As most of you probably know, hurricane Katrina rocked the gulf coast early last week. The destruction Katrina caused was one of the main reason gas prices jumped 50 cents per gallon. It is estimated that in New Orleans alone, Katrina contributed to thousands of deaths.

An estimated 80 percent of New Orleans is under water, up to 20 feet deep in places. The water is starting to recede as engineers are continuing to plug two breached levees along Lake Pontchartrain with giant sandbags and are pumping the water out of the city. National Guard workers have been picking up people stranded on their rooftops for over a week.

At first, people in New Orleans were told to go to the Superdome to seek refuge, but after 20,000 evacuees reached the Superdome, the air had become bad and the toilets were overflowing. There was one instance where a man jumped to his death inside the Superdome. Many of the evacuees, including thousands that were staying in the Superdome, have been moved to the Astrodome in Houston, 350 miles away.

New Orleans wasn’t the only place that is suffering right now. In Mississippi there are at least 110 deaths and more than 236,000 homes without power.

Katrina even affected some high school staff members. Mrs. Phares, 9th grade English teacher, said her stepsister lived in Louisiana, but evacuated to the east side of Lake Pontchartrain before Katrina came. She has heard from her stepsister since then. At a football field near her stepsister’s house, the water had risen all the way to the crossbar. The high school librarian, Mrs. Hatton, also had family in New Orleans. Her brother-in-law contacted her and said that everyone was ok. She has an uncle in Covington, LA. He later called and said he is all right