Thanks for the pointer. Donation sent, since it's all that I can do from here. :(

A friend and co worker of mine is back in Mississippi and they were told they might have to evacuate. They have a place to go a relative but it is a few hundred miles away and her mother just had hip replacement surgery. I am worried they made it through Katrina but lost their house. They just finally got out of the fema trailer they were living in and now this.

I don't really understand what's happening there, because the CNN article cited at your link makes no reference to the organized evacuation plans. The city is providing free organized transportation by train and bus from 17 evacuation points throughout New Orleans, and is sending people to established hurricane shelters. So people shouldn't need cars, or gas, or the ability to pay for a longterm hotel room. The organized evacuation even includes a system for transporting people's pets.

So something is weird there. I don't know if it's that the people quoted in the CNN article don't know about the evacuation plans, or that they are somehow being denied access to evacuation, or that they don't want to go and have rationalized explanations after the fact. It doesn't seem like the CNN reporter mentioned it, or asked them, so it's hard to tell what the situation is.

That is so sad... I wish I could do more than just send $5...

You'd think since people can be arrested for not evacuating, people wouldn't be in danger of losing their jobs. :(

I'm really tempted to believe that this is a scam, since there are thorough evacuation plans in place this time, including transportation and shelter for those who don't have it otherwise.