Friday, September 02, 2005

Hurricane Katrina blogging

Quickly after the hurricane Katrina disaster bloggers started posting messages and photos to the web and special web-pages were set-up for exchanging information.
People who live or happen to be in the disaster-area tell first-hand stories, show photos of the scene, or give practical information like maps, lists of survivors.

Metroblogging New Orleans

A list of where people are and how to contact them

The Hurricane Katrina photo pool (flickr)

Hurricane Katrina disaster

After hurricane Katrina another disaster struck the south of the US: inaction and incompetence of the authorities.

FEMA, the federal emergency agency is doing press-conferences while people are dying, governors keep saying military troops are send in for rescue operations and to restore order,
so where are these troops hiding? Thugs are ruling the city with weapons they looted from the supermarket, a New Orleans police office had to protect itself against them with snipers, 20 percent of police officers didn't show up for duty in New Orleans. What is this? Some third world country?

Listen to New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, fed up with slow response (CNN-webpage), interviewed by WWL Radio

In the meantime thousands of people are still trapped in alarming conditions in hospitals, elderly homes, churches, and dying like animals....And many are still missing.

I'm afraid there's a cynical, racial issue playing a part in this inaction: most of the victims are black and poor.....not very interesting for politicians to care for.....