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REDEEMEDSKIN wrote:I pray that relief arrive promptly to those who have been affected.

I pray for increased strength and endurance for those who have unselfishly volunteered their time to provide relief work in the aflicted areas.

I pray for good, dry weather that will help the clean-up process.

I pray for peace in the hearts of the families that are now homeless and/or have lost a loved one through this ordeal.

I pray for the leaders of the states, cities, and municipalities afflicted. That they work well together despite differences in political philosophies, values, and beliefs to promptly restore the lives of their citizens.

I pray that throughout this ordeal, the Spirit of God work wonders and miracles in the lives of those who may have lost everything, but have now found HIM. And to those that have yet to find HIM, that they may see HIS grace, mercy and power during the difficult times.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Mayor Predicts Much Higher Toll in New Orleans
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The mayor said Wednesday that Hurricane Katrina probably killed thousands of people in New Orleans.

"We know there is a significant number of dead bodies in the water," and others dead in attics, Mayor Ray Nagin said. Asked how many, he said: "Minimum, hundreds. Most likely, thousands."

The frightening prediction came as Army engineers struggled to plug New Orleans' breached levees with giant sandbags and concrete barriers, while authorities drew up plans to move some 25,000 storm refugees out of the city to Houston in a huge bus convoy and all but abandon flooded-out New Orleans.

At Least 700 Killed in Baghdad Stampede
Panicked Shiite Pilgrims Hurled Themselves Off Bridge, Trampled to Death

By Ellen Knickmeyer, Naseer Nouri and Bassam Sebti
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, August 31, 2005; 3:21 PM



BAGHDAD, Aug. 31 -- Rumors of a suicide bomber helped set off a stampede Wednesday among tens of thousands of Shiite Muslim pilgrims on a Tigris River bridge, killing at least 700 people as panicked worshipers hurled themselves off the bridge or trampled others underfoot, Iraqi authorities and survivors said.

The stampede was the single deadliest loss of life during the 2 ½-year Iraq war. While the disaster was not directly caused by attacks, tensions had been high because of an insurgent mortar-and-rocket attack upon pilgrims earlier in the day that killed seven. Crowding at checkpoints set up on the bridge to search pilgrims for bombs also directly contributed to the disaster, authorities and witnesses said.

"The people when they were at the bridge, more than one person started yelling, and saying, 'The bridge will fall down, the bridge will explode,' " said Khalid Fadhil, a goldsmith who witnessed the stampede. "So the people started running in panic, pushing each other, trying to run away. Some of the people fell down, and the people stepped on them. The others threw themselves off the bridge, into the river."

I don't pray, I act. There's a chance that I might be able to go down there with a contingent of highway supervisors and assist.

tcwest10 wrote:I don't pray, I act. There's a chance that I might be able to go down there with a contingent of highway supervisors and assist.
Forget praying. Open up your wallets, boys. That's what they really need now.

Bill Quigley, who is a professor of Law at Loyola University, is with his wife, Debbie, who is an oncology nurse, at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans right now. Bill has been at the hospital volunteering his time since the storm hit. He writes from the hospital the following email.
Dear Friends:

There are about 1300 people here who need help. I would appreciate it if you could forward this information to federal and state authorities and press in the US and in Louisiana to make sure these sick people are cared for. Some had transplant surgery this AM!

I am in Memorial Hospital in New Orleans. We have nearly 200 very sick people, hundreds of staff and hundreds more families. The hospital has some basic electricity but many rooms have no electricity and many stairwells have no electricity. There is no a/c and no external windows. We cannot phone out and can receive few incoming calls. The water is rising and the hospital is already surrounded by water. Once the water hits the first floor, the computers, the email, all intercoms, and all internal communication inside the hospital will cease.

Our phones do not work so this is the only way I can reach out. This is not official but what I have been able to find out from listening to many, many people here.

The City of New Orleans is completely overwhelmed. No electricity. Incredible wind damage and now a broken levee that is flooding the city even further.

Please make sure that someone is working to make sure these sick people and their families are helped. They need care. For hours they have been announcing that patients are going to be medivaced (is this a word?) to other hospitals and shelters. But little real action so far. I know there is much, much to do out there, but these sick people need attention ASAP. Please reach out in whatever way you can to make sure these folks are cared for.

tcwest10 wrote:I didn't mean to say that praying is wrong. That's a personal choice. I'm atheist, and I don't leave anything to chance. If there's something I can do with these two hands to help, count me in.

Father,

Thank you for men and women like TC who are putting there lives on the line to go help the people of New Orleans.

I pray God that you open the doors necessary for he and his group to make it down to New Orleans safely and in a timely manner.

I also pray Lord that you increase his strength and endurance so that he can go beyond what even he thinks he can do. Guard him and protect him from all harm, and help him accomplish the tasks that he has set forth in his heart.

I pray for his family and the families of the others who will join him on his rescue mission. Be with them and put peace in their hearts as their loved ones depart their homes to go help those who have lost theirs.

Father I also pray that all their abilities and talents will be put to good use, and that they might find grace and favor as they travel and take part in this mission.

For TC, his mates, and all others who are doing similar things, I pray that you reward them 100-fold for their actions.

Guard their path. Light their way. Help them make the most out of their efforts.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

During hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters, those who have the least to lose are often those who lose the most. Why?

First, the dwellings in which poor people live are not as sturdy, stable, or safe as others. "Shotgun" shacks, mobile homes, and poorly constructed apartment buildings don't do well in hurricane-force winds and tidal surges.

Second, the places where poor people live are also the most vulnerable. The rich often live at the tops of hills, the poor in the valleys and plains that are the first to flood. The living conditions in these neighborhoods are also usually the most dense and overcrowded.

Third, it is much harder for the poor to evacuate. They don't own cars, can't afford to rent them, and often can't even afford a tank of gas - especially at today's prices. They can't afford an airplane, train, or even bus ticket. And, as one low-income person told a New Orleans reporter, they have no place to go. People in poverty can't afford motel or hotel rooms, and often don't have friends or family in other places with space to spare. In New Orleans, there were many people who desperately wanted to leave but couldn't.

Fourth, low-income people are the least likely to have insurance on their homes and belongings, and the least likely to have health insurance. If jobs are lost because of natural disasters, theirs are the first to go. Poverty makes long-term recovery after a disaster more difficult - the communities that are the weakest to begin with usually recover the slowest. The lack of a living family income for most people in those communities leaves no reserve for emergencies.

New Orleans has a poverty rate of 28% - more than twice the national rate. Life is always hard for poor people - living on the edge is insecure and full of risk. Natural disasters make it worse. Yet even in normal times, poverty is hidden and not reported by the media. In times of disaster, there continues to be little coverage of the excessive impact on the poor. Devastated luxury homes and hotels, drifting yachts and battered casinos make far more compelling photographs.

The final irony of New Orleans is that the people who normally fill the Louisiana Superdome are those who can afford the high cost of tickets, parking, and concessions. Now its inhabitants are the poor, especially children, the elderly and the sick - those with nowhere else to go. Those with money are nowhere to be seen.

As the Gulf Coast now faces the long and difficult task of recovery, what can we do?

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco declared Wednesday a day of prayer: "As we face the devastation wrought by Katrina, as we search for those in need, as we comfort those in pain and as we begin the long task of rebuilding, we turn to God for strength, hope and comfort." She urged residents in her state to ask "that God give us all the physical and spiritual strength to work through this crisis and rebuild."