Thursday 04 December 2008 Pitt visits New Orleans project
Actor Brad Pitt visits the New Orleans area where the familes are moving into new homes built by his charity.
NOVA Storm That Drowned a City (Nov. 2005) Experts and eyewitnesses reconstruct the devastating floods that Hurricane Katrina unleashed on New Orleans. Watch now (49 mins.)
NOVA Hurricane Katrina (Oct. 2005) Scientists' warnings proved sadly prescient about New Orleans' risk from hurricanes. Watch now (4 mins.)
Wednesday 03 September 2008 New Orleans Says Residents Can Return Thursday
Mayor C. Ray Nagin said that most residents would have to wait to return, because power and medical care were not back to normal. NEW ORLEANS — A mostly smooth evacuation from Hurricane Gustav turned sour on Tuesday as many New Orleans residents trying to return home were turned away at roadblocks into the city or stranded in parking lots across the region.
Monday 01 September 2008 CFB TRENTON: CANADA AIDING NEW ORLEANS EVACUATION
A Canadian Forces supply plane was scheduled to leave its base in Trenton, Ontario, on Sunday to help with the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents around New Orleans who are threatened by Hurricane Gustav. The Canadian Forces C-17 will help transport people out of the danger zone. Hurricane Gustav crossed western Cuba on Saturday, briefly achieving category four winds capable of massive destruction. It has already killed more than 80 people in the Caribbean. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered an emergency evacuation of his city. A dusk-to-dawn curfew was scheduled to take effect on Sunday at sunset. Virtually all oil production in the Gulf of Mexico was suspended as of Sunday and most rigs and platforms were evacuated. The latest hurricane comes almost exactly three years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area in 2005.
The threat of devastation along the U.S. Gulf coast by Hurricane Gustav has caused the leaders of the U.S. Republican Party to alter arrangements for their party convention that begins on Monday in St. Paul, Minnesota. President George W. Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney and prominent Republican governors have decided not to attend the gathering, where John McCain will be formally nominated as the party's presidential candidate. The convention might also be shortened from four days to three or less. Mr. McCain says that the changes are being made because of the seriousness of hurricane Gustav.
Sunday 31 August 2008 New Orleans residents flee storm
Thousands of people leave New Orleans after the mayor orders an evacuation as Hurricane Gustav heads towards the US coast.
Saturday 30 August 2008 New Orleans Sets Plan for Hurricane Evacuation
Sunday has been cited as the day that a mandatory evacuation order was possible, as Hurricane Gustav aims at the Gulf Coast.
Friday 21 December 2007 Protesters clash in New Orleans
The fight caused the City Council to stop discussing the planned demolition of about 45-hundred public housing units around the city -- so that developers can build mixed-income neighborhoods. The protesters say the demolitions will drive poor blacks from the city.
Monday 03 September 2007 Insurers Bear Brunt of Anger in New Orleans
Insurance companies may have paid out $11 billion to Louisianians since Hurricane Katrina, but they have become a new villain in the tales people tell about recovery.
Friday, 31 August 2007,
Audio slideshow: Music workshop
Legendary New Orleans nightspot Tipitina's Uptown runs a Sunday afternoon workshop for children of all ages to play with and learn from the city's best musicians.
Many of New Orleans' music programmes have been on hold since Hurricane Katrina, so Tipitina's workshops are serving a vital need in the recovery process by passing on musical traditions to a younger generation.
Monday 02 July 2007 Largely Alone, Pioneers Reclaim New Orleans ...This is the Gentilly neighborhood today, once a backbone of New Orleans and all but given up for dead less than a year ago after flooding from Hurricane Katrina turned it brown and gray and silent in 2005.
Gentilly, home to about 47,000 people before the storm and a thin fraction of that now, is not dead. Haltingly, in disconnected pockets, this eight-square-mile quadrant north of the historic districts that line the Mississippi River is limping back to life, thanks to the struggles of its most determined former residents.
Wednesday 14 February 2007 nyt Lethal Winds Strike New Orleans ap
A powerful storm overturned FEMA trailers and tore apart businesses early Tuesday in neighborhoods still trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina.
Sunday 28 January 2007 Judge Puts Settlement on Katrina in Question A federal judge in Mississippi has rejected a settlement by State Farm Insurance that was expected to provide several hundred million dollars to help policyholders rebuild homes destroyed by the storm.
2006
Monday 28 August 2006 nyt Year After Katrina, Bush Still Fights for 9/11 Image By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG President Bush's public persona remains that of a wartime president flying by as desperate and vulnerable Americans suffered.
Monday 28 August 2006 Outlines Emerge for a Shaken New Orleans Somewhere between the extravagant visions of the boosters and the gloomy predictions of the pessimists lies a glimpse of the city's real future.
OPINION | May 30, 2006
Op-Ed nyt: Take This Internship and Shove It
By ANYA KAMENETZ >br>
What if the growth of unpaid internships is bad for the labor market and for individual careers?
Tuesday May 30, 2006 An Autopsy of Katrina: Four Storms, Not Just One Experts say the flood protection system in New Orleans was flawed from the start because the model storm it was designed to stop was simplistic.
Friday Mar 3, 2006 ts Video shows Bush was briefed on Katrina
Federal disaster officials warned President George W. Bush before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees, according to confidential video footage. Associated Press reports.
Tuesday Feb 28, 2006 nyt In the Music of New Orleans, Katrina Leaves Angry EdgeThere's a changed spirit in the old songs: the tenacity of holding together bands whose members have scattered, and determination to maintain the New Orleans style [Music Photos]
Sunday, February 12, 2006 cnn
The report to be issued on Wednesday by a group of Republican members of Congress that charges Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff with executing his responsibilities "late, ineffectively or not at all." [So, it's not all FEMA's fault] but despite it all, the Big Easy manages to play, dance and sing its way through Mardi Gras
Sunday Feb 5, 2006 nyt Rebuilding New Orleans, One Appeal at a Time By ADAM NOSSITER New Orleans officials are frequently bending a rule that says homes must be less than 50 percent damaged to avoid demolition.
December 11, 2005 Amidst all the political news and spin from the U.S., we are saddened by Sunday's editorial on New Orleans in the New York Times: "We are about to lose New Orleans. Whether it is a conscious plan to let the city rot until no one is willing to move back or honest paralysis over difficult questions, the moment is upon us when a major American city will die, leaving nothing but a few shells for tourists to visit like a museum"
Wednesday Dec 7, 2005 nyt The State of New Orleans By BRUCE KATZ, MATT FELLOWES and NIGEL HOLMES Data indicate that New Orleans remains in a state of emergency more than three months after it was officially declared.
Sunday Dec 4, 2005 nyt Jobs Surged Last Month in Rebound From Storm By LOUIS UCHITELLE The nation's employers added 215,000 jobs in November, the government reported, as the economy rebounded from the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina.
Sunday Dec 4, 2005 nyt Wearying Wait for Federal Aid in New Orleans By ADAM NOSSITER Three months after Katrina, hidden behind politicians' rosy declarations are thousands of people still waiting for FEMA assistance.
Saturday Nov 26, 2005 nyt Mardi Gras to the Rescue? Doubts Grow. By JERE LONGMAN After Hurricane Katrina floored this city, there was widespread hope that Mardi Gras would yank New Orleans back to its feet.
Sunday Oct 30, 2005 nyt Divisions Appear Within a Storm Recovery Commission By GARY RIVLIN The panel appointed to direct the rebuilding of New Orleans has struggled to keep its focus on the big issues, and sharp divisions have developed among its members.
Friday Oct 28, 2005 ts Cancun turned upside down
Associated Press reporter Will Weissert toured Cancun's famous hotel zone, one of the world's most popular resorts, after Hurricane Wilma and a day of heavy looting left much of the area in ruins. Here is a description of the damage he saw, and how Cancun has changed. Florida toll rises
Thursday Oct 13, 2005 New Orleans can rebuild as it wishes
U.S. President George W. Bush pledged yesterday the federal government will not seek to dictate terms for rebuilding the hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast, but will instead allow state and local officials to make the key decisions. He rejoiced in what he said is a spirit of revival there.
Thursday Oct 6, 2005 nyt A Barren Port Waits Eagerly for Its People By SIMON ROMERO With as much as 80 percent of its operations still shut, the Port of New Orleans has far to go before it can return to anything resembling its pre-Hurricane Katrina level.
Tuesday Oct 4, 2005 nyt Some Experts Say It's Time to Evacuate the Coast (for Good) By CORNELIA DEAN
Even some supporters of coastal development are starting to ask a previously unthinkable question: Is it time to consider retreat from the Gulf Coast?
I came across an article that may be of interest. It's a different
perspective on the New Orleans disaster than one gets from the typical
news sources. I'll attach a few excerpts to give you the
flavour.
'Much has been written about how the
'war on terror' diverted spending from the defences of New
Orleans [and the role of gov't, Bush,
etc.. But Katrina]
" has laid bare, in the starkest
and most tangible form, what is well known in theory: that this society
is constructed upon a celebration of inequality, ingrown violence and
great historic wrongs, which, for their sustenance, require continuous
human sacrifice.
...
The stranded survivors of New Orleans were
devoid of basic skills for survival, since survival in America depends
totally upon money. Even the poorest people of Bangladesh, Niger, Brazil
or India are not poor in the same way. The poor of the US have been
remade in the image of wealth; that is to say, their lives have been
fashioned by the same values, influences and expectations as the rest of
society, which are those of the well-to-do. They are just as dependent
upon money as the rich are, only they do not have the wherewithal to
participate in a society constructed on the assumption that all human
needs, wants and comforts must be bought
...
Some commentators in America described scenes
in New Orleans as 'reminiscent of the Third World.' They could not have
been more wrong. This was an entirely 'First World' phenomenon: gun
battles between looters and the National Guard, who operate a
shoot-to-kill policy against predators, bloated corpses abandoned on
riverbanks and sidewalks, or simply floating, unclaimed on the toxic
flood - these are scenes which occur only in the lands of privilege.
This is what the poor of India and all the other hopeful countries of the
world have been taught to envy and to long for. This is the supreme
achievement of the richest societies the world has ever known; and it is
the model, not merely preached, but actually imposed by the International
Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization and the
governments of the G8.
Wednesday Sep 28, 2005 lat Katrina Takes a Toll on Truth, News Accuracy
# Rumors supplanted accurate information and media magnified the problem. Rapes, violence and estimates of the dead were wrong.
September 27, 2005 lat Katrina Takes a Toll on Truth, News Accuracy
# Rumors supplanted accurate information and media magnified the problem. Rapes, violence and estimates of the dead were wrong.
September 26, 2005 nyt Editorial: Faking the Katrina Inquiry
Without pressure from the public, a thorough investigation of the government's mismanagement of Katrina will ebb away behind the political levees of Washington.
Monday Sep 26, 2005 rci U.S. government officials reported late on Saturday that there had been property damage but no fatalities as Hurricane Rita passed across parts of Texas and Louisiana. The storm came ashore as a Category One hurricane but was then downgraded to a Category One storm. In Texas and Louisiana, over a million homes and businesses were without electricity. But the low-lying cities of Houston and Galveston were spared the worst. New Orleans, which is still struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina, reported some flooding. American officials were "cautiously optimistic" that one of the largest concentrations of Texas oil refineries escaped serious damage. The nine refineries have a combined capacity to process 2.3 million barrels of crude a day. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency prepared to move in to the Texas-Louisiana area to assess damage done by Hurricane Rita. FEMA was heavily criticized for not doing enough in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Friday Sep 23, 2005 rci More than one million residents of the U.S. state of Texas have fled or are fleeing an approaching hurricane. Highways in southern Texas are clogged with vehicles of those departing. Hurricane Rita is expected to emerge from the Gulf of Mexico and to strike the state's coast late Friday or early Saturday. The storm is at present heading toward the cities of Galveston and Houston, the country's fourth-biggest city and the centre of the U.S. oil industry. Hurricane Rita has been downgraded from the top category five of storm to category four but is still blowing winds of 240 kilometres an hour. Texas Gov. Rick Perry has asked U.S. President George W. Bush to deploy 10,000 federal troops to help in search and rescue efforts after the hurricane's arrival. The president says officials at every level of the government are involved in operations in Texas to prepare for the worst. Mr. Bush was criticized for having reacted slowly when Hurricane Katrina struck to Gulf coast east of Texas three-and-a-half weeks ago. Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute says that 21 oil refineries are directly in the path of the storm and that they account for more than 27 per cent of the country's refining capacity.
Friday Sep 23, 2005 nyt Gulf Hurricane of Top Strength Menaces Texas Rita, with winds of 165 m.p.h., forced the evacuation of as many as a million people from Corpus Christi to New Orleans.
Friday Sep 23, 2005 yaTexans Fleeing Rita Stalled by Traffic HOUSTON - Hurricane Rita closed in on the Texas Gulf Coast and the heart of the U.S. oil-refining industry with howling 145 mph winds Thursday, but a sharper-than-expected turn to the right set it on a course that could spare Houston and nearby Galveston a direct hit.
Tuesday Sep 20, 2005 nyt The Disaster Behind the Disaster: Poverty By DANIEL ALTMAN Should the government try to improve conditions in persistently poor areas, or should it simply wait for - or even encourage - the population to move away?
Tuesday Sep 20, 2005 nyt Business Owners Start to Return to New Orleans By WILLIAM YARDLEY Many business owners are seeing their businesses and homes for the first time as part of a staggered re-entry program.
Tuesday Sep 20, 2005 ts Baton Rouge riding the wave
It was the worst of times. It was the worst of times.
Guns sales were also on rise
People in Louisiana rushed to purchase guns in the chaotic days of looting and lawlessness following Hurricane Katrina, according to law enforcement officials still trying to track down thousands of weapons that were lost or stolen.
Wading into an E. coli stew
My memory is muddy, what's this river I'm inNew Orleans is sinking and I don't want to swim.
Sep 19, 2005 - NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Mayor Ray Nagin on Monday suspended a program to bring residents back to New Orleans and told all those now in the stricken city to leave because of fears a new storm may hit in the next few days. see Wed1229 invite
Friday Sep 16, 2005np Not Free 73-year-old grocery shopper jailed for looting
Merlene Maten, 73, was simply trying to fetch some food from her car after being forced from her home by Hurricane Katrina.
Friday Sep 16, 2005 nyt Water Lifts Its Awful Veil on Landscape of Destruction By MICHAEL LUO and SEWELL CHAN For the first time since the storm it was possible to see the details of the devastation inflicted on New Orleans and some of its poorest residents
Friday Sep 16, 2005 nyt Bush Pledges Federal Role in Rebuilding Gulf Coast By ELISABETH BUMILLER President Bush said the government would provide help on taxes, housing, education and job training for the hurricane victims.
G.O.P. Split Over Big Plans for Storm Spending By CARL HULSE The drive to pour billions of federal dollars into the Gulf Coast is widening a fissure among Republicans over fiscal policy
Friday Sep 16, 2005 ts New Orleans `will rise again'
George W. Bush pledged to his countrymen last night that a reconstruction project unprecedented in world history would rebuild the savaged U.S. Gulf Coast and allow the city of New Orleans to rise again.
Thursday Sep 15, 2005 Some inflation adjusted past Hurricane costs in US....almost as expensive as a very small war!
...as in wars, the innocent often suffer most. [thanks Ron R]
Stephen S. Poloz VP EDC Economics Weekly Commentary Costly Katrina - September 14, 2005 The costs of Hurricane Katrina in terms of lives and infrastructure appear to be immense. Yet, for all that, we may be months away from being able to make serious calculations of the economic fallout, and the possible implications for Canadian exporting companies. Past issues | his WN page
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 gaz New Orleans must rise again
Despite its geography, economic realities dictate that New Orleans be rebuilt - if for no other reason than to provide workers for the port
Wed Sep 7 "Wed1227" In the affected areas residents will be in the market for new housing, but the question is whether the insurance companies will pay out for an Act of God, which is normally excluded from policies, although a substantial minority may have purchased additional coverage for such events. Risk Management Solutions of Newark, Calif., estimates that insurance companies may pay out from $40 to $60 billion in claims, the most ever. Businesses and homeowners will spend many billions more in uncompensated reconstruction expenses. (see: MSNBC "The New New Orleans" )
Monday Sep 12, 2005
Rescuers take a break for Sept. 11
Firefighters paused Sunday in their recovery work for hurricane Katrina to observe the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack that killed their brethren in New York.
Sunday Sep 11, 2005
Katrina cost may equal two wars One storm could end up costing almost as much as two wars. Although estimates of Hurricane Katrina's staggering toll on the treasury are highly imprecise, costs are certain to climb to $200 billion in the coming weeks. The United States has never dealt with a disaster of this scale.
ts After volunteering with evacuees for two days, Toronto’s Yvonne Gallegos hung this sign in a walkway leading to the floor of the Houston Astrodome, which hurricane survivors are using as a shelter. “You have to start from somewhere,” said Gallegos, partner of the Barenaked Ladies’ keyboardist, Kevin Hearn, who added there’s a possibility the musicians could open for the popular Toronto area band. >br>Investors needn't be rash in wake of Katrina
Investors are understandably nervous in the wake of hurricane Katrina.
Sunday Sep 11, 2005 A Canadian Navy relief convoy on its way to New Orleans has passed through the worst of Hurricane Ophelia. HMCS Athabaskan and two other ships changed their course around the Atlantic hurricane. Nonetheless, the ships were pounded by high winds, heavy rain and three-metre waves. The ships accompanied by a U.S. navy refuelling vessel are expected to arrive in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday. The ships' crews will help in the flood relief effort in New Orleans. Their exact duties, however, are still not clear. A fourth Canadian navy chip, Sir William Alexander, will bring extra supplies a couple of days later.
Poor nations often cope better in unsafe world
The dead and the desperate of New Orleans now join the farmers of Aceh and the fishermen of Trincomalee, the villagers of Iran and slum dwellers of Haiti in a world being dealt ever more punishing blows by natural disasters.
Saturday Sep 10, 2005 nyt Make It an Island By BRUCE BABBITT New Orleans will survive only as an island surrounded by miles of open water.
Friday Sep 9, 2005 time How Reliable Is Brown's Resume? A TIME investigation reveals discrepancies in the FEMA chief's official biographies iHt [hope he is now history DTN]
Friday Sep 9, 2005 nyt Cost of Recovery Surges, as Do Bids to Join in Effort By EDMUND L. ANDREWS and CARL HULSE White House officials and Congressional budget experts now assume that federal costs for the hurricane will shoot past $100 billion.
Friday Sep 9, 2005 nytPolitical Issues Snarled Plans for Troop Aid By ERIC LIPTON, ERIC SCHMITT and THOM SHANKER One of the most pointed questions about the response to Hurricane Katrina has been why more troops were not available more quickly.
After the Storm, the Swindlers Even as millions rally to make donations to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Internet is brimming with swindles and come-ons related to the relief effort.
The Times-Picayune , which normally has a circulation of 270,000, had to report the biggest story in its history with no electricity, no phone access and no place to work. With its readers scattered across the South, the paper turned its affiliated Web site into a release valve for the accumulating tales of misery from the city, providing news, crucial information and a missing persons forum that now contains more than 17,000 posts.
Macabre Reminder: The Corpse on Union Street By DAN BARRY It is remarkable that on a downtown street in a major U.S. city, a corpse can decompose for days, like carrion, and that is acceptable.
Friday Sep 9, 2005 nyt Forced Evacuation of a Battered New Orleans Begins By ALEX BERENSON and SEWELL CHAN Officials said that the hazards posed by fires and diseases had left the city with no choice but to use force on those who resisted.
Friday Sep 9, 2005 ts Chin Chun Nin argues with police officers as they try to convince him to leave New Orleans yesterday. Despite a mandatory evacuation order from the mayor, many remained in the city.New Orleans: City of holdouts
Despite mandatory evacuation call, thousands remain to be rescued
....With less than 300 bodies retrieved, death toll estimates range up to 20,000 Police estimates of the perished, however, have run from 2,000 all the way to 20,000, though less than 300 bodies had been retrieved as of last night and only a fraction of those identified. Upward of 10,000 refugees remained to be rescued — or have thus far refused to evacuate — in Greater New Orleans alone, 10 days after Hurricane Katrina pummelled the Gulf Coast. Their condition is dire; many are disoriented and dehydrated.
Friday Sep 9, 2005 it Katrina crisis sends Canadian IT firms into action Vendors are applying traditional applications in some unconventional ways to assist with relief efforts following the hurricane's wave of destruction. Find how who's helping, and how
Friday Sep 9, 2005 nyt ap Democrats Assail White House on Katrina Effort
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress' top two Democrats furiously criticized the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina on Wednesday, with Sen. Harry Reid demanding to know whether President Bush's Texas vacation impeded relief efforts and Rep. Nancy Pelosi assailing the chief executive as ''oblivious, in denial.''.
September 7, 2005 wp Offers of Aid Immediate, but U.S. Approval Delayed for Days Offers of foreign aid worth tens of millions of dollars -- including a Swedish water purification system, a German cellular telephone network and two Canadian rescue ships -- have been delayed for days awaiting review by backlogged federal agencies, according to European diplomats and information collected by the State Department.
Dan McTeague, the parliamentary secretary responsible for Canadians abroad, says progress is being achieved in reaching Canadians in the disaster zone of the southeastern U.S. coast. He says consular officials have been able to confirm the well-being of 219 Canadians in the affected regions and are trying to arrange face-to-face contacts with 42 others in Louisiana and Mississippi, that figure being down from 62 on Tuesday. Mr. McTeague says the number of Canadians unaccounted for stands at seven, down two.
September 7, 2005 nyt Op-Ed Columnist: Osama and Katrina
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
If President Bush goes back to his politics as usual, Katrina will have destroyed a city and a presidency.
September 7, 2005 iHT Europeans stay cool to Bush
President George W. Bush has failed to win warmer European support for the U.S. despite his recent high-profile efforts to repair relations strained by the war in Iraq.
Wednesday Sep 7, 2005 nyt Flooding Recedes in New Orleans; U.S. Inquiry Is Set By JERE LONGMAN and SEWELL CHAN The mayor of New Orleans said he wanted to ratchet up pressure on the estimated 5,000 to 10,000 remaining citizens to leave.
Wednesday Sep 7, 2005 ts Katrina refugees sink cruise ship shelter plan
Houston?They just weren't in the mood for a cruise ? on ships going nowhere.
Tuesday Sep 6, 2005 nyt The Larger Shame By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF Hurricane Katrina underscores a much larger problem: the growing number of Americans trapped in a cyclone of poverty.
Tuesday Sep 6, 2005 ts Protests set to oppose sharia law OTTAWA—Protestors will take to the streets in Toronto and 10 other cities from Amsterdam to Victoria on Thursday to oppose a proposal that would allow Islamic law to be used in Ontario family arbitration.
Tuesday Sep 6, 2005 ts Under Fire, Bush Seeks to Reassure Katrina Survivors
POPLARVILLE, (Reuters) - President George W. Bush, under fierce criticism for his government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina, sought to reassure storm survivors on Monday as a veteran lawmaker complained that bureaucratic red tape was hampering relief efforts in Mississippi.
Tuesday Sep 6, 2005 EDMONTON: CANADIAN RELIEF AID FLOWING TO U.S.
Canada has begun sending aid to the disaster area of the southeastern U.S. A planeload of Canadian aid arrived in Atlanta, GA, for distribution to the areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that were steamrollered by Hurricane Katrina. Three warships and one Coast Guard vessel will sail to the area from Halifax, NS, on Tuesday. The ships will carry 1,000 military personnel and such relief items as blankets, beds, syringes, surgical gowns and bandages. Canada's deputy prime minister, Anne McLellan, says Canadian aid will likely flow for some weeks. She says there hasn't been time to calculate the cost of the emergency aid but that it's in the tens of millions of dollars. She added that the disaster is one of "enormous proportions," and that it will take a long time for the survivors to decide how to resume their lives. Mrs. McLellan says the government would consider offering shelter to some of the refugees if the U.S. government made such a request. Dan McTeague, the parliamentary secretary for Canadians abroad, says nine Canadians are unaccounted for, up from five on Sunday. [it took Canada a loog time to move?!]
Monday Sep 5, 2005 The world lines up to help; the US press line up to spin As offers of international aid to Katrina’s victims pour in, the Bush administration has relented on its earlier reluctance to accept help from abroad.
Accustomed to being a rich donor rather than on the receiving end of charity, the United States initially seemed reticent about accepting foreign aid, but later said it would take up any offers. The hurricane devastated New Orleans and other parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast, killing hundreds and possibly thousands.
"Anything that can be of help to alleviate the tragic situation of the area affected by Hurricane Katrina will be accepted," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
The United Nations offered to help coordinate international relief efforts for the United States.
"The sheer size of this emergency makes it possible that we can supplement the American response with supplies from other countries, or with experience we have gained in other relief operations," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement.
Earlier, President George W. Bush said in a television interview that the United States could take care of itself.
"I'm not expecting much from foreign nations because we hadn't asked for it. I do expect a lot of sympathy and perhaps some will send cash dollars. But this country's going to rise up and take care of it," Bush told ABC's "Good Morning America.
Sep 4
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said that at least 59 countries and international organizations have offered aid to the United States. But what will actually get delivered, she added, will have to wait until needs are identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. NYT U.S. Allies, and Others, Send Offers of Assistance
Monday Sep 5, 2005 ts Food, water begin to arrive amid chaos
New Orleans?Under a searing sun obscured by acrid smoke, thousands of refugees lined the street outside this city's convention centre yesterday, weak, begging for help and accusing their government of leaving them here to die.
Saturday Sep 3, 2005 ts Doors never closed at this Big Easy bar
The sign behind the bar says "Never Closed."
Saturday Sep 3, 2005 ya Five Days After Katrina, Refugees Waiting NEW ORLEANS - A day after the National Guard finally arrived in force and began mass evacuations, thousands of people remained behind Saturday as fires belched ribbons of smoke over the city and sporadic gunfire echoed through the night.
A Canadian C-130 transport plane carrying 25 Red Cross workers left Canadian Forces Base Trenton on Saturday for New Orleans to help in local hurricane relief efforts. The plane is part of a Canadian commitment of relief to the United States. In all, 37 Canadians from across the country will take part in the Red Cross's three-week mission. Meanwhile, three Canadian warships and a coast guard vessel were being loaded with aid bound for the U.S. Gulf Coast. The ships are due to leave Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Tuesday for a trip that's expected to last a month. The vessels will carry about one thousand personnel, including engineers and divers. They will help with health care, humanitarian aid and reconstruction. The vessels will carry three helicopters to ferry supplies to shore. Individual Canadians have contributed more than CDN$1 million to help American survivors of the hurricane. The Canadian auto parts giant, Magna International, is offering a small fleet of busses to transport more than 400 people from the Gulf Coast to Magna facilities in Florida. Canada's government says that its priority is to transport any Canadians out of the stricken region. But the parliamentary secretary responsible for Canadians abroad, Dan McTeague, says that Canadian consular officials are not being allowed into New Orleans. "We have to use every opportunity we can to work with officials there to identify Canadians there and get them out," said Mr. McTeague.
Saturday Sep 3, 2005 ts Throbbing hearts
McCOMB, MISS.?First from the Ivory Coast as slaves, to Congo Square among the voodoo priestesses and beginnings of jazz, to the cheap, low-lying land now known as the Ninth Ward, African Americans in New Orleans have always been at war with oppression.
On Friday, President Bush
took an aerial tour of the city and answered complaints about a
sluggish government response by saying, "We're going to make it right."
Two of the city's most troubled hospitals were evacuated late Friday
after desperate doctors spent days making tough choices about which
patients got dwindling supplies of food, water and medicines.
Friday Sep 2, 2005 ts More violence as desperation grips the city
NEW ORLEANS?To the besieged and tense police here, every approaching car holds a potential gunman.
Friday Sep 2, 2005 nyt The Man-Made Disaster The situation in New Orleans became considerably worse Thursday with reports of what seemed like a total breakdown of organized society.
BBC
BBC
Mayor orders Gustav evacuation
U.S. Saturday Apr 22, 2006
Stephen S. Poloz
One storm could end up costing almost as much as two wars. Although estimates of Hurricane Katrina's staggering toll on the treasury are highly imprecise, costs are certain to climb to $200 billion in the coming weeks. The United States has never dealt with a disaster of this scale.
