Sunday, August 29, 2010

Five Years Ago, Today....

I posted this on a message board I frequent and thought it was necessary to have anyone who still reads my blog to see it.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina came onshore just near the Mississippi and Louisiana border. More than 1,800 people were killed & it cost more than $81 billion in damages. It was what we call a "100-year storm". Yes, it was a disaster, both man-made and natural.

I lived in New Orleans then and do so now. It's my home. And, it's a much different place than before the storm. Some things are better, some things are just as bad. But we need people outside of the region to not forgot what transpired on that late August day. While I know many things went wrong and many of the lives lost were taken unnecessarily, it still was a natural disaster. It showed no discrimination, even if local, state, and federal government officials did.

People here perceive that most of America has forgotten about Mississippi and Louisiana, or that we should all be rebuild and restored by now. But that's not the case, and there are many different factors for why that hasn't happened. I cannot explain it all in a thread; all I can ask is for you to not forget.

If you wouldn't mind, read the semi-unbiased account on Wikipedia and help to keep us in your thoughts and [if so inclined] prayers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina

Thanks,

Jeff Watkins
Gentilly Terrace, New Orleans, LA

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