My family members are all okay. They've been told they won't be able to return for at least a month. I don't know what's going to happen. My families members evacuated to 3 separate states.

To quickly catch up, the levees that protect the city collapsed. New Orleans is 15 feet below sea level, and the levees that surrounded it make it into a sort of bowl. Water is now pouring into the city, and the flood levels are still rising. CNN reported that 80% of the city is wet. They're going to have to try and drain the water, but while its sitting there, it's doing damages to the home, breeding mosquitos, and spreading gasoline and sewage.

The electricty will be out for weeks. Sewage is backed up and into the streets. Gas lines were severed, and there's gasoline floating on top of the flood water. There are fires. There is no clean water.

There's also, reportedly, looting, although I'm told it's not as much houses as it is water and food items. People are desperate.

Worst, there's not very much specific information about what's wrecked and what's not. New Orleans East was the hardest hit--the location of my dad's office--so we're not expecting that to be in very good shape. The condition of my parents houses is still unknown. No one is allowed into the city. Several of the bridges are just gone. I-10 is blocked off. Newly homeless New Orleanians are wandering up and down it looking for rides to shelter and food.

I was terrified Sunday night. I barely slept. Monday, when I saw it twist away toward Mississippi, I was relieved. Now, as news is trickling back, I think my relief may have been premature. I'm watching all the stranded people on the news, and there's not enough help.

I wonder how many National Guard units that should be there are in Iraq. I wonder how many people are going to die of heat stroke and chemical contamination and dehydration and even starvation while they're waiting to be saved from their attics.

Some people have been saying that they thought the people in New Orleans stuck in their homes deserve what they got since they didn't evacuate. I don't believe anyone is inherently this cold, so I'm assuming some people are under the impression that these people had the option to leave. New Orleans is poor. Very, very poor. There are entire neighborhoods where no one owns a car. The hurricaine hit so quickly, some people didn't have time to leave. Please show compassion when speaking of these people.

The cellular towers in New Orleans are knocked down, so if you know someone with a cell with a 504 area code, it's likely not working, even if they got out okay, so don't worry. Try texting. Sometimes that works when calling doesn't.

Thanks to everyone who checked in on my family. They're all going to be okay, but if you have a little extra cash and compassion, you might consider donating to the Red Cross: [link]