To add insult to injury, New Orleans had a couple of tornadoes go through last night!!! This is almost unheard of, especially at this season.
The forecasters had warned us of thunderstorms, but last night I was more afraid than I was during Katrina, which I rode here, or Rita, which I rode just outside Lake Charles, both of which places were in the direct line.
The storms woke me up about 3 a.m., and were really terrifying. The thunder and lightning were constant, non-stop, and sounded as though they were directly overhead. I paced the floor in the upstairs hall until they finally passed over, so I was not surprised when I turned on the news this morning and heard of the tornadoes.
It really is heartbreaking, one set went through Lakeview, a (formerly) lovely area which was flooded when the levee broke. Some houses which had been gutted ready for rebuilding were reduced to kindling!! Some others which were only lightly damaged by the hurricanes are now roofless or blown off their foundations.
The other set went through the airport area, destoyed several jetways plus one concourse, then moved on to the commercial area near the airport, and flattened some buildings which were also either in the restoration process, or had been left alone by the hurricanes.
The people in those neighborhoods really are at the end of their tether, and I question how they can possibly stay sane.
Ironically, this was the night after we heard the State of the Union address, in which the Gulf Coast got all of 183 words, and right after the next year's budget was announced, in which we are to get 18 billion, while Iraq and Afghanistan get 80 billion.
Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.