Most of Metairie is under water. There is an area South of Bonnabel towards the 17th Street Canal that has some dryish land, but I don't know if it will remain so since they are saying that they are expecting 15 more feet of water to come into the area. I'm not sure of they mean Orleans Parish, or the surrounding areas also. My father didn't get water in his house (he is in that area in Metairie, on the Lake Ponchatrain side of Veterans Hwy), but I have 2 sisters, an aunt and uncle, two other aunts, a cousin, and my sister's ex husband who have all lost everything due to 6 feet or more of water in their homes in the Lakeview and Metairie/Kenner areas. Algiers is suppost to be okay for the most part. We have a family member in Picayune and we can't find out any info about that area, just that it was horribly flooded and is inaccessable.

I am disgusted by the looting. A policeman got shot in the head by a looter. It will be a while before anyone is allowed back in the area to see the damage to their homes. No water, no electricity, sweltering heat and humidity... tempers and fears will get/are getting the best of people as they are trapped in the city with no way out. People are being car-jacked and shot over looting goods. It's dangerous to go outside. Please pray for everyone, even if you aren't particularly religious. It can't hurt, and they need our prayers and support. I grew up in New Orleans but now live in Florida and I knew when I saw Katrina hitting the mouth of the Mississippi that it was going to be bad even though it didn't hit the city directly, but watching the coverage of the aftermath is devestating and is so far beyond comprehension of anything I ever thought could happen to say the least even though they've been saying it could happen for years and years. I know it's going to take years to rebuild the city, and forever to rebuild people's lives and emotional state of being. Pensacola still has many houses with blue tarps on their roofs from Ivan last August because they couldn't get enough contractors to go in and help everyone quicker. New Orleans is going to be worse, far worse.

Thank you for letting me get this off my chest. Thank you for lending me your ears. I have to be strong for my family, but all I want to do is cry for their losses. At least they are alive though. That is the best thing that has happened. We still have each other. I hope you all find your loved ones safe, and even if homes are lost, I hope you find comfort in the fact that they are still alive. That's what is important. It's hard to remember that with all of the devestation, I know, but try to. It's what is holding us together. We just need to figure out how to get my father and aunts and uncles out of there and to our house in FL.

Good luck to everyone.