Even Fidel has volunteered

I have been glued to my computer screen. Checking the headlines. Reading the forums. Viewing the photos of this incredible disaster.

I have heard about the looters, about gang rapes, about the horrible conditions in the Superdome.

But I have also read of people offering their homes, their vehicles, their physical strength, their financial support. People are offering cell phone minutes, doctor services and prayers.

I find myself feeling helpless. I feel ridiculous saying "My heart goes out to the people of New Orleans."

Wow

Statistics

Here are some of the statistics released at a Saturday morning press conference of FEMA, Corps of Engineers, Coast Guard and Red Cross officials.
ƒÞArea affected by Hurricane Katrina covers 90,000 square miles, greater that the area of Great Britain
ƒÞ4,000 people were airlifted from the Greater New Orleans area Friday alone.
ƒÞ95 percent of the refugees gathered at the Louisiana Superdome have been evacuated to other shelter, many in other states. People continue to show up at the facility and the evacuation continues.
ƒÞ7,500 lives have been saved by rescuers. That is believed to be a very low estimate because it excludes ¡§spontaneous rescues,¡¨ which officials described as neighbors and passersby rescuing people in private boats and vehicles.
ƒÞ1.9 million meals ready to eat (MREs) and 6.7 million liters of water have been brought into the hurricane-ravaged area.
ƒÞEvacuations by Amtrak passenger train began Friday night. Officials expect to evacuate 1,500 people per day by train.
ƒÞ1,700 patients still need to be evacuated from hospitals.
ƒÞ3 cruise ships will be brought to New Orleans for use as temporary housing for the elderly, disabled and those needing basic medical attention.
ƒÞAn Army mobile medical hospital is being constructed on Zephyr Field in Kenner.
ƒÞPresident Bush signed the $10.5 billion emergency appropriation bill Friday night. The bill had been approved by Congress earlier in the day.
ƒÞAdditional troops from the 82nd Airborne Division have been assigned to help with security and recovery efforts.
ƒÞThere is ¡§no humanly possible way of knowing¡¨ how many people remain trapped by flood waters and need to be rescued.
ƒÞ The American Red Cross has set up a link on its Web site where notices seeking missing persons can be posted. The site will also include list of people in shelters trying to notify people who may be looking for them.
ƒÞIn the past 48 hours, no one has fired shots at rescue workers or security forces in New Orleans, officials said Saturday morning. Such incidents had delayed earlier rescue efforts in the city.
ƒÞ500 of the 1,200 U.S. Corps of Engineers workers who live in the New Orleans area and are working to repair damaged levees and pumps, have had their own homes flooded.
ƒÞCorps of Engineers estimate that the flood water can be drained from the city, 36 days after the levees are rebuilt and pumps restored. They hope to have pumps operational in seven days.
ƒÞBetween 7 and 10 a.m. Saturday, six flights had departed Louis Armstrong International Airport carrying 870 evacuees. Between midnight and 10 a.m. 197 buses had departed the city with 8,350 evacuees.
ƒÞIn all 55 airplanes and 788 buses had evacuated more than 35,000 from the city.
ƒÞAir evacuations from Belle Chase Naval Air Station will begin at noon Saturday.
ƒÞOfficials expect to evacuate as many as 25,000 more from the Greater New Orleans area in the next 24-36 hours.
ƒÞA U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said that 52 aircraft had rescued 720 people in the previous 32 hours. About1,300 Coast Guard personnel have been assigned to the rescue efforts.
ƒÞEvacuation shelters have been established in at least eight states including Tennessee, Indiana, Texas and Arkansas.
ƒÞMore than 100,000 people are currently in shelters.