Current Events

I want to include in the blog some National Current Events occurring in Madelyn's soon-to-be country that happened during our adoption process. Here's some information regarding Hurricane Katrina. This information is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina.

Hurricane Katrina was a hurricane that caused extensive and severe damage over the Gulf Coast region of southeastern United States, including Louisiana's largest city, New Orleans, on August 29, 2005. Federal disaster declarations blanketed 90,000 square miles (233,000 km²) of the United States, an area almost as large as the United Kingdom.
The hurricane left an estimated five million people without power, and it may be up to two months before all power is restored. Disaster relief plans are in operation in the affected areas.
On September 3, 2005 US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as "probably the worst catastrophe, or set of catastrophes" in the country's history.
The breaching of two levees protecting New Orleans caused water to flow unabated into the city. Many homes are underwater in New Orleans and it is expected to take months to pump all the water out of the city. There remains a humanitarian disaster, with many people stranded due to flooding. Lawlessness persists. [1] The federal disaster area has been placed under the control of FEMA (under Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff) and the National Guard; despite numerous reports in the media, there is no declaration of martial law [2], because no such term exists in Louisiana state law[3]. Rather, a state of emergency has been declared, which does give some powers similar to that of martial law. On the evening of August 31, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin declared "martial law" in the city and said that "officers don't have to worry about civil rights and Miranda rights in stopping the looters." [4] although he lacks any such legal authority.
Katrina may be the deadliest hurricane in the United States since the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which killed around 8,000 (possibly up to 12,000) people. As of 7 PM CDT September 1, 2005, more than 20,000 are still reported missing. New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin stated on August 31 that the death toll of Katrina may be "in the thousands", which was confirmed by emergency responders through a statement by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco on September 1. Accurate numbers are not known. Damage was reported in at least 12 states.

I've been watching the news and it's so sad to see all of these people that are now homeless and to hear about all the deaths that have occurred. I pray that they all get the help they need and can get back on their feet soon and the mess is cleared up but I know this will take some time.