Hurricane Katrina Damage

[CSquare]

Re: Hurricane Katrina Damage

hate to say it but reconstruction efforts will have a very little effect on the economy here. a lot of companies and people will start going bankrupt as a result of this. there's already word that the airline industry is the first to take a hit out of this. you can build buildings but you need people to occupy them. that will take years. new orleans in a metropolitan city. to have it wiped out is extremely severe. you'll see the ripple effect on basically everything. cost of food, transportation, goods and services. prices will go up on everything.

you are right about the flood and hurricane insurances. plus, in new orleans and mississippi, chances are alot of people will not have any insurance.

i have to agree with you about the international community being pretty quiet about this too. didn't really think about it before but it's sad that nothing is really mentioned. kinda sad. we are all on the same planet. the economic ripples from this will be felt world wide.

[FM]

I wouldn't go so far as to say worldwide right now...but definitely the early reports do say that the country will feel this in the months to come.

Hard to tell how bad the economy itself will be affected...recession might be avoided, but just barely...although the point was raised that this is only halfway through hurricane season...one more even remotely close to this magnitude will destroy the economy about as bad as some of those areas were.

All depends which companies get hurt and which don't...airline industry, namely Delta (who's already teetering on the brink of bankruptcy) is one of the early ones, followed by retail and other large corporations that have multiple stores and locations down there...this'll take a hit on their 3rd and probably 4th quarter results. Hiring will slow down that's for sure, as consumers will spend less. If things are rough enough, I'd be willing to bet the holiday season will suck spending-wise too.

Just have to take the blows right now, survive, then come back down the road.

[Yao]

Re: Hurricane Katrina Damage

recontruction efforts usually have positive effects on jobs. more need, more employed. gonna have a huge rise of construction related jobs. the ppl who are gonna get killed are the re-assurance(the ones who insure the insurance) companies, who usually are backed by the world bank.

the one thing that is going to happen for sure is a huge change in how insurance policies are structured. there are gonna be a million lawsuits out there in the upcoming months when the insurance companies say this was ""flood related"" rather than ""hurricane related"". (no flood insurance down there).

either way, take a trip over to www.redcross.org or second harvest's website and do the right thing, because the international community's silence is deafening. just remember that. :?

Done. It ain't much, but it's something...

[evangelion]

Re: Hurricane Katrina Damage

Get this:

Tempers were also starting to flare amid the chaos.

Police said a man in Hattiesburg, Miss., fatally shot his sister in the head over a bag of ice. Dozens of carjackings were reported, including a nursing home bus and a truck carrying medical supplies for a hospital. Some police officers said they had been shot at.

Tenet HealthCare Corp. asked authorities late Wednesday to help evacuate a fully functioning hospital in Gretna, La., after a supply truck carrying food, water and medical supplies was held up at gunpoint.

"There are physical threats to safety from roving bands of armed individuals with weapons who are threatening the safety of the hospital," said spokesman Steven Campanini.

Looters used garbage cans and inflatable mattresses to float away with food, clothes, TV sets - even guns. Outside one pharmacy, thieves commandeered a forklift and used it to push up the storm shutters and break through the glass. The driver of a nursing-home bus surrendered the vehicle to thugs after being threatened

What the fuck!!!! Way to pull together in a time of need, humanity. Fucking dickheads.

[skahound]

There is no excuse for that type of behavior but I'll tell you this, until you've lived a week without power, in triple-digit heat, without food, water, gas for your car, etc. you will never understand the frame of mind that these people are in. It's Darwinism and Maslow at its absolute finest.

[evangelion]

Re: Hurricane Katrina Damage

It is...it really is. But at the same time, I can't believe that the "making a bad situation worse" mentality has not kicked in. I mean, what do they really think they are accomplishing, except causing more panic and distress???

[maddlingo]

^^^ I agree, the situation is really getting out of hand. I've heard reports of armed looters shooting at army chinook helicopters. What the hell are they trying to accomplish by shooting down an army helicopter?

[skahound]

Re: Hurricane Katrina Damage

I mean, what do they really think they are accomplishing, except causing more panic and distress???

That doesn't even come into play when you're of these folks' frame of mind. A decent analogy would be when you're rescuing a drowning victim and they're tugging at you and pushing up off of you for leverage so that they can get to the surface for air. They don't really take into consideration that in the process they're drowning their rescuer. It's about survival. Add into the equation a wife/husband and kids and the need to survive becomes compounded. It's the most basic of human nature and the foundation of the pyramid.

[evangelion]

Re: Hurricane Katrina Damage

Yep....total regression to a more primtive state. Survival instincts and nothing more. Damn, this shit is so far out of hand. Will it ever be back to normal??

[skahound]

I think it will. The biggest complaint coming from these people is that they keep being told that 'help is on the way' and they're not seeing it. From what I can gather and from reports I've heard it is still nearly impossible for aid to get into these severly flooded areas. But try telling that to a person who hasn't eaten or had drinkable water in nearly 4 days. They don't have t.v. so they have no idea how widespread this problem is. The director of FEMA mentioned on an interview last night that because of the breach of the levies the scope of areas needing assistance is far greater and more wide than they ever imagined.

Think about it, you're talking about 300-400 miles just stretching I-10 that needs emergency assistance. That doesn't even take into account the areas to the south and north of the interstate that are devastated as well.

[evangelion]

Re: Hurricane Katrina Damage

It makes me wonder...can any country, even one with limitless resources like us, really plan, and in the event of such a tragedy, effectively react to such a disaster??? Obviously not, considering what we are seeing happen. So what can these people be thinking if the mighty U.S. is having this much of a problem getting things back to some state of calm?? You're made to think from the minute you are born that you are safe and there is nothing that this country can't handle. Then a force of nature fucks everything and you've got a Mad Max-like situation. I'm not bashing anything or anybody, I'm just starting to realize why things are happening the way they are.......an it is a chilling revelation. :cry:

[FM]

crazy..no one is safe from Mother Nature.

[FM]

I think it will. The biggest complaint coming from these people is that they keep being told that 'help is on the way' and they're not seeing it. From what I can gather and from reports I've heard it is still nearly impossible for aid to get into these severly flooded areas. But try telling that to a person who hasn't eaten or had drinkable water in nearly 4 days. They don't have t.v. so they have no idea how widespread this problem is. The director of FEMA mentioned on an interview last night that because of the breach of the levies the scope of areas needing assistance is far greater and more wide than they ever imagined.

Think about it, you're talking about 300-400 miles just stretching I-10 that needs emergency assistance. That doesn't even take into account the areas to the south and north of the interstate that are devastated as well.

Which then changed afterward to "there's nothing we can do" after officers et Al have begun to fully realize the situation that's at hand...it ISN'T fixable right away.

[FM]

There is no excuse for that type of behavior but I'll tell you this, until you've lived a week without power, in triple-digit heat, without food, water, gas for your car, etc. you will never understand the frame of mind that these people are in. It's Darwinism and Maslow at its absolute finest.

+5

The old saying went something like in a case like this, the first thing you get your hands on is a weapon if you want to survive...because the weapon will then help you get everything else.

[skahound]

Well put Jeff.

Like I said, I and countless others experienced this last year here in Orlando and we weren't even the worst hit. The batteries ran out in our radio and we had NO IDEA where to get aid. Luckily, after a few days, we were able to find gas and get to my parents' house further inland. My wife and I were at each other's throats non-stop because your brain becomes mush.

IMO it doesn't matter how sophisticated our forecasting becomes when it comes to natural disasters, we will NEVER be able to predict to complete accuracy what the aftermath will be. It doesn't matter how much historical data we ponder, no 2 storms, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc. will ever be identical.

We're only human and so is the government.