The Aftermath

Good morning to all,
hope you're day is going well,
if you're from the storm ravaged area,
I hope you and your families made it through safely.

I've been watching the news today, and the images of Katrina's aftermath are mindnumbing. New Orleans is in ruins, Biloxi is is dire circumstances, as are portions of Alabama. The flood waters are dangerously high, and I fear that the loss of life will reach a terrible toll. It's been terrible to view that which reveals so much pain and suffering of people whose lives were so quickly turned to turmoil. I wish there was something I could do to help, but being down here there really isn't much that I could do. I gave what little money I could afford, to the Salvation Army fund, and have been considering giving blood if there comes to be a call for increased donations to replenish the reserves (I know it's not much, but at least it's something in some small way). One thing that I can't believe is the widespread looting and price gouging taking place so soon after the devastation, there is a simple truth in the old saying that "tough times can bring the best or worst out of some people", the citizens travelling on shallow bottom boats to assist authorities in rescuing trapped survivors, that is the example of "the best in people", the looters and price gouging store owners are surely the worst of people. I can't understand, though how much I tried while watching the video footage, how people can do such things, only to add to the pain and strain upon the city and people from the areas in which they live. One video clip showed people traversing a gutted Walmart with shopping carts, stealing all they could carry, another showed smashed windows on a pharmacy, another smashed windows on an electronics store, with police and national guard soldiers unable to act and put an end to the chaos. I heard a news report of cheap hotels along the evacuation route, raising their prices to $199 (dollars U.S.) per night, with a motel manager justifying their actions by saying "we don't charge that, we just quote it to some to get rid of the riff raff", from eyewitness accounts the manager regarded the so-called "riff raff" to be persons of color. Disgusting behaviour indeed. I hope the authorities go after these people, looters and price gougers alike, as they both took efforts to steal from people, it may take a while as the authorities have so much going on at the moment, but action does need to be taken when possible, and the harshest of penaties brought to bear. I hope you all made well through the storm, be safe out there, and thank you for visiting and a taking a moment to read my views. Let us know your views on the storm and it's aftermath, any stories you've heard or experienced would be very interesting to read. Take good care.