Katrina Anniversary Marked By Mid-West Floods
Tuesday August 28, 2007
It may be the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, but Wisconsin is one state suffering flooding this year.
President Bush has declared five southwestern Wisconsin counties as well as some parts of Minnesota to be disaster areas. Week-long flooding has caused an estimated $47 million damage in Wisconsin and 18 deaths through the upper MidWest. And North Dakota and Michigan were hit by tornadoes over the weekend.
Still, it's small change compared to Katrina.
Conditions on the Gulf remain sub-optimal. Hospitals, schools, libraries, even bus service all remain limited. Postal service data show that New Orleans is at 66 percent of its pre-Katrina population.
- In the lower 9th ward of New Orleans, only seven percent of the residents have returned.
- The Bayou Buzz contends Louisiana received "far less money for building its homes than neighboring Mississippi whose Governor was the former head of the GOP National Party and whose Senate leadership was in the same party of the President."
- In April, the Washington Post reported that although "[a]llies offered $854 million in cash and in oil that was to be sold for cash" only $40 million had been used. "Most of the aid went uncollected, including $400 million worth of oil."
- Only about half the money allocated has made its way to citizens. It's not clear where the bottleneck lies: the feds, the state, the country, the city. An example: more than 180,000 families have applied for Road Home rebuilding grants;, only 22 percent have received a check.
- The population of New Orleans parish is now 68 percent of its pre-hurricane level. But only 13 of 23 hospital are open, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment has skyrocketed from $676 to $978 and only 98 of 276 public schools are open. Katrina Stats - 2 Years Later.