Haven't these folks suffered enough?

Weather.com caution aside -- it was a tornado. For anyone interested, the neighborhood where the fatality occurred is a couple of miles from me. Another touchdown Uptown was FOUR BLOCKS from one of my officemates.

From CNN, where there are videos and pics.

Likely tornado kills New Orleans woman
POSTED: 1:43 p.m. EST, February 13, 2007

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- A powerful storm and likely a tornado hit the New Orleans area early Tuesday, killing an elderly woman, injuring more than two dozen people and damaging dozens of businesses and homes in a region still trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina.

An 85-year-old woman died in the city's Gentilly neighborhood, one of the areas hit hardest by Katrina 18 months earlier.

Another storm cell hit south-central Louisiana, damaging buildings in New Iberia and on the outskirts of Breaux Bridge in St. Martin Parish, but it did less damage, and there were no reports of injuries.

In the New Orleans area, trailers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were tossed around, homes collapsed, and the wind tore the roof off a hotel across the river in Westwego.

At least 10 to 15 buildings were destroyed in New Orleans, said James Ross, a spokesman for Mayor Ray Nagin. Dozens of other homes and businesses were damaged in Westwego, Mayor Robert Billiot said. City and parish officials said about 30 people were injured.

"There is just so much destruction," Billiot said.

In New Orleans' Gentilly neighborhood, Stella Chambers died after the twister slammed into her FEMA trailer, ripping it and a newly renovated home apart and scattering debris about 200 feet to the Industrial Canal levee.

Neighbor Hellean Lewis said Chambers' daughter banged on her door. "Her face and head were covered with blood. It was running down her side. She was crying and screaming, `Help me! I can't find my mother!' " Lewis said.

Lewis said her son went through the debris and found Chambers, still alive and crying for her daughter.

"Her body was just all mangled," Lewis said.

In Westwego, Tanya Clark, 38, sorted through the pile of rubble that had been her home, looking for whatever she could salvage. Her left arm was in a sling because the shoulder was dislocated when the storm threw her 10 to 15 yards. Her son, Blaise, had a gash on his jaw. They hadn't been able to find their Chihuahua and two cats.

"I just hope I don't find my pets under all of this," she said.

Clark said she and Blaise, 17, were asleep when the tornado hit. "The saddest part, I don't have any [homeowners] insurance anymore. A single mom, and I couldn't keep it up in the past few months," she said.

At least one nearby house also was destroyed, and a barn had been thrown into the back of a brick apartment building. Huge twisted curlicues of corrugated tin -- once roofs -- lay here and there.
'Pretty convincing evidence' of tornado

About 20,000 people were without power in New Orleans, Westwego and Metairie, a spokesman for Entergy Corp. said. Public, private and parochial schools in Westwego closed for the day. Xavier University in New Orleans shut down for the day because it had no power, said spokesman Warren Bell.

Mike Wiener, spokesman for FEMA, said the agency had assessment teams in the areas affected by the storm.

"Right now our concern is with the safety of the travel trailer residents," he said. "We're going to get them adequate housing as soon as possible, whether it be a hotel room or another trailer."

Kevin Gillespie's trailer in Westwego was pulled 5 feet and shoved next to his steps so he couldn't open the door. A FEMA trailer next door had been yanked from its moorings and flipped into his backyard, Gillespie said.

"My next-door neighbors, they had just moved back into their house from Katrina. Now it's totaled out again," he said.

He didn't know how badly his own belongings were damaged; a crew had only just cut off the gas. But the storm removed every vehicle he owned: "My car, pickup, motorbike and trailer all went away."

Still, he said, as dawn arrived, "The more damage I see there, the more fortunate we are."

At one point, emergency workers in New Orleans' Uptown neighborhood scrambled to clear a downed magnolia tree so an ambulance could get by. A trailer serving as the fire house for the city's Engine 12 also flipped over, injuring three firefighters.

John Carolan, 50, who lives in the neighborhood, said he was awakened by the storm and got up in time to get into a closet with his wife.

"Ten seconds and it was over," he said.

He said the storm blew the furniture from his porch into the street.

Radar data provides "pretty convincing evidence there was a tornado," said meteorologist Robert Ricks in the National Weather Service office in Slidell. He said the damage appeared to be from one storm cell that was behind a squall line moving east, he said.

"It should be an improving trend the rest of the day," Ricks said.



But at least there are more opportunities for those who are rebuilding to get their daily java (she said sarcastically). To be fair, they are contributing SOME money to the community -- though $22K would hardly help ONE family, let alone hundreds.

From nola.com

Tuesday, February 13, 2007


Starbucks to open two stores in flood-damaged areas
Starbucks Coffee Company announced that four new Starbucks stores will open in the New Orleans area before the end of summer - with two of them to be located in New Orleans' Lakeview and Kenner's University City, neighborhoods that suffered severe flooding after Hurricane Katrina. The new locations will be located at the intersections of:

* Harrison Ave. and Memphis St. in Lakeview, New Orleans
* Loyola and Duke drives, University City, Kenner
* Jefferson and Upstream streets in River Ridge
* Williams Blvd. and 33rd St. in Kenner

Including the opening of new stores, Starbucks has pledged $5 million over five years to support both immediate relief and long-term rebuilding efforts in the New Orleans area.

“We are excited to expand in the Gulf region and continue our strong commitment and support for the New Orleans community,” said Alan Richardson, Starbucks Coffee Regional Marketing Manager for the Southeast Region. “We hope this is a sign to other brands that New Orleans is back in business and is a strong markets for growth and development.”

To date, Starbucks Coffee Company has contributed over $1.4 million to organizations such as the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Jumpstart, CityYear Louisiana and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

In support of the region’s recovery, Starbucks has expanded the “Make Your Mark” program in the New Orleans area, where Starbucks matches partner and customer volunteer hours with cash contributions to nonprofit organizations at a rate of $25 per hours, as compared to customary $10 per hour. To date, $22,962 has been directed to the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now (ACORN) through the program.