Here are some highlights from David Charles’ Hurricane Katrina Blog regarding his views on September 5, 2005:

People who do this for a living network heavily. That’s a nice way of saying they gossip like a bunch of old ladies at a quilting guild. My phone never stops ringing. It’s been that way since Katrina moved towards Florida.

….Once the media is done chewing the bones of New Orleans, they’re going to discover that Mississippi took a savage, devastating hit. They’re finding bodies, drowned, up in trees, miles inland. There are many, many isolated backwoods areas of Mississippi that search and rescue simply haven’t got to yet.

One of my friends is an adjuster for State Farm, by far the biggest underwriter in the area. They bring in their own tankers of gasoline and give it to the adjusters. They have armed guards everywhere you look. They run indoctrination sessions and he just got out of a class that scared the begezus out of him. They’re sending him for a diphtheria, tetanus, and hepatitis shot. They’re giving out bug spray to everyone, and purel. They make it sound like if you touch anything you’ll glow in the dark within days. Also, they said the stench is horrendous. A lot of dead animals, livestock, and sadly, people.

So, I just went out and got some deep woods Off, purel and wet ones, since no running water will be available down there.

They also told him some stories about security in the Biloxi area. They said that all the gun and pawn shops had been looted, and that there were a lot of very stressed out, very desperate people down there, and a lot of stories of muggings and holdups.
. . . .

Not sure if cell phones will work down there yet, but I’m guessing they won’t. No power, no water, no services of any kind. Just people hunkering down, waiting for help.

In all my years of doing this, I’ve come to the firm conclusion that people are basically good. We hear about the bad ones in the media. They’re the ones who make interesting stories. But I’m convinced that they’re the exception, not the rule. People generally do their best to help one another in a disaster.

Positive Thought for the Day:

In all my years of doing this, I’ve come to the firm conclusion that people are basically good….People generally do their best to help one another in a disaster
      – David Charles