Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath: ‘a tragedy of mythic proportions’

A New Orleans resident walks through floodwaters coated with a fine layer of oil in the flooded downtown area on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. Hurricane Katrina pounded the area when it made landfall Monday and water is still rising in the Crescent City. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

I woke up this morning, in my bed, thankful for dry clothes, electricity, plumbing, my home and my life. I hadn’t posted here about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, because I’ve been posting those at my other blog (no, I’m not going to tell you which one it is).

On 9/11, I walked north and came home to my apartment and my (then) husband, and was able in a relatively short amount of time, to resume my life and work. Katrina’s victims aren’t as lucky.

Hundreds of thousands of refugees.
chaos.
destruction.
lawlessness.
anarchy.

August was a rough month for me. It’s all too much to take in. My place of employment is preparing to take students displaced by this disaster. Sunday, I’m going to hole up in a cabin in the woods, drink bourbon. Yes, I will have company. And I’ve packed the bondage rope.

Today is International Blogging for Disaster Relief Day. Here are some things to read, think about, and pass on. I’ll update these periodically.

BoingBoing (A directory of wonderful things) and Metafilter have many posts regarding the storm, recovery and relief. ‘the best sources of news in the United States’ – violet blue. Can’t disagree with that
Cnn’s Safe List
Craigslist has a Katrina Relief page. The New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Houston boards are very active with offers of help and people trying to find each other.
Crooks and Liars – video and MP3s. Newscasters arguing with government officials, Mayor Nagin of New Orleans’ angry outburst and subsequent tears, Kanye West’s comment that ‘George Bush doesn’t care about black people.’ (thanks, violet)
del.ico.us: sites tagged ‘katrina’
Department of Homeland Security
Wet Spots: Hurricane Edition (Fleshbot; updated 9/3)
Google News Search
Hurricane Katrina Images (NOAA)
Hurricane Katrina Information Resources (Caven McCarthy, Lousiana State SLIS)
Katrina Aftermath – the blog I’m tracking the most right now.
Katrina.com – owned by a graphic designer for her business; currently links to various government agencies and private entities. Discussion board for missing persons info (note that info now being posted on the Homeland Security site)
The Katrina Help Wiki is acting as a information clearinghouse. The server is being deluged, so be patient. Or better yet, help contribute money to keep it running.
New Orleans by Satellite
Noah’s Wish: a nonprofit whose purpose is to keep animals alive during disasters.
NOLA: New Orleans Times-Picayune
Technorati: Popular News
Katrina Lost and Found (Tribe.net)
Yahoo Directory: Hurricane Katrina blogs
New Orleans faces doomsday scenario (article where FEMA discusses the 3 mostly likely catastrophic disasters to strike the US)