Continuing Problems after Katrina

The lack of sustained progress on the part of the government continues in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The Hattiesburg American of southern Mississippi notes that the next hurricane season is approaching:

Darlene Seymour and her family are facing tough choices. Hurricane season is two months away, and the D'Iberville resident is still living in a government-issued trailer.

Seymour said she's in the process of rebuilding - her home was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina - but construction won't be finished until July.

"We know that we could be threatened with a storm before then," Seymour said.

If that's the case, the Seymours will join thousands of Mississippi residents in what could be the biggest evacuation the state's ever seen.

"We're anticipating that when they say 'hurricane' this time, everybody's going to go," said Lamar County Emergency Management Coordinator James Smith.

State and county officials are urging residents to pay close attention to the news, and, if local authorities call for an evacuation, to leave early.

Smith said there's some concern that residents will try to take their trailers provided by Federal Emergency Management Agency on the road.

"We discourage that strongly," Smith said. "It's going to tie up the roadways more than normal, could slow down the evacuation process and put people at risk."

Kmilyun of Bifurcate in the Road has recently returned from Mississippi and says the areas damaged by Katrina are not receiving the national attention they should:

It is obvious that everything we experience changes our perspectives and how we perceive and interpret our existence on this globe we call earth. My vacation to visit my friends in Mississippi is on my list of altering experiences. I left with wonderful memories of a exciting visit with my friends, tours of Stennis, Fredericksburg, and New Orleans. I reveled in the excitement of seeing the U.S.S. Cairo in person and played with the displays at the NASA exhibits. I also came home moved deeply by the enormity of the hurricane damage.

The sheer size of it all, miles upon miles, it seemed to never end. All the lives affected. It has left me with many, many questions and frankly just stunned that after eight months the clean up efforts, well, heck, in our country, my county, it almost seems that we have just turned our backs on them.

There's more from Bifurcate in the Road on Katrina here and here.