Hurricane Katrina

[jwheat]

I live in Jackson, Ms, about 200 miles north of the coast. Katrina was still a category 3 hurricane when it got here. About 97% of the metro area of Jackson has no power. The MS gulf coast is completely destroyed. 90% of the buildings are destroyed and gone. The power company said that it was not a matter of restoring power, because there was nothing left to restore. The power poles and wires are gone, as well as the substation that powers the coast.

My brother-in-law is part of the emergency rescue crew and he said that over 1000 body bags have been ordered for the gulf coast. The news is only reporting in the low 100's because they do not want to panic the public that is still waiting to hear about missing loved ones.

No one is allowed within 90 miles of the coast. National Guard units are turning them around. Power and rescue crews are havng problem getting fuel because of shortages and lack of power in the area.

There are several smaller towns such as Bay St. Louis, MS that are no longer there. They are literally gone.

Power and water were restored to my house today and I have about 14 people staying here now. They may be here for weeks or longer.

Please keep MS as well as SE LA in your prayers. We just went through the biggest natural disaster to ever hit the U.S.
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[GDITheman]

good luck to you and your family.

i used to work in nawlins and still have friends down there. one friend and his family made it out at the last minute. their house may be ok from flooding, but not wind damage. his parents house was near one of the levee breaks. another friend lost her house in the flood and is coming back to MI to wait it out with her family.

we went through a cat 2 hurricane in texas 2 years ago. it sucked. we were only with out power for a day and a half and had roof damage and lost a lot of trees and fences. this is one reason we moved back up north. nothing kills you in MI.

[thomez]

sorry to hear that man, and good luck to you, family, and friends

I'm very sad for New Orleans and my alumni right now, they have cancelled the start of fall classes indefinitely and I guess the campus is pretty trashed...

It saddens me greatly to see such a beautiful town turned into a disaster area.

[haydug]

Good luck to you guys. PM me your address, I'll shoot you down a couple cases of bottled water. Won't hurt, for sure.

Me and my wife were supposed to go to gulf port next month for the weekend, but I think the motel is gone.

Good Luck to you and your freinds/family! Let us know if you need anything.

[jwheat]

Thanks Doug. I've got a good water supply but I'll post some addresses to send water or supplies, so people that are in real need can get it.

Gulfport is amost completely destroyed. Your motel is probably gone.

[cannondale27]

This has been making lot of people including me rethink priorities.I hope our whole country pulls together for helping everyone out.I know this sounds crazy but one way of helping everyone is to save gas.Drive smart give some of money you save to the relief effort in cash.

[KRMit]

Jackson usually doesn't see much in the way of hurricanes being in the middle of the state, but this was different. I had no idea it was going to be THIS bad. We are still without power after 3 days. Power lines are down everywhere. We didn't suffer much physical damage to our property. Part of the fence was blown over and there are some shingles missing. Gas is in short supply around here. Going to a gas station involves finding one that actually has gas, then waiting in line for hours.

[kdeal]

My prayers are with those who are affected. I went thru Hurricane Andrew which was previous to now the most damaging storm to hit the United States. We had more buildings standing afterwards, but that is due to the type of construction in place before the storm. We had no power for four weeks due to the need to completely rebuild the infrastructure of power lines everywhere in the area. The only thing that kept our storm from being worst was the fact it hit just south of the metropolitan area of Miami. Flooding is also not as big a concern here, as it is in New Orleans. My biggest concern is the ability to restore anything while it is still flooded. You can't flush anything, the phone lines are under water, and electricity can't be restored in the flooded areas. We rebuilt afterwards and so will those who have been hit by this nasty storm.

:usa

[cannondalerhino]

I know everyone in AZ is thinking of everyone in the gulf coast region. I too hope the whole country pulls together for you all.

[jwheat]

If anybody wants to send any type of aid (i.e. water, blankets, flashlights, non-perishable food stock), you can send it to my place of business and I will see that it gets distributed to the local churches, community centers, and rescue centers. The address is:

Reservoir Tire, Inc.
1222 D Old Fannin Rd.
Brandon, MS 39047

If you want to give money, you can give it to your local Red Cross or you can send it to my Pay-pal account (jwheat3@aol.com) and I will make sure it gets to the local churches and shelters.

If any of you have access to truckloads of generators, you can bring them down to Jackson, MS and seel them off of your truck. You can use my store location o park your truck. One warning to potential sellers though.....I will not allow anyone to price gouge people. If you price gouge, I will report you myself to the District Attorney. Please try to keep prices to a reasonable amount.

I have opened my house and the office areas of my store to storm victims so that they have a place to stay with electricity and water.

Thanks for any help and prayers.

Jimbo Wheat