Katrina continued

Well, the good news is that right before landfall Hurricane Katrina weakened slightly and turned to the east. This means that New Orleans is still standing, though it also mans that Biloxi and Gulfport and all the other towns on the Mississippi gulf coast were hammered. The damage that I’ve seen so far (and you need to remember, they haven’t gotten out to the shore yet) has been incredible. Entire areas are flattened and under water.

I’ve paid attention to the parts of New Orleans that I’m familiar with and you can tell just how close to a catastrophe they came. Just look at the pictures of the roof of the Superdome, it looks like half of it has suffered severe damage. Imagine if they had taken a direct hit, there is no guarantee that the building would still be standing. The French Quarter survived pretty much unscathed. That actually isn’t that surprising, there’s a reason why it is the oldest part of the city. It’s the highest point in the area. I just hope that people watching the news remember that the Quarter is a really small part of the city and it’s not the population center. The east side of the city and the parts that border on Lake Ponchatrain are where the majority of people live and those parts are under water.

I have read one story from the Quarter that makes me smile. In my living room I have a picture of Pirate’s Alley taken from the courtyard of the cathedral. In it you can see the buildings of Pirate’s Alley framed by these large oak trees and a statue of Jesus. The story I saw online is that the two massive trees in my picture were uprooted but barely grazed the statue. It was standing outside the courtyard in June that I had a lot of revelations and it is nice to know that at least parts of the neighborhood survived.

That said, there is going to be a massive relief effort underway with a number of people left homeless. Be generous and help out in any way you can. It won’t be until tomorrow that people have a much better understanding of all that has happens.

I’m hoping to have more positive news to write about tomorrow. I try to look on the bright side of life but on days like today that is a real challenge. You just hope that everyone got through the storm in one piece.