water with no cash?  They can't assume rescue personnel will be on the road waiting for them with water.

This reminds me of all the folks that would say, why didn't the folks just get out of the building after the planes crashed into them.  They could have walked down 100+ flights and been out on the street in 15-20 minutes.

They didn't realize that when those planes struck, they shifted the walls in the buildings and jammed the doors, all lights were out and smoke filled the buildings, the planes took out flights of stairway so it would be a 20-30 ft drop if you could see where you were jumping.  There was one passable stairway, and you had to be lucky to find it, pick the wrong path and you were gone. 

Hopefully, you'll never experience an infrastructure collapse ie. communications, energy, water, food, roadways, etc. where a large region has been wiped out or heavily damaged.

Heck, I know I'm an SOB, but give me a break!

Thank you. I didn't have the energy.

[CostcoLover]

Thank you. I didn't have the energy.

What's the matter RL, not up to a 52mile walk?

The irony is that the commentary comes from folks that drive around all day and wouldn't be caught dead without their precious automobiles.

I'd like to know:

How many have walked 50+ miles? I have, but then again, I was in the infantry and 20yrs old at the time.

How many have been caught in a cat 3+ hurricane? I have. Before you start spouting off about walking.... I was in the Dominican Republic at the time. I guess I should have learned to walk on water to get to Florida eh?

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

How many have walked 50+ miles?  I have, but then again, I was in the infantry and 20yrs old at the time.

The furthest I've walked was 30 miles. It was back in high school -- raising money for Jessie Jackson's "Hike for Hunger" in Chicago. I had comfortable shoes, two pairs of socks, and had blisters on my feet and sore muscles the next day, with the luxury to put my feet up.

[FolsomiteAtHeart]

I'd like to let everyone know that if you'd like to make a donation to the Relief Fund for the hurricane victims and haven't done it online or by phone yet, Starbucks is now accepting money donations for the Emergency Relief Fund they set up. You will get a printed out recipt and everything, so there is another option for you as well when you're getting your next latte.

[Steve Heard]

I traded emails with one of our popular news anchors, whom I am acquainted with. She wrote:

"Hey Steve: I totally understand what you're saying. I hear those comments too. I think some of it is ignorance at the situation there. Those who've never been there don't know how the city is laid out, how difficult it was for some to leave and how the constant barrage of warnings over the years made some doubt whether the storm would really be that strong. Things would' ve been much different had the levees held.
After 20 years in the business, I also believe in something called, "viewer fatigue". Thats when the images become so constant and horrible that a person's capacity for sympathy wanes. I know in the newsroom, producers and writers and desk people have cried this week watching all of this. I've been brought to tears by the reports of babies and children dying in the flooded hospitals. Our photog who just returned from Mississippi says he couldn't eat for two days because he couldn't get the smell of death out of his nose.
I think the numbers of contributions to the Red Cross and Salvation Army tells the REAL story. People want to help for the most part...but when they feel helpless they get angry and lash out. Which is exactly whats happening on the online forums...and whats happening with the looters in LA and Miss.
Hang in there"

[JMH]

Hi Steve, tell us about your extended family and how we can help out. Do they have children who might need some clothing or some toys or books? Do they need some money to help pay for the hotels they are having to stay in?

How can we help and can we send it to you to send to them directly?

[Steve Heard]

Hi Steve, tell us about your extended family and how we can help out.  Do they have children who might need some clothing or some toys or books?  Do they need some money to help pay for the hotels they are having to stay in?

How can we help and can we send it to you to send to them directly?

Hey JMH

Thank you so much for your generous offer. Right now, everyone is safe, and unfortunately, scattered around the South. I haven't been able to reach anyone via cell, but a few have been able to call me.

Most are in position to pay for a hotel, some looking for apartmentsi. All just want to go home.

There is no way to ship toys, clothing, or anything else for that matter.

I am asking people to donate money to the Red Cross for now. My family is not rich, but they are far from the destitute masses we see on TV, they wouldn't accept aid at this point, and I wouldn't ask for it.

Let's get help to the most needy first.

When it is safe, and hopefully, dry. The men of my family hope to go down there and help to fix or rebuild our relatives' homes. Waiting for government assistance probably isn't a good idea.

I hope we can pull it off when the time comes.

I truly do appreciate your offer of help.

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

Steve, it's going to take some time before the levees are fixed and the water is pumped out. Will your relatives stay in hotels until they can attempt to get back, or would they accept someone's offer to stay in a home? They're going to need their resources later -- would they rather save the money they're spending in hotels for rebuidling their lives later?

[Steve Heard]

Some are staying with friends or other family, and some are seeking apartments.

Despite the fact that me, my mom, her sisters, and several cousins of mine have offered our homes, no one has taken us up. They all want to remain close to home.

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

Some are staying with friends or other family, and some are seeking apartments.

Despite the fact that me, my mom, her sisters, and several cousins of mine have offered our homes, no one has taken us up. They all want to remain close to home.

They've lost so much already. Staying close to home and one another must bring them a level of comfort. Our hearts are with them.

[CostcoLover]

Rescuers are using the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) to provide them direction on which roads are passable.

U.S. spy satellites aid Hurricane Katrina recovery
Wed Aug 31, 6:38 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.co...satellites_dc_1

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Spy satellites have been called into service to help federal emergency officials cope with the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, officials said on Wednesday.

The little-known National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which analyzes satellite images for the espionage community and combat troops, has provided scores of images of hard-hit areas, including New Orleans, before and after the storm struck.

The agency said one of its main aims is to survey damage to regional transportation for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which can then use the data to organize relief efforts. FEMA officials could not be reached for comment.

"NGA can determine the overall damage to a transportation network infrastructure -- what bridges are out, what roads are flooded -- which is critical for FEMA getting relief supplies into the disaster area," said NGA spokesman Stephen Honda.

[CostcoLover]

Mississippians' Suffering Overshadowed
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, Associated Press Writer Sat Sep 3, 4:52 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.co...mississippi_hk2

JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi hurricane survivors looked around Saturday and wondered just how long it would take to get food, clean water and shelter. And they were more than angry at the federal government and the national news media.

Richard Gibbs was disgusted by reports of looting in New Orleans and upset at the lack of attention hurricane victims in his state were getting.

"I say burn the bridges and let 'em all rot there," he said. "We're suffering over here too, but we're not killing each other. We've got to help each other. We need gas and food and water and medical supplies."