Keep up the good work guys, sorry to hear about the run of bad luck.

I hope you are able to bring more national attention to the situation along the Mississippi Coast and inland. I have a brother-in-law whose home in Ocean Springs, MS was destroyed by the surge and his place was only two blocks off I-10. I just couldn't believe that the water would have reached his home that far(several miles)away from the beach. He is presently staying with in-laws in Navare Beach, FL. Keep up the good work.

You're already beginning to discover what we learned in Charleston after Hurricane Hugo: There will be "no room at the inn" for a very long time. We thought we could get tourism rolling within a few months after we were hit. What we didn't realize was that every hotel room in the region would be filled for months with insurance agents and construction workers. That's going to be an issue with Katrina too.

To Our Dear Friends and Family in the States hit by Katrina: May God bless all of you and carry you to safety. More should be done, and much more quickly! This disaster brings the lives of many to a new reality, and to those that have passed on, may they be remembered for the good ppl they were. Come to Ohio! Start your life again, anew.
Katherine

Our hearts and prayers are with all who have been stricken by this devasting storm. Keep your family and friends close and God even closer. You will prevail and be stronger for it. God bless all.

Please keep the information streaming in. All the attention is being focused on LA, and not enough in Alabama and Mississippi. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone and much thanks to the hard working crews of NBC, MSNBC and everyone else out there giving us the news. Luck and Godspeed to those out there in the trenches helping survivors get out.

I can not imagine the devastation that you are witnessing first hand. As traumatic as it is to watch on television, I know it is even more so first hand. My heart and prayers go out to everyone on the gulf coast and to you for the attention that you are bringing to the situation. I have no family on the gulf coast, but there are a lot of people here in virgina that are willing to house in our own home people who need shelter. Keep up the good work. God Bless You All.

Good Luck to all the victims of these storms. People here in missouri will help in any way we can to ease your heart ache. We have some great communities here and we welcome everyone who wishes to come.

Oh, poor you. You couldn't find luxury amid all that chaos. You deserve the metal of honor. BTW - they are evacuees/survivors not outcasts. Get it right. If you want to do these people some justice you'll write about how the city, state, and federal government let so many people die by once again failing to react in time. A scene all to familiar.

Thanks for the info about Gulf Shores, Al. So much has been said about New Orleans and I know there are many other areas that are hurting just as bad if not worse. Gulf Shores is one of my favorite places to go and they were hit this time last year by Ivan and just now recovering. God bless everyone who is affected by Katrina.

I live in a so called third world country and have heard the comparrisons. I have not ever lived in the kind of environment the gulf coast is experiencing and all of us here cannot believe that the US gov is allowing its citzens to suffer. America has always been our big brother but we here in the third world, beg you please please help the gulf coast

Hello, I realize the news is not as sensational as New Orleans, but more attention needs to go to the struggles of people in rural Mississippi who have suffered greatly. My elderly parents are in rural Jones County (Laurel, MS). Everytime you hear anything on the news about relief efforts, it's about New Orleans, the Gulf Coast, and Hattiesburg. There are very few services getting to the rural areas of Mississippi and these people have damaged or destroyed homes, no electricity, and very little food or water. All efforts and aid are appreciated.

Interesting. The thing about Katrina is that the magnitude and the specifics are hard to understand without being there yourself, so it is interesting to hear your first-hand experiences. It provides a different view than the more packaged TV story. Looking forward to your dispatches from Mississippi.

Living in South Carolina, I have seen and heard many stories about devastating storms...but none such as this. I pray that the refugees from Katrina will somehow find the strength to carry on after this horrible disaster. Finger pointing is expected and in some cases deserved by the inability to move faster in the evacuation efforts - however- I do wish that folks would stop blaming every misstep as a racial issue or a economic class issue.

Those attitudes just muddy the water and take away from the real issues at hand. Playing the race card is so ugly.

Kudos for all of you in trying to inform us first hand. I'm a Hurricane Hugo survivor and can identify and imagine your ordeals and those in the Gulf Coast. Patience is the word and unity is what brings back everything together again.Let's keep the moral high and the help pouring in. There is no space for blame at this time. There will be time for that.Keep up the good job in informing us in a timely manner and let us hope for a prompt recovery, because it is a must.

I hope you read this soon. I don´t know where Bill Harris is (from your Sept. 5 blog) but I think I know where his cat is. I ran a search at www.petfinder.com e found a Miss Kitty. Might be another miss Kitty, but it is in Slidell and a motorcyclist swung by and left the cat there. Looks like Bill´s cat by his description in the Blog(brownish cat). Can you please tell him this might be his cat if you know where he is. There is no information about where the rescuers took him in the Blog.
Here is the address of the shelter:

Animal Assistance League of Slidell
2700 Terrace Ave.
City of Slidell
Slidell, LA 70458
Phone: 985-646-4267

Email: GrumpyMcGrath@aol.com

It is so frustrating to see all of the media attention focused on New Orleans. In Gulfport and Biloxi everything is gone -totally gone and so many are probably dead. New Orleans flooded but when the water goes down, the buildings are still there - in Biloxi and Gulport there is nothing left. God Bless all of you for you efforts to help these poor souls who have nothing.

HOW IS THE Perdido Bay area of Florida and Alabama doing. We lived there in 1955-56 as I went thru Naval Aviation. We have always watched its growth ever since! What support do you need? DSHOUP@ MIND .NET Current address Ashland, Oregon. L et me know of specific needs and we will attempt to get help to you! RICHARD SHOUP lt. USNR (DIS/ret/aviator)

HELLO, Ms Parker Brandon,MS your elderly parents in Laurel, MS have a voice in Shelby, NC. The people of Shelby have addopted Laurel,MS as a sister city and their efforts and support will be going directly to them. If you know of a direct need please contact Rev. John Boggs of the Central United Methodist church in Shelby,NC 704-487-6336

We want to hear the truth about this man made diaster and how "the welfare state--and the brutish, uncivilized mentality it sustains and encourages--is the man-made disaster that explains the moral ugliness that has swamped New Orleans. And that is the story that no one is reporting." to quote Robert Tracinski

Thank you for your continued help and bringing this tragedy to all the American people. I believe the news reporters (from all stations) have saved many people by bringing their plight to the air and forced government officials to provide more help and assistance. My heart goes out to all the survivors and the unfortunate ones who did not survive.

On your way to Mississippi from Gulf Shores, I encourage you to take a slight detour to the City of Bayou La Batre, "Seafood Capital of Alabama" located south of Mobile, AL. From Bayou La Batre, Heron Bay and other communities in the area you can see how and what these Katrina casualties are doing.....this area was also hard hit! This is not a resort area, these are working people who have lost so much. Look around, their homes and businesses flooded or washed away, the commercial shrimp and oyster boats overturned, submerged, missing or resting on land, crab traps gone forever, oyster reefs destroyed by Katrina's fury; seafood processors, wholesalers and retailers now without a product. But you also see, people helping people....right now in the midst of this tragedy, there is no White vs Black vs Asian vs Spanish in these communities....there are only people reaching out to each other. Comforting others in similar circumstances, bringing strength to each other.....survival of the human spirit and thanking God for their many blessings.

I agree with Ed from TX, pull up a piece of ground some where and catch some winks if you can, skip most of your meals and live with dehydration a while then you'll be writing about what the "outcasts" you like to call them are trying to live with (or at least a tiny sample of it).

I've been watching all the News Channels since before and after this massive storm. I have to commend you for telling some of the real stories from all of the damaged areas and not just one or two. The real stories are yet to come. I will continue reading. God Bless.

This personally written message is to all the relief organizations: GIVE THE CHILDREN the MEDICATIONS they DESPERATLEY NEED. Health before Wealth. Money is great but it's not going help their fevers, colds, pain, or brusies. Put the money to use for these KiDS, give them much needed medications They are the New Orleans FUTURE! we hope that someone will respond and really give help!

For the CHILD victims of New Orleans who DO NOT HAVE adequate MEDICATION or WATER SUPPLIES... we would like to provide the medical community, victims, relief agencies, and media with Children's PAIN AND FEVER REDUCERS that can be ORALLY ADMINISTERED WITHOUT WATER.

This type of CHILDREN'S MEDICATION is SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED for QUICK & EFFECTIVE ADMINISTRATION for Children from the AGES of 2-11. The MEDICATION is placed on the tongue and QUICKLY DISSOLVES IN SECONDS. It is EASILY transportable and can be carried with ANY medical, relief, supervisory personnel.

Each tablet is INDIVIDUALLY BLISTERED and LABELED, thus allowing the EASE of ADMINISTRATION SAFELY to MULTIPLE PATIENTS from a single box. There is no risk of Incorrect Dosing Quick*Melts Vs. Oral Liquids (where overdosing and under dosing cause common safety concerns). Furthermore, Oral Liquids and Tablets are not easily administrable to multiple patients from a single bottle where medication are LOOSE TABLETS or LIQUIDS.