Dave Heil wrote:

the
devastation of New Orleans reveals near total collapse of the
commercial communications infrastructure.

Worse than that - most of the infrastructure of any kind has collapsed.
Power is off, water and sewage out of action, roads
blocked by water, bridges collapsed.

Mississippi appears to have gotten hit even worse, with some
communities simply wiped out completely. New Orleans is getting more
news coverage in part because it's a city, and in part
because it's still under water due to being below sea level.

The big picture is still incomplete because some areas are still
completely cut off.

Nobody really knows how many are dead, but estimates of 1000
or more are the current level. At least half a million people
were made homeless.

It will be weeks or months before survivors can be allowed
back into the New Orleans area - assuming the water can be pumped out.
Much of what is still standing will have been so damaged by long-term
immersion that it will have to be knocked down.

Hams are there and are producing. The
Feds are rushing communications equipment into place but
amateur radio volunteers are already on the job

Some organizations in need of support:

American Red Cross
www.redcross.org
800-HELP NOW (435-7669) English,
800-257-7575 Spanish

Operation Blessing
www.ob.org
800-436-6348

America's Second Harvest
www.secondharvest.org
800-344-8070


Make a donation and volunteer at the following: (Use the phone to make
your
donation if the Web sites are deluged.)

Adventist Community Services
www.adventist.communityservices.org
800-381-7171

Catholic Charities USA
www.catholiccharitiesusa.org
800-919-9338

Christian Disaster Response
www.cdresponse.org
941-956-5183 or 941-551-9554

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee
www.crwrc.org
800-848-5818

Church World Service
www.churchworldservice.org
800-297-1516

Convoy of Hope
www.convoyofhope.org
417-823-8998

Lutheran Disaster Response
www.ldr.org
800-638-3522

Mennonite Disaster Service
www.mds.mennonite.net
717-859-2210

Nazarene Disaster Response
www.nazarenedisasterresponse.org
888-256-5886

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
www.pcusa.org
800-872-3283

Salvation Army
www.salvationarmyusa.org
800-SAL-ARMY (725-2769)

Southern Baptist Convention -- Disaster Relief
www.namb.net
800-462-8657, ext. 6440

United Jewish Communities
www.ujc.org
877-277-2477

United Methodist Committee on Relief
www.gbgm-umc.org
800-554-8583

(Use the phone to make your donation if the Web sites are deluged.)

73 de Jim, N2EY