Katrina's aftermath

The Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau and local hotel owners have also been meeting with city officials and have determined that about 2,000 to 3,000 rooms would be available for hurricane victims, according to the mayor.

[...]

The Detroit Medical Center is among 34 hospitals in Wayne, Washtenaw, Livingston and Monroe counties that are mobilizing volunteer medical personnel to be deployed to areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Local health officials plan to set up temporary hospitals with 250 beds each to treat injured or sick people, the station reported.

Michigan health care workers volunteering for the mission will divide into 100-member teams to staff one hospital each. Officials plan to have 10 hospitals running by this weekend and 10 more by next week, the station reported.

"We sort of anticipate what they're going to need and we put the call out and the enrollment is beginning this afternoon at different sites across not only southeastern Michigan, but every hospital in Michigan," said Dr. Jenny Atas, of the DMC. "All of this is being coordinated with the Michigan Department of Community Health in conjunction with the Michigan Hospital Association."

Officials have asked medical personnel not to attempt to go down to hurricane-stricken regions on their own, but to coordinate their efforts with the hospital-organized volunteer effort...

(of course, Kilpatrick is currently in hot political trouble due to shenanigans, but at this point, who gives a fuck? Somebody wantsta offer help, take it)

Editorial: Faster, faster -- Please
Friday, 3:34 p.m.

On the elevated portion of Interstate 10 near Orleans Avenue, a group of displaced people pushed a wheelchair carrying a dead woman. She wore pink pajama bottoms -- and a white kitchen garbage bag on her head.

People wandered around expressway on-ramps hoping for a ride to... anywhere.

Outside the Superdome, refugees were crowded onto a concrete walkway. The situation inside the Dome was beyond hellish.

Hurricane Katrina has created a humanitarian crisis of unimaginable proportions. And if the main strategy for addressing that crisis is to evacuate the east bank of New Orleans, then local, state and federal officials need to move much faster to get people out.

On streets across the city, people are in agony. And lives are in danger, because of looters, because of dwindling medical supplies, because of conditions that would strain even the healthiest of people.

Security had improved in much of the city late Thursday and Friday. It was a relief to see so many uniformed men bearing machine guns patrolling expressways and major intersections. But in some parts of the city -- particularly those slivers of Uptown New Orleans that suffered relatively little flood damage -- the presence of law enforcement and relief agencies seemed minimal at best.

In those same areas, some residents were still under the dangerous illusion that they could wait out Katrina's aftermath at home, just as they waited out the hurricane itself. Others understood the dangers but had no way to travel and little hope of getting authorities' attention. On Constantinople street near Prytania, a severely sunburned, diabetic 80-year-old had run out of insulin, and the woman who had given her shelter could get no assistance. On Belfast Street near Fontainebleau, two 93-year-olds needed to evacuate but could not.

As more and more people clear out of the city indefinitely, those who remain are at even greater risk. People across the east bank need help in getting out, and lives will be lost if they do not get it.

check out what Bungie(the guys who made Halo & Halo 2) are doing:

Bungie Weekly Update
September 2nd, 2005

Hey everyone. It's been a grim week. It's been marked by utter helplessness. We've watched the events in the Gulf States helplessly. We've watched the helpless victims waiting for aid. We've watched government agencies helpless to reach these people. But we're not helpless. We have unlimited opportunities to help and we can start here.

BUY THIS T-SHIRT RIGHT NOW

Seriously. Stop reading for a minute, get a credit card, go to the website and buy the T-Shirt. It's $19.99 and about $15 of that will go directly to the Hurricane Relief effort, through the American Red Cross. Not a penny profit will be made and every cent of cash will go where it's needed.

Don't have a credit card? Grab a parent, make them read this, and get them to buy it for you. And hassle them about it. Make them do it. Come on, you talked them into buying you Halo 2 right? Well this is much more important. Do it. Do it. Do it.

[...]

Now, why did we make a T-Shirt? We used the tools we have. We have a company store that can handle the transactions. We have designers, and we were able to make T-Shirts faster than anything else. And a T-Shirt is something you can wear to show solidarity with the folks suffering there, and reminds everyone around you that it's good to donate. It's a billboard for what we're capable of doing when people need help.

only know a couple guys from bungie, but they've always seemed like very cool, very quality people...extraordinarily considerate of their fanbase....

you know when i saw that, what immediately occured to me(aside from "fuck yeah! gamer power!")?

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

and i'm not saying this with any pejorative sense whatsoever. Even nerds, geeks & gamers want to help, and fuck all if they're not gunna help in whatever way they can.

2:25 P.M. - (AP): The nation's airlines have been putting aside their own financial troubles to fly in supplies and take out refugees from hurricane devastated areas. Relief flights donated by airlines poured into Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport today.

Here are other efforts:

--Some pilots have set up a shuttle service out of Baton Rouge to evacuate high-risk people to Texas. Others are flying damage-assessment missions over the damaged region and taking in critical supplies.

--AirTran Airways today flew two humanitarian aid flights from Atlanta to the Gulfport, Mississippi airport. AirTran dropped more than 20 tons of water, food, clothing, medical supplies and other items.

--United Airlines this week flew 12 tons of food and water from Chicago to New Orleans. On the flight were 30 emergency medical technicians from Chicago who stayed behind in New Orleans. The same jet returned with 104 evacuees from New Orleans.

-- Fort Worth-based American Airlines is offering 500 miles to frequent-flier members who give the Red Cross at least $50 and then show a receipt to the airline.

--Houston-based Continental Airlines is giving 1,000 tickets for hurricane victims to relocate within the United States. The tickets are being doled out by emergency agencies.

That last one is interesting, and I wonder if it is being matched. I'm thinking of Fetchboy and his family here, unless they've got means already to get to LA.

"I think FEMA has been completely dysfunctional and is completely overwhelmed, and I don't know why. This situation was utterly predictable," said Vitter, R-Metairie. "It seems like there was no coherent plan, which I don't understand because this precise scenario has been predicted for 20 years," he said.

Please to note the party affiliation.

3:14 P.M. - St. Bernard Parish officials say that FEMA has not called them yet...five days after the storm.

(aside from Ira Glass getting at least two entire This American Life eps out of it, ho ho)

"did you just call me coltrane?"

Harris County police reported they had made a handful of drug arrests and confiscated a dozen knives and guns from people arriving at the Astrodome complex. Everyone coming in is checked for health problems and their bags are searched.

haha

I'm thinking special fundraising event, with a slide show! In Millenium Park! Only $50!

Offers of support have poured in from all over the world. Many countries have offered condolences and made donations to the Red Cross, including Britain, Japan, Australia and Sri Lanka, which is still recovering from last year's tsunami.

(insert "M.I.A. to record track for charity" joke here)

oh yeah, and i should clarify that i mean that there might be a coupla crimes or bad incidents committed or something, but on the whole it will be very good.

bad stories will be written about this either way.

"Her new track 'Rainshowers' was announced today..."

The BBC says:
"Up to 60,000 people could still be stranded in the city, the US coastguard says."

Doesn't the Astrodome have a capacity-hazard sign in the back somewhere?

Authorities eventually allowed the renegade passengers inside the dome. But the 18-year-old who ensured their safety could find himself in a world of trouble for stealing the school bus.

"I dont care if I get blamed for it ," Gibson said, "as long as I saved my people."

7 hour drive.

The teen packed it full of complete strangers and drove to Houston. He beat thousands of evacuees slated to arrive there.

I can just imagine that bus pulling up to a gas station somewhere near Lake Charles, the clerk looking out the window ...

It is important not merely to note this but all the similar suffering going on outside NO -- up the MIssissippi coast, over to Alabama.

Castro offers US medical help

...Some 100 doctors could board a flight to Houston, Texas, as soon as today and 1,000 could arrive tomorrow and the day after, Castro said in a radio and television address. Cuba would also send 26.4 tonnes of medicines.

"Cuba is ready to help immediately," he said. "We offer concrete things, doctors to the site of the tragedy, which is exactly what is missing now."

Castro said a diplomatic note containing the offer was sent today to the US Interests Section, the American mission in Havana, and was the second such offer of its kind made this week.

and the best bit:

At the time, American officials had asked Cuban authorities not to publicise their offer of aid, said Castro, who indicated Havana was still awaiting a response from Washington...

also, i think the castro bit covers both threads, since it's about both the humanitarian and political response

Kanye West

"yeah, it'll take 3 or 4 days to get there, but along the way, you really feel like you're doing something"

and i understand completely.

For those struggling to cope from afar

Even if you were not in the actual disaster, you may experience a
sense of vulnerability from witnessing the results of the disaster.

This can be especially acute if a relative or friend was affected by the disaster, particularly if you have been unable to get news on their welfare.

- Take a news break. Watching endless replays of footage from the
disaster can make your stress even greater. Although you'll want to
keep informed - especially if you have loved ones affected by the
disaster - take a break from watching the news.

- Be kind to yourself. Some feelings when witnessing a disaster may
be difficult for you to accept. You may feel relief that the disaster
did not touch you, or you may feel guilt that you were left untouched
when so many were affected. Both feelings are common.

- Keep things in perspective. Although a disaster often is horrifying, you should focus as well on the things that are good in your life.

- Find a productive way to help if you can. Many organizations are set up to provide financial or other aid to victims of natural disasters. Contributing can be a way to gain some “control” over the event.

- Control what you can. There are routines in your life that you can continue and sometimes you need to do those and take a break from even thinking about the disaster.

- Look for opportunities for self-discovery and recognize your strengths. People often learn something about themselves and may find that they have grown in some respect as a result of persevering hrough hardship. Many people who have experienced tragedy and adversity have reported better relationships, greater sense of personal strength even while feeling vulnerable, increased sense of self-worth, deeper spirituality, and heightened appreciation for life.