Hurricane Katrina

Tragic. Horrifying. Scary. Sad. Unbelievable. Heartbreaking. I don't have adequate words to describe the situation on the Gulf coast. I've been watching coverage of the events in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama all week and while it depresses the shit out of me, I can't stop watching.

I have been kicked into disaster planning mode by these events and The Saint has been patiently humoring me and reassuring me, used to my sporadic bouts of freaked-outedness. The biggest threat to us, where we live, is tornado or fire. I've insisted we sit down and create a disaster plan this weekend. For example, if we had a fire, how would we round up the cats? How would we get out of the house from the second floor?

I feel for the people in these areas that are now left without anything but their lives: homes, clothes, food, water, identification, jobs, etc. If you want to help them, donate to the Salvation Army or the Red Cross.

There's another population that needs your help just as much. The animals. The Humane Society of the United States has launched a relief effort to help the animals affected by this disaster and you can make a donation here. I did.