I can't imagine this

I don't know anyone in New Orleans, Biloxi, Gulfport or anywhere else in the South that recently was hammered by Katrina, yet I've been on the verge of tears all day. In the last few years I've noticed that these things take more of a toll on me than they used to. I'm not sure why.

As I read about levee breaking and the fact that they are unable to stop the water from coming into New Orleans, about hundreds feared dead in Biloxi, about rescue workers rowing past bodies to get to the people they can save, I just cannot imagine the horror these people are dealing with. I also can't help but get very angry at those who act like everybody who stayed were stupid and deserve what they get. How many times are people told to evacuate, then nothing happens? In the meantime people get hurt during evacuations. I would probably still evacuate, but I'm not sure if people cried wolf often enough.

Then you have those who have no money and even if they got on a bus out of town, where would they go? I see so many people write about how THEY have everything saved up in case of emergencies and how perfectly prepared they are with extra medications, etc. People who are at the poverty level don't have the money for extra medications! Hell, they barely have enough money for what they have! Even the people who did evacuate will probably not be able to come home for at least a month, and come home to what? I doubt most of them have enough money to get them through, either. The lack of compassion for people really disgusts me sometimes. A mile in someone else's shoes...

Then I think about what else is going on, beyond just deep water. The snakes and other animals must be all over in the water, ticked off and mean. The cemetaries are mostly above ground, so there's that sort of biohazard along with the normal biohazards that go along with such devastation. I think I saw that an oil tanker was damaged and leaking oil into the water. Then with the horribly heat and that stagnant water, I imagine mosquitos will be rampant and will bring all the health problems they carry.

How will they get the water out of the city? I guess once the levee is eventually fixed they can start pumping water back into the lake, but when will that be? In the meantime, any water getting pumped out was going into the lake and coming back into the city and was useless.

I've been keeping an eye on WWLTV instead of national news, and a representative from FEMA said that it's possible some people's entire career with FEMA could focus on Katrina, and that it will take many years for the area to recover.

I really just can't imagine.