Small Thoughts on Katrina

Yesterday, while I celebrated the start of my second year as a thirtysomething, a city that had survived the wrath of a hurricane suffered the breach of two levees. As more water flowed in and filled the below-sea-level community, the breaches grew wider, allowing more water in and hampering the stopgap repair efforts. One wonders if New Orleans, Biloxi and other affected areas will be able to recover from such devastation. The news put a small thing, like a birthday, in perspective.

Even with videos, photos and accounts by journalists and "citizen journalists", it's hard to imagine the scope and scale of the disaster. Entire towns have washed away or been submerged. Half a million people were evacuated and will be unable to return for weeks, possibly months, to homes that may or may not be there. More than that, they may or may not have stores, offices, electricity, water or roads when they return.

Ten thousand refugees are housed in a damaged sports facility that is quickly running out of food and water. The headlines declare that hundreds are dead and thousands are stranded. When all is said and done, I'm sure the death toll will also be in the thousands.

The whole situation saddens me, but what angers me is the news about the looters. They're not only stealing goods from stores, but also stealing time and energy from police and National Guard units whose entire efforts should be focused on rescuing flood victims. The looters are only making a bad situation worse. One wishes that nature had a sense of justice and would simply wash away all that the thieves stole.

For a local view, one can check out the Sun Herald and their Katrina blog, which is maintained by two of their staff writers. Between the power outages and loss of their landline connection, they have been posting frequently since Sunday.

They began by posting shelter and evacuation information. They then provided up-to-the-minute updates and contact information for their "I'm OK Line". Now they are acting as a conduit, passing along emails and messages from those affected and those wanting to help. The more I read it, the more I appreciate their efforts.