Hurricane Gustav killed 18 people in Louisiana and displaced 1.9 million. Over 800,000 homes are without electricity. In Haiti, Gustav killed 77 with another 8 missing and damaged nearly 15,000 homes. Tropical storm Hanna, which closely followed Gustav, killed at least another 60 people. Tens of thousands of people have sought safety on rooftops and temporary shelters.

As this hurricane fell at the end of August and the beginning of September, many returning evacuees are faced with mounting bills from landlords and utility companies after footing the cost of at least 4 days of evacuation. The financial hardship for many is unbearable. Attached is a drafted tenants agreement that tenants can present to their landlords to strike agreements to defer rent payment for a reasonable amount of time.

Despite the rosy media reports of light damage from Hurricane Gustav, several of southern Lousiana’s coastal Indigenous communities are reeling from a direct hit by Hurricane Gustav’s 115mph winds and large storm surge. Their communities lie in shambles.

The communities of lower Pointe-au-Chien, home of the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe (PACIT), and the Isle de Jean Charles (“The Island”) Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Confederation of Muskogees (BCCM) are still trying to assess the severe damage and what it will take to rebuild after Gustav’s devastating winds and storm-surge flooded homes, knocked buildings off their foundations, and decimated the primary source of income in the early season commercial shrimp harvest. The Island is still inaccessible due to prevailing flood waters. ( the most recent update from community leaders follows this action alert)

read more...

Evacuees in Shreveport area state-run shelters are reporting inhumane conditions and at least one incident of police brutality.

They aren't taking it lying down, but evacuees have more than their hands full with police oppression, brutality, and inhumane conditions.

Here is a video of an evacuee protest today in Shreveport (Thursday, September 4th, 2008), video by the Shreveport Times. Just look to the right of the article and the video is there:

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080904/NEWS/80904018

Your assistance is urgently needed to help the low-income women of color and their families evacuate safely if need be, stay safe for the duration of the evacuation, and return to the city as soon as possible so as not to fall prey to the pushout that has kept so many folks from being able to return to New Orleans since Katrina.