New Orleans residents have become accustomed to hurricane warnings. Once or twice each year, the city is threatened by a possible direct hit. For 40 years, since Hurricane Camille hit in the 1960s, the city has been fortunate enough to steer clear of serious harm. \nMonday, however, the Big Easy fell victim to the wrath of Hurricane Katrina.\nThe beautiful city mourns as the muddy Mississippi River continues to pour inside her broken walls.\nNew Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin expressed his concern for the Crescent City in an article for www.msn.com.\n"My heart is heavy tonight, New Orleans is devastated," Nagin said. "Some parts of the city are under 20 feet of water; we still have residents stranded on rooftops."
FLEEING THE DESTRUCTION\nKatrina went from a Category 5 to a Category 4 storm late Sunday night, \naccording to the Associated Press. After it hit land it dropped down to a Category 2 storm, with winds of 105 mph. It veered far enough to the east to save the city from the worst. Katrina's eye landed 40 miles east of New Orleans in the small bayou town of Buras, located in Plaquemines Parish, which is now lost in the Gulf of Mexico. \nEarly Saturday morning, Nagin issued the first ever mandatory evacuation of the entire city. Gerald Powell, a New Orleans native, who evacuated with his family to Arkansas, feared many locals would not take the Mayor seriously. \n"When I left uptown, everyone was in a party mood," Powell said. "They didn't understand how serious this was because of all the misses we have had in the past."\nPowell went with his brothers and sisters to stay with family in Arkansas, taking only a few sets of clothing. \n"I left everything." Powell said. "All we can do is wait ... I'll head back home as soon as I can." \nMany locals left the city to stay with family and friends in the surrounding areas. \nBen Frischhertz, a New Orleans native, packed the essentials for his trip out of town. \n"I went to the store and bought corned beef and cabbage and peach schnapps," Frischhertz said. "Other than that, all I brought was my cat and a pair of clothes."\nFrischhertz stayed in Covington, La., with his family. Covington is about 100 feet above sea level and was safe from the worst of the flooding. \n"I didn't decide to leave the city until Saturday night," Frischhertz said. "I heard the mayor on the radio explain that the levees would break ... I decided it would be smart to get out of town."
CONTACTING HOME\nIt has been difficult for people outside the city to get in touch with loved ones inside New Orleans. Even people who live in other states, but still have phone numbers with New Orleans area codes, have been almost impossible to reach. Service has been restricted to only outgoing calls in an effort to keep the lines free for emergencies.\nShane Kupperman, a junior at IU, is a native of New Orleans and has had a lot of trouble contacting members of his family who remain in the city. \n"I can text message my dad, and he can contact me on and off from a computer line in Touro Hospital," Kupperman said. "It's been hard ... I have no idea what to expect when I go home." \nKupperman wishes his father would leave, but understands why he stayed. \n"My dad stayed behind because he is the chairman of Touro Hospital," Kupperman said. "He felt responsible for all the patients." \nTouro is operating on a generator, and unless the flooding gets worse uptown, where the hospital is located, the generator will continue to fuel the building's power. Kupperman said his dad told him if the generator goes out, the patients will be airlifted to a different location. \nAlmost one-fifth of New Orleans residents live in poverty, leaving close to 100,000 who could not afford to leave town. With only a small percentage of the city's occupants in town, many stores have become vulnerable to looting. Big stores, like the local Winn-Dixie, have become huge targets for those who stayed behind; food and appliances can be seen by the cart-load leaving these giant supermarkets.\nNew Orleans councilwoman Jackie Clarkson expressed her frustration in an article on www.msn.com concerning the widespread looting around the city. \n"The looting is out of control. The French Quarter is being attacked," Clarkson said. "We are using exhausted, scarce police to control looting when they should be used for search and rescue."
MORE WATER COMING\nThe biggest concern officials have is the amount of water rushing into the city. New Orleans sits below sea level and is protected from the Gulf by levees on the east side of town. Nagin warned the levees are not designed to protect the city against a Category 5, and he seemed fairly certain they would break due to the enormous influx of water pressure.\nHe was right -- there have been two breaks in the levee since Katrina hit. On Tuesday morning, nearly 80 percent of the city was under water. The French Quarter, which had been considered dry land after the hurricane had passed, is now under almost two feet of water. The ninth ward section of the city went under nearly 20 feet of water, due in part to the breakdown of water pumps in that section of the city.\nExperts believe the city will be uninhabitable for weeks, maybe even months to come and the city is expected to be without power for up to six weeks. Sewers have overflowed, and reports of floating bodies, both of victims of the storm and from local cemeteries, have come from all over New Orleans.\nOfficials have warned New Orleans residents against returning until the city is secure. In an MSNBC report, New Orleans Police Chief Eddie Compass was very direct with his orders. \n"I don't want anyone to come back," Compass said. "What we are trying to do is make the best out of a bad situation and we need cooperation."\nFor towns on the Gulf Coast like Mobile, Ala., Gulfport, Miss., and Biloxi, Miss., a 30-foot storm surge has left officials fearing the loss of life will be unbearable. Biloxi spokesperson Vincent Creel told MSNBC he feared his city will have a death toll greater than that of Camille, which hit the Gulf Coast in 1969. \n"It is going to be in the hundreds," Creel said. "Camille was at 200 (in Biloxi), and we are looking at a lot more than that."\nHundreds of miles from the Mississippi and Alabama coastline have already been washed away. Thousands of people are missing, and more than 1 million residents in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi don't have electricity, and many are in need of a clean water source.
COPING WITH DISASTER\nNicole Album, a freshman at IU, is a native of New Orleans. She fears the city will never be able to recover. \n"I just don't know if it can come back," Album said. "It is going to take a very, very long time." \nAlbum said she isn't sure if her family will ever return to the city. \n"My parents don't sound like they are going back," Album said. "I have friends with younger siblings that have already started school in Florida. A lot of people are leaving." \nLouisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco asked New Orleans residents to spend Wednesday praying for their city and everywhere else effected by Katrina.\n"That would be the best thing to calm our spirits and thank the Lord we are survivors," Blanco said. "Slowly, gradually, we will recover; we will survive; we will rebuild." \n-- The Associated Press contributed to this story.
