Yikes, just hearing about this. Poor NOLA.
Any one in the area (or was in the area prior to evacuating??).
Prayers for anyone with family/friends.
5 Likes
My son and family live in New Orleans. DIL and GD headed north to her parent’s home early this morning; my son couldn’t join as he is on call tomorrow.
Tomorrow is 16 years since Katrina, which was while my son was in college in New Orleans. While he evacuated for that one, after much prodding from his parents, his rental was heavily damaged and looted once the storm passed. I know his family is safe, I jusst worry about their new home that is less than a year old. Yes, it is only things, but they worked so hard to get it.
2 Likes
I’ve got a friend whose daughter is a frosh at Tulane. I know she is worried sick.
Another friend’s daughter just started her residency program in med school there. She and her husband left a couple of days ago, but she, too, is in a new (well, old) home that they just moved into. I hadn’t even thought about the looting aspect after.
@Hoggirl The year of Katrina, which was also a Sunday, move in day for the freshman was Saturday. The students unloaded their belonging into their rooms, and then were told to leave with their parents. My son was a senior, so living off campus and had been there for weeks. He and a few friends drove to our house. We all watched the news in horror, while Katrina hit. I don’t think any of us really understood the destruction for days. Graduation weekend we drove around; seeing the remains was unbelievable.
So here again 16 years later, I am glued to the tv. 
2 Likes
@Hoggirl I meant to add, the looting was due to the fact that the boys were not able to get back to New Orleans for their belongings. They all registered for classes in either their home cities, or elsewhere, so didn’t return for a while.
The funny thing (at least now,) is what was taking. Their electronics, like tvs and stereo were gone, that was to be expected. Didn’t think my son’s tux would be a high demand item, whereas other clothing items remained!
1 Like
The entire city of New Orleans is blacked out due to what the power company calls “catastrophic transmission damage.” Power might be out for weeks. 
My son says the lights at the hospital have been flickering and there is water leaking through the roof.
Hopefully he can get home tomorrow to check on the house and his replacement can get in to take their shift, otherwise he will have to take another 24 hours.
@snowball Hope everything is ok at your son’s house.
My D19 is a junior at Tulane and just moved into an off campus house. She was there all last week but came home Thursday - she is doing a semester abroad so was just visiting. All of her housemates left Saturday. Their house is by school so not in a flood prone area but the windows are very old and the roof did have leaks over the summer that were patched up. They have not heard from he property manager yet, not sure if he stayed in town or not.
The campus looks like it did not get too much damage. I have read about some broken dorm windows, some leaks and some trees down but nothing major has been reported yet. The kids in food dorms had to shelter at the student center because there is a huge construction crane they were worried about. As the storm got stonier the kids who were still in other dorms were told to go sit in the hallways or bathrooms - lots of pictures online of mattresses and pillows lining the hallways.
I don’t think they will get to go back to school for a week or two, possibly more with the entire city having no power. 
Tulane calls these “Hurrications”. I heard from a college friend who is there that Verizon is the only cell service working. No AT&T, no T-Mobile. He said the damage wasn’t as bad as expected and the levees held. Glad DS#2 doesn’t live there anymore (he was there for 6 years) and D returned from his conference there last week. Stay safe, everyone.
2 Likes
Yep, hurrications are fun when they are short and nobody gets hurt! I live in south Florida so we get those a lot. Sadly the update from the school just came a few minutes ago and this is not going to be as fun as a hurrication.
Tulane is evacuating the kids who are left to Houston tomorrow. They will put them up there for a few days until everyone can get home, they have emergency funds to help kids if needed. No classes until September 13th then online until October 6. Kids can come back to campus after fall break on October 10th.
I feel so sad for all the kids, especially the freshman and seniors. My D19 will be away this semester so she is OK but feels terrible for her friends.
One of my former bosses was a high level administrator at Tulane during Katrina. He was great about implementing at our school some of the lessons he learned. I believe that the school took things that happened to heart & probably had excellent procedures in place to handle subsequent hurricanes.
Yes, and these steps are to allow time for the electrical infrastructure in SE Louisiana feeding the region to be repaired and become functional again, not due to severe damage or flooding at Tulane or in New Orleans.
Exactly. It sounds like there are a bunch of broken windows and dorm rooms with leaks but other than that the campus seems OK so far. It would just be too hard to keep the kids on campus right now. I know D19’s housemates will be dying to get back as soon as they can but they are waiting for the city to at least get power back.
@kelsmom Tulane does a great job with this stuff, they definitely learned a lot with Katrina.
Does anyone in the area have suggestions of local charities that are the most helpful after storms? I don’t care to donate to the Red Cross and would rather give to local, low-overhead groups. Also, it doesn’t have to be an official charity. For example, chefs who provide free food for anyone in need. Thanks.
2 Likes
Here are a few I have either donated to or have seen listed through local Tulane parents.
Krewe of Red Beans - These guys are a small local “krewe” who raise money to give directly to those in need. They are dedicated to saving the “culture bearers” of this city from mardi gras artists to musicians to local bar owners.
This is what they are working on now - “One of the most pressing issues facing our neighbors — especially our elders — is roof damage that has left their homes exposed to the elements. **Feed the Second Line working right now to put together a crew that will repair (tarp) roofs with a temporary fix to ensure that damaged homes don’t experience any further damage from the elements in the days ahead.”
Direct link to this campaign - https://www.feedthesecondline.org
Link to their main page - scroll down to bottom to see other campaigns - Bean Coin is my favorite. http://www.redbeansparade.com
Other donation ideas -
Cajun Navy https://cajunrelief.org
Imagine Water Works https://www.imaginewaterworks.org
Greater New Orleans Foundation https://www.gnof.org
World Central Kitchen https://wck.org (not local but amazing and they are there right now)
6 Likes
I am a fan of UMCOR (full disclosure - I am a member of a United Methodist Church).
They have facility in the state of Louisiana.
3 Likes
I am also United Methodist, and I second UMCOR. I just made a donation over the weekend.
4 Likes
My son’s house, and those of most of his friends, were spared too much damage. he did have water enter through doorways, and a few ceiling leaks, but overall, his house is fine. That said, he hasn’t been on the roof, so it will need looking at some times soon.
Son is staying at the hospital to help out, and it has power, for the most part. Today it lost power for about 1.5 hours which was very scary for all. All hands were working to help patients on ventilators breath. Lounges are being set up for patients ready to be discharged, but have no where to go due to lack of power, food, and medication. Moms and newborns can not be sent home to stay in homes without water or ac.
As power could be out in the city for several weeks, my son is thinking about heading to his in-laws and commuting to work for his shifts. It is a 3 hour drive each way, but allows him to be home with his wife and daughter. This is all assuming he can get gas for the car for the trips.
Thank you for all of the suggestions. I’m happy, but not surprised, to learn that World Central Kitchen, is there helping now. Krewe of Red Beans is new to me and I appreciate the link.
1 Like
Bumping this up after Ida did her business on the east coast. A friend of my daughter’s sent this to her this morning. Northern New Jersey. He has the blue car.
How are are NJ, NY, Eastern PA people doing this morning?
As an aside, my daughter had a car accident last week. Has a rental car while they figure out damage and fault. She’s feeling pretty lucky that she has a rental and hoping that her car is fixable.
Yikes!