Help victims of Hurricane Katrina

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VF21 or any mod could you please sticky this......

Cat. 5 Katrina Heads Towards New Orleans

Written by Lesly Simmons , Writer, Redcross.org

Sunday, August 28, 2005 — Hurricane Katrina is now an incredibly strong Category 5 storm heading straight for New Orleans with sustained winds at 175 miles per hour.



NOAA Aug. 28, 2005
To find shelters in the affected areas only, please contact your local Red Cross chapter. For shelter information in Louisiana, please call 1-800-469-4828.


“This is a once in a lifetime event,” said New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. “We are telling all of our citizens to leave New Orleans. Never before has the city of New Orleans seen a storm this big heading directly toward it.”

Mandatory evacuations are in place for the entire New Orleans metropolitan area. About 70 percent of New Orleans is below sea level, and the city is protected by a series of levees. Katrina could cause storm surges up to 20 feet, which would completely overwhelm the levees and cause massive flooding.

“The problem we are having is that if the storm surges are that high, they will pop our levels and lots of New Orleans will be under water,” said Nagin, who is urging seriousness, but not panic.

Katrina is now moving west/northwest at 12 mph, putting its arrival time in the New Orleans area sometime tomorrow morning or early afternoon.

This storm is stronger than Hurricane Camille, the devastating storm that hit New Orleans in 1969. Camille killed 256 people after it slammed ashore with winds at over 200 miles per hour. Thousands of people were left homeless all along the shore and far inland.

Only three Cat. 5 storms have ever hit the United States:

The unnamed Labor Day hurricane of 1935;
Hurricane Camille in 1969; and
Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Katrina might also disrupt the nation’s oil supply, as Nagin said nearly one-third of the nation’s oil moves through the area. He added that at least 1,500 National Guard troops are available, to deploy and assist with cleanup efforts after the storm moves through the area.

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of this disaster and thousands of other disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. Call 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org OR www.redcross.org/donate/donate.html


 
I was listening to the radio this morning and a red Cross rep said they most desperately need blood, especially now. If you can donate and most people can, please do so, not just now but all times of the year. The worse time of year for blood shortages are the summer when students are on vacation as they are the most frequent donors.
They also need cash donations to help New Orleans victims as well as the families of the more than 50 people who died in Mississippi.
 
Help Katrina's Victims!!!

What has happend is absolutely terrible... i'm left without words. go to www.redcross.org and contribute to the red cross relief efforts. thank you all.
 
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After watching the hour special on ABC (it's just now concluding) I still cannot begin to fathom the extent of the destruction...

I helped flood victims from the Linda/Olivehurst area when they were evacuated up here into the mountains. I saw families who had lost everything, as did most of us. We shed some tears and we did what we could to help. But that was nothing compared to what the Gulf Coast is going to be experiencing for a long time...

Americans are a giving people. Whenever anything happens anywhere in the world you hear about the deep pockets and generous nature of American relief workers. This time, we need to band together and do whatever we can to help our fellow Americans.

I didn't mean to make this sound preachy. I am stunned - you don't really get a true idea of the massive nature of the images they're showing. Until, that is, they start showing the before and after pictures.

My thoughts and prayers are with those still in danger, those who are lost and without homes, and those who will be heading for the area to do whatever they can to help.

God Bless all of them.
 
To repeat, the two things that will do the most good to donate right now are cash and blood.

As a warning: It's almost impossible to believe, but there are ALREADY scammers out there trying to get their piece of the pie. If you get some kind of bleeding heart email with a link in it for donations, be very careful. The best thing to do, if you want to donate, is to go to www.redcross.org. Don't let some jerk get away with stealing your money...
 
I just received this information from a trusted friend and minister in Virginia. I figured it might do some good to post it here:

There is a Web site named http://neworleansrefugees.blogspot.com/ that people can use to make notes about people they are looking for. If you know the
whereabouts of anyone affected by the hurricane, check this site and see if their name is mentioned, or post an entry there to let people know that certain people are safe. Blogspot.com is a well known Web log service.

I'll warn you ahead of time. If you do check out the site, prepare yourself. These are real people and the anguish that comes through is almost overwhelming. My hope and prayer in posting the link to the site is that even ONE person will be found because of it.
 
We had families reunited today!!! It was a blessing to see and be a part of it!

By the way VF is right, beware of scammers. The best way to help (other than prayer) is through the Red Cross.
 
Yes, go directly to the Red Cross site. Stay away from others. If you do not have a credit card there are other ways than online.

As an aside, there are many reputable corporations/stores who have joined in to help get the money where it is needed. For example, my store (Office Max) has joined up to get money sent ASAP to the Red Cross. If you go into any Office Max you can donate right at the register and it will go directly to the Red Cross relief fund. We are proud to join in and help where we can.
 
chelle said:
We had families reunited today!!! It was a blessing to see and be a part of it!

By the way VF is right, beware of scammers. The best way to help (other than prayer) is through the Red Cross.

Hurray!!!! and thank you, God!
 
People at my work (SMUD) are sending donations to the Red Cross and sending lineman crews to restore power to the affected areas.

Thanks for the good news chelle!
 
chelle said:
We had families reunited today!!! It was a blessing to see and be a part of it!

You made me cry again - but this time the tears are of relief and joy for the family that was reunited.

If you can, chelle, tell people about the site I mentioned above. From what I understand, it's being circulated throughout all the Christian sites, popular message boards, etc. Hopefully, it too will be able to help reunite some of these poor people.

God Bless you again. Any time you need to let off steam or just take a minute to let your mind relax a little, we're here for you.
 
hoopsfan said:
People at my work (SMUD) are sending donations to the Red Cross and sending lineman crews to restore power to the affected areas.

From what I understand, PG&E and phone crews are also going to be heading that way.
 
My nephew went to work in New Orleans upon his graduation from Florida State University a few years ago. There he met Jennifer who would become his bride. All my family met in New Orleans for the wedding, and a beautiful wedding it was. Jeremy and Jennifer still have many many friends and some family members still living in New Orleans. Jennifer's father still lives there. I have no idea whether he evacuated or not, but I have sent inquiries.

These past few days, my thoughts keep returning to that visit to New Orleans. What an incredibly beautiful city. Our hotel was very near the domed stadium. My heart is broken at the thought of so much of it now gone. I think of the church that held their wedding....and the reception hall...and all the places that we visited. And, I can only imagine how Jennifer and Jeremy must feel.

I pray for so many who are affected by this tragedy. We only see the surface. It goes much deeper.

I simply needed to share some of my feelings at this point. Thank you for a venue to release some of my incredible sorrow.
 
6th said:
My nephew went to work in New Orleans upon his graduation from Florida State University a few years ago. There he met Jennifer who would become his bride. All my family met in New Orleans for the wedding, and a beautiful wedding it was. Jeremy and Jennifer still have many many friends and some family members still living in New Orleans. Jennifer's father still lives there. I have no idea whether he evacuated or not, but I have sent inquiries.

These past few days, my thoughts keep returning to that visit to New Orleans. What an incredibly beautiful city. Our hotel was very near the domed stadium. My heart is broken at the thought of so much of it now gone. I think of the church that held their wedding....and the reception hall...and all the places that we visited. And, I can only imagine how Jennifer and Jeremy must feel.

I pray for so many who are affected by this tragedy. We only see the surface. It goes much deeper.

I simply needed to share some of my feelings at this point. Thank you for a venue to release some of my incredible sorrow.

I mentioned in the prayer thread that Jennifer's father finally got out of New Orleans 4 1/2 days after the Hurricane. He owned/operated a 37 bed nursing home and could not evacuate. He stayed behind to help care for the patients. They rescued the last of the patients on Thurs and he himself was evacuated on Friday. Although Jennifer is finally relieved that her father is safe, she is very very distraught about the destruction of her childhood home and that of so many of her friend's homes. Apparently, she has yet to track down all of them.

Please, everyone, continue to find ways to give, and continue to pray.
 
I just want to say that I live in a wonderful city. Everywhere people are donating. We have a lot of the evacuees here and are trying to make them feel as welcome as possible.People are taking them into their homes, there's a wonderful camp been set up for the kids. It's not far from me so I have volunteered there a couple of times, going today actually. They can swim, play games and it helps take their mind of what they've been through. They're the hardest hit in this whole thing from what I can tell. The things they've seen, like family members dead breaks my heart and will scar them forever. We've got them enrolled in school to try and get some kind of normalcy and now we're doing a big drive to get them clothes, school suplies etc. The local shelters have taken a lot of the animals displaced and will keep them free of charge until their owners claim them or they can be adopted. It's awesome to see so many people pull together and forget their differences to help those affected.
They still need more and there's a desperate need for blood so please donate!
 
Spanos family to match donations for Hurricane Relief

Friday, September 2, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chargers.com

The Alex Spanos family and the San Diego Chargers are asking fans to join them to help the American Red Cross rebuild communities and save lives in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

The American Red Cross will be collecting donations at the Chargers’ home opener against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Sept. 11 at Qualcomm Stadium. The Spanos’ will match all contributions to the American Red Cross up to $150,000 made by fans attending the game.

“It’s hard to comprehend the enormity of this disaster,” said team president Dean Spanos. “There are hundreds of thousands of people homeless. This is a time to make a difference and help people get back on their feet.”

Charger fans have a tradition of generosity following natural disasters. Earlier this year, the Spanos’ pledged $150,000 to aid the tsunami victims of South Asia and with Charger fans, contributed an additional $46,000 to the relief fund. In 2003, the Spanos’ donated $1 million to the San Diego wildfires relief fund and matched an additional $60,000 contributed by fans.

“This is the largest disaster the Red Cross has responded to in its 125 years,” said local Red Cross Chapter CEO Ronne Froman. “We need any and all help. This needs to be a team effort to help with the massive amount of care needed. We are grateful the Chargers and their fans are willing to help us with our life-saving efforts.”

Fans can make contributions at the gates as they enter the stadium as well as throughout the game. All donations are tax deductible. By making a financial gift to Hurricane 2005 Relief, the Red Cross can help provide shelter, food, counseling, and other assistance to those in need
 
It's kind of ironic how at the top right of this page there is an advertisement for new orleans nightlife.
 
Unfortunately, I think we'll see things like that for a while. The Google ads are keyed off the topics of the various threads.
 
loopymitch said:
I just want to say that I live in a wonderful city. Everywhere people are donating. We have a lot of the evacuees here and are trying to make them feel as welcome as possible.People are taking them into their homes, there's a wonderful camp been set up for the kids. It's not far from me so I have volunteered there a couple of times, going today actually. They can swim, play games and it helps take their mind of what they've been through. They're the hardest hit in this whole thing from what I can tell. The things they've seen, like family members dead breaks my heart and will scar them forever. We've got them enrolled in school to try and get some kind of normalcy and now we're doing a big drive to get them clothes, school suplies etc. The local shelters have taken a lot of the animals displaced and will keep them free of charge until their owners claim them or they can be adopted. It's awesome to see so many people pull together and forget their differences to help those affected.
They still need more and there's a desperate need for blood so please donate!

Thank you, Loopy. It is amazing to hear of people helping from all over. I have many new students in my class that have been displaced. I had the wonderful privilege of meeting with some of their parents today. I was honored to pray with them, cry with them, and simply listen to them. I want to encourage everyone else who lives near any of the shelters to volunteer. Simply listening to them will not only help them, but you will also be amazed at what it does for your heart as well.
 
My older sister, who is an RN, and lives in St Louis, has worked some with the Red Cross. She contacted them immediately after Katrina hit, but they have only recently called for more help. I am waiting to hear where she is headed.

Everyone does what they can, and even those with limited means themselves, can at least pray, donate blood, etc.
 
I posted Voisin's column in the NBA forum but part of it bears repeating:

Vlade Divac is in town and he and his wife, Ana, will be at L'Image Bistro in the Pavilions between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. tonight collecting donated items such as diapers, baby food, school supplies and paper towels, among other things, and load them onto a 25-foot truck. (More trucks are available if needed.)

The article says that later in the evening, Vlade will drive the goods to a distribution center in Houston.

This doesn't surprise me in the least. My respect for Vlade has increased even more than before. I know the people of Sacramento won't disappoint him with their generosity.

:D
 
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