Although it seemed last night that the hell-on-earth that New Orleans has become couldn't possibly get any worse, this morning we learn of a major chemical plant explosion there in the pre-dawn hours. See below:
This from the
AP:
NEW ORLEANS (Sept. 2) - An explosion jolted residents awake early Friday, illuminating the pre-dawn sky with red and orange flames over the city where corpses rotted along flooded sidewalks and bands of armed thugs thwarted fitful rescue efforts.
snip
At 4:35 a.m. Friday, an explosion rocked a chemical storage facility near the Mississippi River east of the French Quarter, said Lt. Michael Francis of the Harbor Police. A series of smaller blasts followed and then acrid, black smoke that could be seen even in the dark. The vibrations were felt all the way downtown.
When they can't even seem to get water to the people stranded downtown, how are they going to deal with this?
I can't find words for my horror at this endless escalation of disaster. I watched too much TV yesterday and ended up crying along with the reporters, as much out of despair as out of sadness or sympathy.
I am praying for the survival of this beautiful, unique place, and for the relief of its citizens, who have already had so much misery heaped upon them.