Going back to the Big Easy after the New Orleans flood was a pretty mind blowing experience. You see, unlike the popular media, I realize that New Orleans floods are not a unique thing. New Orleans is below sea level in an area extremely prone to flooding. Hurricane Katrina flooded the city and destroyed a lot of it, but it wasn’t the first hurricane to do that. I had always assumed that the media had overstated the extent of damage from the New Orleans flood.

When I saw it, it shocked me. It wasn’t even the same city anymore. Whole neighborhoods had been completely destroyed by the hurricane and partially rebuilt since I had last visited. The entire makeup of the city was different, with tens of thousands of people having been displaced permanently by the hurricane. Many poor families simply couldn’t afford to move back after the homes were wiped out. They had resettled in other places, never to return to the city they loved.

It is really disturbing for me to think of this with hurricane Gustav fast approaching. New Orleans flooding is already starting again, and who knows how bad it will get. Sure, it probably won’t get to Katrina levels, but I’m sure more people will die needlessly. It is a shame that in an age of such incredible modern technology and convenience, we can’t do anything to help prevent flooding in New Orleans.

Moved by what I was seeing, I decided to donate some money to help New Orleans flood victims. I was amazed by the number of different websites out there, and had a lot of trouble deciding on a relief agency to use at first. Soon, however, I made up my mind. I picked a local charity, feeling that an organization based out of New Orleans would do better work than one that didn’t know the area as well.

I could only give a little bit of money, but I hope that it helped. I know that flooding in New Orleans is already starting, and that the situation will get worse before it gets better. I know that a lot of people are already thinking about going down there to volunteer. I kind of like the idea myself, but I’m not sure if I will go yet. I might just end up down there before the end of the week if I can get my vacation time early, but I’m just not sure.