FREE
gair rhydd CARDIFF’S STUDENT WEEKLY
free word - EST. 1972
NUS/DAILY MIRROR NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 2004/05
ISSUE 791 September 5 2005
FRESHERS’ WEEK, THE DR WILL SEE THE A TO Z GUIDE YOU NOW. The unofficial round up of what you can expect to find.
We chat to Karl about life on every students favourite soap.
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REMEMBERING: A Simple Cross Marks a lost home
WIPED OUT 175 mph Hurricane Katrina Devistates New Orleans
By Dan Riddler News Editor THE UNITED STATES government has come under heavy criticism over their handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The scale of the disaster unfolding on the Gulf Coast of America is only now becoming evident as the flood waters begin to subside. The storm, with winds gusting up to 215 miles per hour, made landfall just to the east of New Orleans on August 29th, causing the subsequent flooding of the city when three key levees were
breached. Army engineers pumping the flood water into Lake Pontchartrain report that it could be another 80 days before New Orleans is dry again and the full extent of the destruction can be seen and the bodies counted. Despite calls for a mandatory evacuation of the city by Mayor Ray Nagin, there were up to an estimated 90,000 people still in the city when Katrina struck. . Many of those 90,000 were the poorer residents, the majority of whom are black, who could not afford to get out of the city.
This has triggered a demographic displacement with an expectation of more black casualties and suggestion that the Bush government would have responded faster had the dying been middle class whites. The mayor suggested that death tolls in the city could potentially rest in the thousands, whilst some have estimated that 10,000 may have died in and as a result of the storm. For those who survived Katrina however, things are no easier. Thousands of hurricane refugees have flocked to neighbouring Texas, and many have been housed in temporary
accommodation at the Houston Astrodome, as well as several other, smaller locations. Life in these makeshift refugee shelters is cramped, unsanitary, and dangerous, with confirmed reports of rape, suicide and crack dealing occurring within their walls. State officials estimate over 250,000 displaced men women and children have now arrived in the region and the Texas governor has pleaded other states to take the homeless. The President is being criticised for his slow response following the disas-
ter, and his poor response to a request for federal help allegedly made on August 27th by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco. Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco are themselves coming under criticism from both Federal authorities and each other for the immediate handling of the crisis. As the army, medical and political bodies work to correct the damage and count the bodies, there is also talk of an impending problem for years to come.
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