Sunday August 29th Marks 5 Years Since "Hurricane Katrina" Hit & Devastated New Orleans
Hurricane Katrina was the sixth strongest hurricane ever recorded and the third strongest hurricane ever recorded to make landfall in the U.S.
In New Orleans, the evacuation plan was particularly crucial because it is in the Storm Surge Zone, below sea level (up to six feet in some places). Its levees were only designed for a Category 3 and Katrina was forecast as a Category 4 featuring gusts topping 140 miles an hour (225 kilometers an hour).
The storm surge from Katrina was 20-feet (six meters) high.
The failure of the levees was due to system design flaws for the most part, combined with the lack of adequate maintenance. Apparently, the designers, builders and maintenance people did not devote enough time or attention to the levees in the region.
More than one million Gulf Coast residents have been displaced and many of the refugees were living below the poverty line before the storm struck.
The final death toll was at 1,836, primarily from Louisiana (1,577) and Mississippi (238). It’s very difficult to determine the exact cause of the deaths but they were all caused either directly or indirectly by the Hurricane.
An estimated 80% of New Orleans was under water, up to 20 feet deep in places. Hurricane Katrina caused $75 billion in estimated physical damages, the most costly hurricane in history, but it is estimated that the total economic impact in Louisiana and Mississippi may exceed $150 billion.
About 90,000 square miles were affected by Katrina.
Before the hurricane, the region supported approximately one million non-farm jobs, with 600,000 of them in New Orleans, but hundreds of thousands of local residents were left unemployed by the hurricane.
More than 70 countries pledged monetary donations or other assistance. Kuwait made the largest single pledge of $500 million, but Qatar, India, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh made very large donations as well.
"Gossip On This Reports: The Internet was buzzing yesterday (Wed. Aug 25) when reports surfaced claiming that rapper/producer Timbaland had fled his home on a mission to supposedly commit suicide after someone had allegedly stole his $2 million watch. When his family couldn’t find or get in touch with him, they grew worried and called 911 to report him missing.In a 911 call posted to TMZ, his mother-in-law can be heard stating that Timbaland was “tired of stress” and was supposedly near a cliff waiting to commit suicide. The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department responded to the urgent call and sent out helicopters to find Timbaland, who was eventually spotted and later taken home.But there’s no need to worry about Timbaland because he says he wasn’t trying to take his life. He was just trying to clear his head to figure out how to handle a sticky situation (that he didn’t elaborate too much on). He also said that it had nothing to do with an expensive watch or anything like that. Telling Seacrest that those closest to him likely feared for his safety because they hadn’t heard from him, the rapper-producer understands that “people got worried.” When police tracked him down on the Pacific Coast Highway, he recognized the officer and assured him that everything was fine after being told of his family’s concern. “I snapped,” he told Seacrest. “I was like, ‘Who would report something like that?’ ”
Amid all the drama, Timbaland returned to the studio Wednesday to record with Keri Hilson. Said Timbaland: “I don’t know a person who would [try to] commit suicide [and then] be at the studio.”
According to the documents -- filed today in L.A. County Superior Court and obtained by TMZ -- Mos was paid a $12,500 deposit to do a show at the Kool Haus in Toronto back on February 25.In the suit, the promoters, REMG Entertainment, claim Mos suddenly backed out of the concert on February 24 ... and failed to pay back the $12.5k.REMG claims it's another $45,000 in the hole for "lost customers, sales, and goodwill" -- and is suing Mos and his crew for at least $57,500.
"Hoopz" Moves On To The Next Try'n To Get Half Of "Shaq's" Checks
Man these reality star chicks are getting all the Alist d*ck. Who would of ever known from "Hoopz" trying to hook up with "Flavor Flav" that your life would turn into this. First Hoops was rumored to be chilling with "TI" while he was engaged to "Tiny". Now word in the hood that her and "Shaquille O’Neal" are the real deal and supposively engaged. The two love birds have reportedly been spotted canoodling all around her home state of Tennessee. Rumor has it that "Shaq" recently purchased a mansion in Maryville, TN.
No confirmation of the engagement has been released as of yet….
The Making And Plot Behind The Movie "Takers" With TI, Chris Brown, Idris Elba, Matt Dillion & More In Theaters Now
A group of high-living young criminals bankroll their extravagant lifestyle with a series of painstakingly planned bank robberies while a dedicated police officer makes it his personal mission to stop them in the taut, edge-of your seat crime thriller Takers. After years of meticulously planned heists, the crew is convinced by one of their own to risk it all for one last big score, but pulling off the job of a lifetime with a dogged detective and a vicious rival gang on their tail is a tall order, even for these seasoned pros.Longtime friends Gordon Betts (Idris Elba), John Rahway (Paul Walker), A.J. (Hayden Christensen), and the Attica brothers, Jake (Michael Ealy) and Jesse (Chris Brown) finance an extravagant lifestyle filled with hot cars, hotter women and unlimited cash by staging high stakes bank robberies. They avoid being caught by planning to the tiniest detail, leaving no clues and pulling off one—and only one—job per year. Their latest successful caper, a $2 million heist, attracts the attention of LAPD Detective Jack Welles (Matt Dillon), an old-school cop who has sacrificed his marriage, his child and any semblance of a personal life for the job. Despite a lack of support from the department, Welles is determined to track down the elusive gang before they strike again. As the crew celebrates their latest daring robbery in a chic downtown cocktail lounge, Ghost (T.I.), a former comrade-in-arms recently released from prison, drops in with an irresistible proposal.
"Keith Murray" Says He Got In A Fight With "Tupac" In "House Of Blues" In California
"Strange encounters in the intersection of life". I always thought "Keith Murray" was too hot 4 t.v., but this right here proves it. For what reason and why since Tupac had been dead for over 10 years do you just start drop'n what you claim to be the "truth" now? But I can believe they fought but he sure didn't say he won.
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