Word from Western Louisiana

[Guest guest]

We're just a bit sweaty right now....

Rita is passed, hanging up just north of Shreveport right now. We've been

blessed with less damage up here than first expected. Many roads still

impassable with downed power lines and trees, which is why evacuees have been

advised

to wait for a while before trying to go home. Both gasoline and Diesel fuel

are limited here right now, with the emergency generators getting first call.

FEMA has folks on site here in Leesville now, assessing damage and starting

to figure ou t what needs to be brought in. We've lost city water

pressure...drinking bottled water, using rain water to flush with, and my jug of

wash

water went to flush the xray processor. Dr. Mattox, I've passed your suggestion

about the plastic bags and kitty litter on to the powers that be, but it was

to late to do anything this time. While we have adequate supplies of bottled

water for drinking (ranging from 500 ml to 6 gallons per container), we're

shorter on clean water for washing than we'd like.

We have adequate back up power here for at least another 24 hours and then

minimal power for 48 beyond that even without any further fuel resupply.

We've got two rooms at this hospital and one at the rehab across the road,

converted to Oxygen centers...folks who are on chronic oxygen can go there,

find a comfortable chair, and hook up. We're providing food, but they have to

be ambulatory enough and cogent enough to get back and forth to the toilet and

take their own medications.

My associate and I have gone to watch and watch...I got the long straw and

chose nights...I'll be here at least through next Friday, but hopefully, her

relief will get here by weds.

not seeing any major trauma, but lots of respiratory junk and many folks who

left Lake and the Golden Triangle without thinking about bringing

their medicines (even as they managed to scrounge enough cigarettes to last).

ck