I've updated and added a number of links to my KATRINA LINKS section which you'll see to your left in the red box, until the news blitz has passed. Here's what's new.

The NOAA Post-Storm Satellite photos have been (finally) expanded to contain all of coastal Mississippi, Louisiana (including New Orleans) and even Alabama. I added the official Red Cross Missing Persons database, in addition to the Military Missing Persons Report Form.

This page lists and gives direct links to all streaming audio (scanners) and video (local television stations) in the Katrina-ravaged area. I wish I had spotted this link sooner. I also added a link to this incredible video of Katrina making landfall in a Biloxi hotel.

Finally, I added Habitat for Humanity, which is one of my favorite charitable organizations and one that I should have mentioned sooner. I worked quite a bit with them in high school and college. They are a great charity to work with. Primarily, they take donations and volunteers to build homes for people in disaster areas, but because of Katrina's widespread wrath, volunteers may also be helping with other tasks. No experience is required, as expert builders will direct you on what to do (anybody can paint or nail!) Wisely, they have not yet deployed volunteers to the hurricane-stricken area. To quote from their site:

"We are not sending volunteers to the affected areas at this time. Right now, it is critical for first responders and relief organizations to get to the storm-affected areas for search-and-rescue operations. After the immediate relief phase is completed, your help will be greatly appreciated as we move forward to meet the long-term housing needs of the communities affected by Hurricane Katrina."

It's worth mentioning that, if you have worked with Habitat before, Katrina is a whole new ballgame. Their website warns:

"Please be aware that this is not a typical Habitat volunteer experience. Post-disaster conditions are usually harsh, uncomfortable and health risks are often present. Also, you may be asked to perform additional tasks that may not include house construction. Examples of such activities include debris clean-up, putting tarps on roofs, business recovery activities for affiliate offices and re-stores, counseling homeowners and documenting human interest stories."

When I was in college, a group of us travelled from UNC-Asheville to New Iberia, Louisiana (southwest of New Orleans) in January 1993 to build homes for families who were living in temporary housing as a result of Hurricane Andrew, which had struck 5 months before. It was a wonderful experience, to be doing something concrete (no pun intended) to help the victims of a weather disaster.

ME (2ND FROM LEFT) IN NEW IBERIA, LA

The trip was a lot of fun and it gave me my first taste of the Gulf Coast, where I now live vicariously through Jimmy Buffet. We visited downtown New Orleans on a Friday night and swam through a swarm of thousands of people to see live blues bands in bars and collect tourist trap trinkets. Take a look at these photos I took; I hope they inspire you to go with a group of your friends, coworkers, or church attendees to Louisiana to help build homes with Habitat for Humanity.

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