Sorry, but American citizens in America are NOT "refugees".
They are "evacuees"....and, language counts.
WWL Updates as they come in on Katrina
05:33 PM CDT on Thursday, September 1, 2005
Tom Planchet
5:33 P.M. - AUSTIN (AP): Texas has agreed to accept another 25,000 Hurricane Katrina evacuees -- and they'll be heading for Dallas. Officials earlier announced refugee groups estimated at 25,000 apiece will be housed in Houston and San Antonio.
5:30 P.M. - NEW YORK (AP): NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue says it's unlikely the Saints will play in New Orleans this season after the devastation Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath inflicted on the city.
The Saints will move into a hotel in San Antonio, Texas, this weekend and practice in San Antonio in preparation for their regular-season opener at Carolina September 11. They have spent this week in San Jose, California, and played their final exhibition tonight in Oakland.
But it still hasn't been decided where they will play their regular-season opener September 18 against the New York Giants or play the rest of their games.
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which runs Giants Stadium, has offered to host the upcoming Giants-Saints game there. It would likely be played Monday, September 19 because the Jets will play Miami that Sunday at Giants Stadium.
Tagliabue said moving the game to New Jersey is one possibility.
He also said games could be played at another NFL stadium or at a non-NFL stadium. He didn't name any specifically, but the Alamodome in San Antonio seats 65,000 for football.
5:27 P.M. - (AP): House Speaker Dennis Hastert says it makes no sense to spend (b) billions of dollars to rebuild New Orleans, which is seven feet under sea level.
Hastert, in a transcript supplied by the newspaper, said there was no question that the people of New Orleans would rebuild their city, but noted that federal insurance and other federal aid was involved.
Hastert's press secretary, Ron Bonjean, said Hastert was not suggesting New Orleans should be abandoned or relocated.
Hastert announced today that the House, currently at the end of its summer break, would return for an emergency session tomorrow to approve some $10 billion in federal aid for hurricane victims.
5:24 P.M. - (AP): Even when Katrina's floodwaters are pumped out of New Orleans -- a process that could take weeks -- the city will be anything but dry.
Buildings, vehicles and their contents will be waterlogged and covered with mud. Whatever debris is currently sloshing around in the floodwaters will be strewn about the city in enormous piles.
Everything will be waterlogged, most of it ruined. It will be a monumental task just coordinating the collection and disposal of debris and trash.
Virtually everything worth keeping will have to be washed off, decontaminated and dried out. The city's drinking water distribution system will need to be flushed out and disinfected, a process that could take weeks or even months.
Buildings will have to be stripped down to their studs and dried out with dehumidifiers, a process that can't even begin in New Orleans until electricity is restored weeks or months from now.
For many homeowners, the expense and effort may not even be worth it. The median home in New Orleans costs about $87,000 -- by the time you figure in debris removal, demolition, drying and rebuilding, it may be cheaper simply to knock the whole house down and build a new one on its foundation.
5:18 P.M. - WWL-TV: Seven children, ages 7-years to 4-months-old, were rescued this afternoon and are waiting at an evacuee station for their mother, who is missing.
5:14 P.M. - WWL-TV: Hibernia Corporation is requesting that all of its employees who live in areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina call the following toll-free number: 1-800-707-0489. They want to find out where you are and how you are doing. If you need help, they will put you in touch with the right resources.
5:11 P.M. - WWL-TV: Robert M. Gates , President of Texas A&M University, said the Galveston campus will welcome 1,000 displaced students for up to one year. They will be charged the state minimum for tuition.
5:08 P.M. - WWL-TV: The Oakwood Mall is on fire. Emergency crews are on the scene, but water pressure is so low, firefighters are having a tough time keeping the blaze under country.
5:04 P.M. - Cecil Picard, State Superintendent of Education: All Department of Education meetings have been cancelled for the month of September. He urged displaced families to get their children registered in school systems outside Louisiana. Picard said he wants to make sure that every displaced teacher, bus driver, cafeteria worker, counselor and custodian has a job.
4:58 P.M. - (AP): The New Orleans suburb of St. Bernard Parish is little more than "water, water everywhere" with a few rooftops sticking above the floods of Hurricane Katrina, a government official who escaped the devastated region said Thursday. Click here.
4:50 P.M. - Rev. Jesse Jackson: "We cannot turn on each other. We must turn to each other." Jackson said he'll be in town as long as he can; maybe five or six days. He asked people to help one another, calling the aftermath of the disaster "a great faith tester."
Yeah, that's been angering me. Too many are seeing some black people loot and deciding that all of them are the same. Hell, we have some on here blaming ALL black people for a few's actions. There are always some who cause problems.
These people are not refugees as if from some undeveloped nation. These are Americans, our family, our friends, our neighbors and they need our help.
They are taking refuge from the effects of the storm. I don't have a problem using the term.
The people who no longer have homes to return to are, indeed, refugees.
I'm so glad you said that. I needed to hear it.
Sorry, but they are called "Refugees" from the Disaster and stop making this like people think they just got off the boat from a third world Country. I did not put words in their mouth, and stop snarking at people's remarks. Cop an attitude puleeze.
Main Entry: ref·u·gee
Pronunciation: "re-fyu-'jE, 're-fyu-"
Function: noun
Etymology: French réfugié, past participle of (se) réfugier to take refuge, from Latin refugium