It appears that many, many volunteers are needed to help at every level. I called the Red Cross in my county last week to volunteer and just heard back today that there will be a training tomorrow. Does anyone have information on blogs for relief workers?

I was born and raised and Pascagoula, Ms.. all of my family still lives there.. as I sat in my home in N.Al waiting to hear information on the area.. all they talked about was New Orleans and Biloxi.. i know those were the hardest hit.. but from talking to my mother and brother who are now staying at my moms.. in her little community. All the homes were flooded out from the surge.. and we are still waiting to hear from one of my neices.. she was staying in Biloxi at the time of the hurricane. we do not even know if she and her 2 small sons evactued. If any one in the Biloxi area knows her.. and knows her whereabouts. Please contact me at bamagirl91762@yahoo.com Her name is Brandy Weaver she has 2 sons. We are very worried about them.. Until I found this page tonight this is the first I have seen any thing on the Pascagoula area....I have posted her on the missing list with the Red Cross and here on MSN... My heart and prayers go out to all the victims from this tragedy...

I spent the weekend in Ocean Springs, Gulfport and Long Beach distributing relief supplies. Many gracious and kind people both from within the communities and from outside the area were working together to help those in need. While the devastation and human tragedy just cannot be described, the strength of the human spirit was a source of great inspiration to me. Bedraggled survivors offering whatever they had to relief workers, children clutching water bottles and bear-hugging total strangers, now-homeless residents clearing their debris strewn yards to create rest areas for exhausted volunteers, countless young people dropping their relief supplies to help elderly neighbors with theirs, worship services in parking lots beside collapsed churches. Many faces of all colors and ages were streaked with burning tears of grief mixed with cleansing tears of joy. It will be many long months before this beautiful area will know any semblance of order again, but the spirit of the brave people I met will stay strong and present through it all. We'll be back to help all we can. God be with you all.

I was born and raised and Pascagoula, Ms.. all of my family still lives there.. as I sat in my home in N.Al waiting to hear information on the area.. all they talked about was New Orleans and Biloxi.. i know those were the hardest hit.. but from talking to my mother and brother who are now staying at my moms.. in her little community. All the homes were flooded out from the surge.. and we are still waiting to hear from one of my neices.. she was staying in Biloxi at the time of the hurricane. we do not even know if she and her 2 small sons evactued. If any one in the Biloxi area knows her.. and knows her whereabouts. Please contact me at bamagirl91762@yahoo.com Her name is Brandy Weaver she has 2 sons. We are very worried about them.. Until I found this page tonight this is the first I have seen any thing on the Pascagoula area....I have posted her on the missing list with the Red Cross and here on MSN... My heart and prayers go out to all the victims from this tragedy...

I'm sorry, but the press has been rightly focused on the loss of life. Houses and history are important. But people are more important.

My grandfather Alvin Dunn is seeking information on Pat & Jackie LaNasa of Diamond Head, MS and Aubrey Quigley of Metaire, LA. If you have any information, please email us or have them call Al collect.

I have talked to a friend in Pascaguola,Ms. She has lost everything.It's pretty bad down there from what i've found out.Please pray and sen all the help you can to these people they are really in need of everything.

My wife caroline wachuka kaigai and my son Allan
live in LOUSIANA IM Afraid i dont know their fate.
please contact me at 0722-788205
Nairobi-kenya East Africa.
Meanwhile i send my sincere support spiritually and hope the able government of the USA will settle all the affected people
God bless you all
patrick makau

Why will they not allow people to evacuate with thier animals. Can they not bring the animals with them and then hand them over to the many organizations that are down there to assist animals. They could then be united with them later. How inhumane and insensitive to force these people to leave behind a pet with all they have been through. It is so troubling to see unprepared and inhumane our efforts have been.

Dear Sirs,
Please sign up Shannon & Michelle Pace( and 2 children Joe and Valerie) for RED CROSS ASSISTANCE..They are in a tent at their home at 3002
Rhonda Lane Pascagouls Ms.Please help .Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

I have a childhood friend who, I know, lives along MAGAZINE St. in New Orleans, LA ... and "I would like to find out how you are doing, DAVE M. I sent emails to your folks in CA inquiring how about your personal safety and overall situation but I have yet to hear from anyone of them. To you and to all our fellow Americans in the devastated areas, go my thoughts and fervent prayers. Remember, the sun always shines in tomorrows ..."

I have not heard anything about Violet,LA. Benita Smith is missing her brother, James (Jimmy) Knight. If anyone knows of his whereabouts please contact reebus14@yahoo.com

My family is in Diamonhead, MS. They have gone back into the rubble to try to help as many people as possible. Conditions in Diamonhead are bleak and they don't seem to be getting any support. They had one MRE in a a week and water is scarce. Many are dying waiting for help. My stepfather is a Pharmacist and is trying to salvage anything he can to help the people in that area. The state police has tried to seize the gasoline they have to run their emergency vehicles. I would love to see more footage about the Diamondhead area.

My husband and I would also like to hear information about the other small cities and towns that were damaged by Katrina. To all the surviors of the hurricane and thier loved ones, we are praying for you! To all of you in the small areas that we have not seen on the news, you are not forgotten. As always, we will stand United!

My dear friends in Covington, LA are ones that stayed in their home during the hurricane. They were told it was a voluntary evacuation. They survuved but are dealing with no electricity, waiting in line for hours for food & water. You do not see reporting on individuals like this...only people who have been displaced. These are the silent victims. I wish reporting would be brought to the forefront for these type of individuals.

My husband is in the 82nd airborne and is on his way, caravaning down to LA with his company to help out in any way they can. Some will go to Orleans, some to MS. I am so proud of him and hope that the little that he can do as one person will help. God Bless all of those affected, and their worried families. I am new to religion and to praying, but it has been helpful this last week. Please hold on and i know that everything will be o.k., maybe a new kind of o.k., but o.k. none the less.

I am asking for information on William and Elizabeth (Beth) Ladner of Wiggins, MS. They have 2 small children, and extended family in the affected area. Write me at mommaladonna@juno.com. Thanks and Good luck everyone.

The lack of coverage is due to the fact that New Orleans creates more topics for the media to follow; by comparison historical marks are mostly forgotten by the newer generation and as such do not gain the attention of Media. It's the way how the media works now.

Rather than write a long paragraph complaining about what is going on, I thought a list would be more appropriate.
1. While reporting all the misery around them, Reporters missed what could have been the story of the century - THEY COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING TO HELP!
Simply by using their resources - MSN, CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN, BBC etc could have brought food and water in to the people at the Convention Center and Highway 10 not to mention the Dome. And why didn't they? It's not their job. They are there to report the news not to make it and that folks is the sadest piece of news of all.
2. The Corps of Engineers are pumping all that untreated sludgey water into the lake and probably the Mississippi. Why? because they are trying to "dewater" the city. While they are "dewatering" the city - they are poluting the rest of the water. Instead of thinking, planning and then moving ahead so as not to make things worse - they are going for the bright and shiney - the "look how we're helping". Mean while down the line - they are making another mess by dumping all that sewage into the lake. That Lake will have to be cleaned. Oh...but wait...Like the news agencies - that's not their job.
3. IT'S NOT THEIR JOB! How many times are we going to have to hear that before officials and public personalities realize that YES THAT IS YOUR JOB - JUST like its our job to take care of one another. We everyday AMERICANS are doing our job by opening our homes to other Americans. We are doing our job by hiring trucks and taking food and clothing to other Americans. We are doing our job by coming up with new ways of helping other Americans. And that is the really good news!

I know a man who has a friend in who lives in Biloxi. He and a friend of his drove all the way from Grand Coulee, Washington to take him a generator, and many other supplies. Apparantly, Jerry's friend in Biloxi had one of the only standing houses (made of brick)that was not destroyed. One person helping one person at a time makes a difference. Many people could probably go to bring further aid if not for the greed of oil companies who's CEO's have more money than any one person needs, yet even in a time of disaster they take advantage of the public to line their own pockets. Lower gas prices! I personally know many people who will not be driving or purchasing fuel on Sunday's. My good friend, and Jerry's sister is actually buying a bicycle to ride to the post office. We are sending all the help we can, and I urge everyone to not buy fuel on Sunday's until the gas prices are lowered so more people will be able to afford to reach out to our neighbors on the Gulf Coast. Our prayers are with you daily, and our hearts go out to all.

A lot of the people who are holding out from leaving are doing so because they are not allowed to take there pets. If the animals are leashed or in a crate, why not take them. These animals are part of the family and just like children to some, would you leave without your children?

I just wanted to say that i have been praying for all the families affected by this horrible tragedy! I am so sorry for the pain and suffering it has caused. I am trying to raise money to send over to the families, in hopes that it will really get there and help them immediately! My prayers are with you!

We need hope now for those in the south. We need to pray for those who are working and those who have lost so much. We need to focus attention on the survivers. It is stressfull to hear the news reminding of what happened and can't change the past. We need to learn from this and come together with ideas for other dissasters. Let's talk about helping and healing. Now when I watch the TV I look for what is happening.

I just got back from extracting my fiancee's grandmother and great uncle from the Gulfport/ Biloxi area. The sad news is true, just about everything I saw south of I-10 was destroyed. Her grandmother and her aunt/uncle lived in an area called Eagle Point. The entire community was obliterated. I use that word, because there are no other words to describe the unbelievable damage caused by the storm surge. Luckily, her cousin lives just north of I-10 and his house survived. Her Aunt, Uncle, and cousin plan on staying there as we have delivered food, water, and gas to help them survive. If you want to help your loved ones, put together a plan of action and go help. There is no reason that your loved ones should have to depend on the National Guard and Red Cross. These organizations are overwhelmed with all of this as they are doing the best they can. I made it down there before the National Guard did, not to knock them, but to show that it is possible to reach those people stranded down there. We had a three day turn around, and even stopped for gas in Laurel, MS. ($2.49 a gallon). I agree, the media has done a tremendous disservice to the american people by not encompassing the entirety of this storm. Nevertheless, it is of my opinion that the small outlying cities of MS, AL, LA should stick together and start rebuilding immediately. Dont wait! If anyone needs what little information I have concerning please contact me via email. Prayers and wishful thinking will always comfort, but pro-active action is what it takes to get it done. Out.

Even though it was a tragedy what happened to Louisana, I agree with some of the others. Although it was horrible, there has been no mention of any other states trying to help. My boyfriend is a firefighter here and I know that they are sending people out to help. In fact, he leaves next month. It's a scary thought for me because people are not welcoming help but scarring them off by shooting and trying to hurt them. Then they wander why it's hard to get some help there.