The following reached me through my old EverQuest guilds messageboard from someone on the outskirts of the Katrina disaster zone:
- People are dying in N.O. due to lack of medical supplies.
- Hospitals in N.O. are working without power or water moving patients up one story at a time.
- Sharks have been spotted swimming in the streets
- Out lying parishes are allowing people to register thier children for the local schools
- Jefferson parish is going to allow people with ID to go home and collect what they can on Monday, but then they must leave for at least 1 month.
- Orleans parish will not be allowed to even do that.
- 30% of the US oil production was impacted
- Major refineries have been shutdown
- Current expectation is that water levels in N.O. will be 3 ft more than the Gulf.
- Prisoner have taken hostages
- Police have been shot attempting to control looting
- Looters are taking firearms and firing on police stations
- Gas lines are ruptured and there are burning fountains bubbling up out of the water
- The body count has not even started
- Doomsday estimates from worst case were 20-30 thousand.
- Unofficially they expect this to be more than 9/11…hopefully no where near the above.
- People are jumping from the top sections of the Superdome in despair
- There are no hotel rooms available in La. Dallas (500 miles away) is the closest available.
- Biloxi and Gulfport are almost completely gone
- Major interstate bridges were destroyed
- How are the displaced people going to pay bills or even recieve them?
- In Iraq and Indonesia, no matter how bad those were, communications still existed…not here.
- People are calling on cell phones to media outlets begging for rescue.
- Phone communications is spotty at best…911 is out.
- Cell phone towers are running out of battery power
- Officials estimate that N.O. will take 6 weeks just to finish rescue and repair levees.
- It is unknown how long to drain.
- Private individuals are being asked to bring boats and volunteer to help rescue.
- People are dying in shelters because they have no medicine or prescription information to get items refilled.
- Parents have just lost everything they ever worked for.
- Children are sleeping on concrete.