A Somber Anniversary
Three years ago, New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. A dangerous situation that many had warned about happened when the levies broke and the city that had been hit by hurricanes throughout its history suffered another. It was a terrible loss of life, and the death toll increased in the days afterward due to an ineffective government, both local and federal. Without getting into specifics and pointing the finger of blame at anyone, it was a sad situation and my heartfelt and sincere sympathies go out to anyone affected by the tragedy.
Almost to the day three years later, New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are preparing to be hit by yet another hurricane, Gustav. I am not one that turns to prayer often, being an atheist, but if there is a higher being that can help mitigate another disaster, I hope that no one has to die this time around.
Sadly, three years later and New Orleans still has not been rebuilt. CNN reported recently reported that FEMA gave away supplies meant for victims of Katrina to others, because those that needed the supplies never asked for them. The blame game is still trying to decide who dropped the ball when it came to preparing a major American city for such a situation, both before and after the storm hit.
All we can hope for now is that New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are prepared this time.
Gustav may hit the Gulf Coast by Tuesday. In its path, 78 people died in Cuba and 11 in Jamaica. On Gustav’s trail is Tropical Storm Hanna, which is projected to turn south before hitting the US. Recently, Florida was hit by Fay. Even as I write this, the National Hurricane Center is tracking two more potential storms heading west from the coast of Africa.
This is turning into quite the “hurricane season.”
New Orleans, Katrina, Gustav, Hanna, hurricane, hurricane season, Cuba, Gulf Coast, Jamaica, FEMA, CNN, National Hurricane Center, Africa, tropical storm
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