Hurricane Katrina

The hurricane has passed, but the water continues to rise in New Orleans. Gulfport, Biloxi, and other towns have been devastated. Over 80% of the city is underwater. They're now evacuating some of the shelters that previously were dry. Canal Street is literally a canal. Much of the French Quarter, which was previously dry, now has a few inches or more of water in it. Some parts of the city are flooded as much as 20 feet deep. Levees were breached and workers, I think FEMA and the National Guard, are struggling to keep the breaches from worsening and block what they can. The twin span bridges on I-10 in New Orleans East are totally destroyed. The list goes on. Here's CNN's current coverage.

A New Orleans station spent about 20 minutes talking to the mayor last night. You can see the video here. He seems like a good guy who's been thrust into a very difficult situation and is doing the best he can.

A local news affiliate interviewed a man on the street who had to let go of his wife's hand and help his children. His wife was swept away. It's the saddest video. It appears the reporter was just interviewing random people after the storm and stumbled across this terrible story. She lost her composure in the short interview.

The Red Cross is in the midst of their largest single relief operation ever. Links to donate to the Red Cross and a few other charities can be found here. Please donate to the relief effort if you can.