by GDN01 » Mon Sep 05, 2005 4:38 am
It is nearly 2 a.m. and I just got home from two days in St. Tamany Parish - the area just north of New Orleans. I should be exhausted, and I am, but I can't go to sleep and feel a need to write about my last two days. <br><br>I went with 8 other people to help, however we could, in the areas that are at least accessible but still devastated by Katrina. It was a 7 hour drive over and a 10 hour drive back. The conditions are worsening all across the southeast portion of Louisiana as people find their way out of their homes and have no where to go and can't stay where they have been. I'm talking about the areas that are devastated outside of New Orleans - areas that aren't getting any help from federal and state agencies because they aren't New Orleans. And yes, I know the help New Orleans has received is deplorable. So you can imagine what is happening in these other cut off areas. No help.<br><br>This is an area that is heavily wooded. The biggest problem is all the trees that have fallen over, blocking access to homes and roads, leaving people stranded. There is a feeling of desperation everywhere. We spent our time trying to secure a couple of homes that were damaged but savable. We cleared trees, pulled rain-soaked insulation out of roofs and then covered them with tarps. Handed out supplies and gasoline. It felt so futile in so many ways. But it was all we could do. We hope that by getting a few homes secure, they can give shelter to others. <br><br>The heat is unbearable. The water is contaminated. There is no electricity. Communication is non-existant east of Baton Rouge. Gasoline is rare east of Lafayette. Stores are running out of supplies from Baton Rouge east. People are still trapped in their homes all across the devastated areas. And people who are emerging are shell-shocked. They don't know where their families and friends are, and if they are alive. Homes that are habitable are often housing 20+ people - with no running water and no electricity. There is definitely a seige mentality. And everyone realizes they can't continue like this but have no idea what to do, where to go, how to get out. And there is NO HELP coming to them. They've lost their jobs. Their homes are in ruin. But they feel they have the best chance of getting help by staying there. I gave so many people my phone number and told them to call me if they needed a place to stay - but they seem paralyzed, unable to make the decision to abandon what little they have left. <br><br>We saw at least 50 abandoned cars along I-10 between Houston and Slidell, Louisiana (a town on the north shore of Lake Ponchatrain) - we assumed they ran out of gas and had to start walking. <br><br>There are going to be so many dead people. People are dying from lack of water, trapped in their homes. At one rest area just west of Slidell, the entrances were roped off and a police car was on watch. Why in the hell haven't they turned these rest areas into shelters? The city of Baton Rouge is on the verge of having its own disaster as its population has doubled in the past week. Gasoline is hard to find. Grocery stores are running out of basic supplies. ATM's are running out of money - and for those whose banks run through New Orleans, they can't access their money. <br><br>My sister lives in east Baton Rouge, the first stopping point west of New Orleans. She is a single mother of three kids. I begged her to come with me and my friends back to Texas until things stabilize there. They've been told it's not safe to be on the streets after dark. People are shooting each other over gas and food and money. She couldn't find water or bread in the stores. She had no cash left and her bank is out of New Orleans. She wouldn't come with us because she will lose her job if she doesn't go in this coming week. So, we stopped there on our way home and gave her all the supplies we had left and any cash we had with us, and a 2-gallon container of gasoline. I hope if things worsen there this might help her get out. I cried and cried as we left without her and her children. The breakdown of society is spreading and I am so worried about her. <br><br>It seems to me that things are getting worse - not better. There may be some areas stabilizing. But for the most part, people are just beginning to crawl out from the rubble. The people who have banded together in homes are running out of supplies. The stench in the streets is awful. And I was in an area that is not the worst. <br><br>I don't think I can communicate how horrible things are. How we're going to see a second and third wave of tragedy as the people who are stranded come to the end of their ability to hang on as their supplies run out. And I don't know how to tell you to help. I don't know what to do tomorrow when I wake up and want to help. The agencies have proven to be useless in the face of this magnitude of a disaster. It's up to the people to start doing something. Fill a van with food and water and gasoline and bring it to the towns you can get to. Take people out with you, if they will leave. Bring chainsaws and help cut trees so people can be reached. Bring clothes to give to people. <br><br>I am so sad. I can't tell you how much need there is. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost everything. Anything you can give - please do. <p></p><i></i>
