It was the Vodou. They had a chat with Katrina.

Well, it looks like a near hit on New Orleans from a category 3 instead of direct hit by a category 5. The question now is who takes the credit for their last minute reprieve, the Christians or the Voodoo priestesses?

I think that by the end of this week we'll find that the difference between Katrina being a catagory three and a catagory five is more going to matter to the people who had to deal with it inland.

For New Orleans, I suspect, it didn't matter much. The flooding they're seeing this morning is horrific.

I've never been through anything like this, before. I've never lost everything I had, never had to deal with an insurance company in the face of disaster. I know a couple who were due to be married in December and live(d) on a first floor apartment in one of the historic areas of New Orleans. They managed to evacuate, but I've not heard from them since and I'm sure they don't know what has happened to their apartment, yet, anyways.

Outside of offering a place to stay until they are able to get back on their feet, again, is there anything that anyone can think of that would be a good thing to do for them? If you were displaced and didn't know when you'd be home, what would make your time away easier?

...and in the unfortunate event that everything is lost (which seems highly likely at this point), what could I do to help them out? I know they had insurance and all, but I'm curious as to what they might expect and what I could do to assist them.

The hard part at this point is going to be finding them.

Hopefully they did have insurance, especially insurance that covers major acts of God, like a hurricane. Some standard policies in hurricane areas do not, but I'm assuming you know that already.

Despite being an expert in Disaster Mental Health (which involves being there, listening, and handing out water and socks at times), I don't actually know the answer to your question.

Send them a small teddy bear (or something that would be in character for you, perhaps a fox), and a "What can I do to help?" note. And maybe a case of MREs and bottled water ... that's likely what they need right now.

When a coworker's apartment building burned down and he lost absolutely everything, the things he appreciated most in the following days were basic necessities--clothes, pillows, and toiletries, stuff like that. You can eat out for awhile until you get new pots and pans, but if you don't have a shower curtain things are really going to suck.

No, God.

/less filling!
//tastes great!
///reading too much fark

When shit like this befalls us, it doesn't matter what name we tack onto it...we're all talkin' to the same thing.

Kit, if you can contact them, just tell them to ask for whatever they need, and if you can get it/do it, you will.

Let us know if they need some sponsorship. I'd be happy to kick in a few bucks to some personal assistance effort.

This picture just hints at the flooding going on. These are houses.

They said yesterday evening that the worst case scenario did not occur. I have since heard that opinion recanted. This may not be the *absolute* worst case, but it is very, very close.

I'm currently at my parents house in Southwest Indiana, Evansville to be precise, and we had Katrina effects today - lots of wind and rain. Lots of flooding around here, but it's really nothing compared to what happened down south.

I hope that all is well with Cellarites down in those areas affected... please check in soon.

The vodoun believe in God also.

He just gets different kinds of helpers.

I spent some of the early part of tonight looking through some news sites checking out pictures and videos.

Some of the most incredible were of houses, businesses, and the yacht club on fire. Fire apparatus can't get to any of these places with the flooding, so they are just left to burn.

I can't find the picture anymore, because I guess the TV station redid their slide shows, but I saw one that was particularly interesting ... a pawn shop that was apparently on high ground that missed getting flooded was on fire. I found myself wondering if the owner had been counting on the floods to take care of some of his financial problems and when he remained dry, arranged for a little accident.

Anybody hear from Buster B yet?

Gulf Coasters aren't the only ones getting beaten up. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/08/31/taiwan.typhoon.reut/index.html">Taipei is getting their third typhoon this year</a>, also a strong catagory four.

One quote from a Taiwainese fisherman is a little amusing.

This guy doesn't seem to get the big picture.