Katrina Quotations

In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, our nation has been put under considerable fiscal pressure.

I'll never forget Hurricane Katrina - the mix of a natural and a man-made catastrophe that resulted in the death of over 1,500 of our neighbors. Millions of folks were marked by the tragedy.

I did live through Katrina and also Hurricane Rita, which hit Lake Charles. Interestingly, when Katrina hit, they evacuated and Lake Charles was one of the evacuation destinations. We opened up the civic center of the city to the evacuees and provided them free medical and psychiatric care there.

Having said that, I believe we must not compound the natural disaster of Katrina by creating a fiscal disaster in Congress - it is our duty to ensure that we reign in other government spending in any event, and especially in this time of national emergency.

I had finished the first draft of 'Life As We Knew It' before Katrina hit, and it was startling to see things I wrote about actually happening in the real world.

Every member of my family was displaced by Katrina.

The administration is using the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to cut the wages of people desperately trying to rebuild their lives and their communities.

Events like Hurricane Katrina and the Minnesota bridge collapse suggest a national infrastructure that has suffered from lack of tending.

Some 70 percent of Americans donated to Katrina victims.

The United States' gasoline industry, as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita demonstrated, is remarkably fragile. And the process of how oil is pumped from the ground, turned into gasoline and distributed to consumers is complicated.

While Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the dangers of failing to evacuate hospitals from the path of a storm, Hurricane Gustav demonstrated that moving thousands of sick people has its own risks. Gustav also highlighted a critical vulnerability of American hospitals - an inability to withstand prolonged blackouts.

The gulf coast, we all know now, after Katrina, is responsible for 25 percent of U.S. production of natural gas. Following Katrina and Rita, almost 75 percent of the natural gas production in the gulf was shut down and not producing.

The fact is that it is reasonable for us to say that there is going to be an emergency that happens in this country that we cannot budget for. Katrina is an example.

I was in elementary school in Mississippi, and when Katrina hit, my mom put me in home school. So ever since sixth grade, I've been home schooled, which was interesting.

People always related to President Bush, but in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq War, his numbers collapsed because people didn't feel like he handled those properly. Obama is the inverse. He was elected because he was an extraordinary guy, but the fact that he isn't ordinary has turned out to be politically damaging.

I don't think I'm the best-looking actress around. I'm not Katrina Kaif; she is stunningly beautiful. There are some roles that might need a beautiful girl, and there would be a doubt in a director's mind whether he should cast me. But that perception will change with time. I'd like to believe actresses look better with experience.

Waiting for me in Stockholm will be a personal assistant - Katrina from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs - as well the secretary of the Swedish Academy. They'll help us with our things and take us to our hotel. From the moment I arrive, I'll always be together with the other two laureates.

The positive message is that if you strip out the numbers that the Labor Department says are the result of the hurricane, the underlying figures are still pretty decent. That shows that there was some cushion in the economy before Katrina hit.

We applaud the efforts of Best Buy in helping to relieve some of the burden of recycling the unprecedented amount of electronic waste generated by Hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi Coast. While recycling electronic waste takes more time and labor, this effort is about protecting human health and the environment.

We applaud FEMA for extending the opportunity for government agencies and private non-profits affected by Katrina to apply for assistance that may be available to them.

We are proud to be in a position to offer these funds to the community. Personally, I'm honored to represent this group of vintners who lend a hand whether it be for Hurricane Katrina relief or to help a neighbor in need.

We are pleased to have this opportunity to work with Mr. Williams and continue efforts in assisting the victims of Hurricane Katrina along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, ... We continue to call on our associates and guests to keep helping our fellow residents of southern Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama during these difficult times.

We are looking to an active turnaround season because of all of the deferrals from the fall. Refineries that planned to upgrade facilities put them off because of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

When you think that the population of metropolitan New Orleans before Katrina was 485,000 and it's now 150,000, so two-thirds of the city is gone. The question of how to rebuild becomes very difficult.

We believe that consumer spending is going to bear the brunt of higher energy prices that we have seen leading up to and immediately following Hurricane Katrina as discretionary spending is curtailed.

Whether the recovery from Katrina adds to demand for construction materials depends on the types and speed of rebuilding in damaged areas.

What Hurricane Katrina destroyed in hours will take years to rebuild, ... The public expects the government to be careful with taxpayer dollars and put them to use in a smart and practical manner.

What he did in New Orleans -- I mean, that's worse than what Bull Connor did in his entire career as a racist in the South. Look at these neighborhoods before Katrina hit. Bush made that community what it is. Katrina did the rest, in partnership with Bush, to deliver the final blow.

What has happened along the Gulf Coast is nothing short of a humanitarian crisis, ... The Congress is committed to providing the funding necessary to not only offer immediate relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina but to also help rebuild their lives and get them back on their feet.

We felt it was only right that the focus of giving be made to organizations helping Katrina victims, especially when New York was given so much support in the wake of Sept. 11.

What makes Katrina especially interesting is that this is an unprecedented situation. You had journalists on the ground in New Orleans, days before there were any official authorities there.

We're being approached by four parties to do Hurricane Katrina relief. If we could get the government to commit to a reasonable number of buildings, like 5,000, which is a drop in the bucket as to what they need, then we would build a plant (in the storm-affected area) at our own expense, and we would hire and train people from Louisiana and Mississippi to operate it.

Yes, I'm worried. We're looking at June 1 for the start of the season and we're still trying to clean up and pick up for Hurricane Katrina six months ago.

With what we saw with Hurricane Katrina and the rising price of gas and oil, that's just not an area we feel comfortable investing any dollars in. The economy is slowing and that's going to be a significant impact on those types of companies.

We are already at about $50 billion of insured losses from catastrophes in this country so far and that could be as high as $70 billion, depending on what Katrina does. Hurricane Wilma is a situation that is going to exacerbate what was already problematic for the insurance industry.

Therefore, it is no surprise when the United States is confronted with an event like Hurricane Katrina that those in the international community have responded in kind.

This will provide some offset to the drag caused by the hurricane's direct damage and flooding, which, along with the massive amounts of money being deployed in the affected area, suggest that the ultimate impact of Katrina on GDP might prove more fleeting than first thought.

We want students to go on these trips. They are educational and valuable. For instance, one group is going to Venezuela, another to Mexico and another to help Hurricane Katrina victims in the south.

There is a risk that energy could break out into a bigger inflation problem. We have gotten through Katrina and oil prices have backed off a bit, but there is a risk that if we have a harsh winter, energy prices will rise again.

There is a real sense of foreboding about the economy now that Katrina has struck with full force. This storm will be the most devastating ever for the U.S. oil and refining industries.

We're about see a second tidal surge from Katrina and Rita,

We ran from Katrina and she followed us, ... We got off the plane, secured our house the best way we thought we could ... and threw the same luggage in the car and turned around to go back out.

We didn't try to create the wheel. We had everybody focused on what they could already. Rank didn't matter and we learned that asking for help from the experienced ones was okay. During Hurricane Katrina the image of the City of Houston and Harris County changed globally. That's amazing because of people like you - the citizens. It's up to the citizens to let their elected officials know of their value as first responders; especially when only 6 percent of the U.S. population is certified first responders.

We have had a great deal of Katrina issues. It was a big learning curve for us and people in the utility industry. The most important thing we need to do is ensure people have reliable electric, phone, gas and water services and keep the rates at or below national averages.

The extent of the U.S. economic damage caused by Katrina is so unclear, and that could weigh on stocks there.

The fact of the matter is that there was no definitive plan to remove Canadians before Katrina hit and now there are Canadians stranded and fighting for their lives,

The creative community always responds to a tragedy. I don't think Katrina changed the instinctive reaction. But the fact that it was New Orleans, which is so important to the music world, did touch a chord in a particularly poignant way. People rallied immediately, within hours. All the labels wanted to play ball.

The creative community always responds to a tragedy, ... I don't think Katrina changed the instinctive reaction. But the fact that it was New Orleans, which is so important to the music world, did touch a chord in a particularly poignant way. People rallied immediately, within hours. All the labels wanted to play ball.

The reality is that if a pandemic hits, it's not just a health emergency. It's the big one. It requires big thinking to make sure all those dots are connected. Katrina was a wake-up call.

There is a little bit of shell shock that's going on among donors. The tsunami got a huge response. . . . Katrina got a huge response, and I think that people are a little caught off guard by this one.

There is a window where nobody will be willing to say 'no' to anything as long as it has a Katrina label on it.

The outlook accounting for Katrina suggests growth will slow in both the third and fourth quarter due to slower consumer spending.

The poorest of the poor have been hit the hardest by Katrina. Shouldn't we consider not cutting Medicaid $10 billion? Because that is where the money goes, to the poorest of the poor. Cut student loans? Food stamps? These are cuts to the very programs that survivors of Katrina need,

The poor and the working poor have been locked out of the nation's consciousness, even by the media and by many ministers. Katrina washed away the debris that was covering the locked out and left behind.

We are taking this storm very seriously. We are urging Miami-Dade County residents to do the same as we learned from hurricane Katrina storms are unpredictable,

We're here today just like we gathered 41 years ago in Selma. We are here preparing to go across another bridge, a bridge that they stopped us on the night Katrina hit. But we come today to tell them that nobody is going to stop us from going across any bridge in America.

This ratcheting down of allowable sulfur adds to costs and also strains the refining system. In 2006, the EPA could well cost gasoline consumers more than Hurricane Katrina did.

We had a very serious budget problem before Katrina hit.

The primary threat posed by Hurricane Katrina is going to be flooding from storm surge, so those being evacuated just need to make sure they reach higher ground.

The primary focus has been with the employees, and that's where it should be at this time, ... The gaming companies affected by Katrina have gone above and beyond in taking care of their employees.

When you call an apartment complex, they know when they have apartments available or not available. They should do that for everyone that identifies himself as a Katrina victim.

We've never been threatened to the extent that Katrina and Rita did, ... Unfortunately we're not going to have a true test of the system until that occurs.

The plan, again, is to come back here. I'm not God. ... If another Katrina hits here and hits dead on here, what's going to happen? I don't know the answer to that question, but it's probably not going to be good. We've all got have our eyes open and we've all got to make the right decision.

The place was totally corrupt. Katrina washed it away. For some people, Katrina gave them a new start.

There are other issues a lot more serious, and you guys (the media) should direct your attention toward taking care of that, ... Ask yourselves how much you've donated to Katrina (relief). Everybody should be pointing the fingers at themselves.

We're sending stuff to Katrina through America's Second Harvest. We're supporting the network.

Like everyone, I wish Katrina would have never happened. But, you can learn a lot through experiences like this.

Let's be clear about what Katrina was: a failure of leadership.

Low point of the address: Maybe it's just me, but isn't there something tacky about having the leader of the free world reading a phone number from the teleprompter? Also, it's been three weeks and they're only now publicizing a number for Katrina families looking for missing relatives? Nowpublic.com and countless other sites like it were up and running by 9am on Aug. 30. Just saying...

Many of the problems with the U.S. healthcare system were exposed after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita when paper health records were lost and victims were unable to access their health information or provide complete medical histories to caregivers. It's clear that establishing a healthcare network that utilizes information technology to improve care, reduce errors and cut costs is critical. An effective, efficient system is not only important to advancing the health of our society, but also to our economic well-being and long-term competitiveness.

Many members of the House and Senate are unable to provide much-needed aid to their affected constituents because of the loss of personal and office resources, ... The catastrophic events resulting from Hurricane Katrina require that we do all we can to assist our colleagues and their constituents.

Many of us thought even before Katrina we couldn't afford this benefit. We certainly today have to think we should put this benefit off.

Many scenarios had been run prior to Katrina years ago, and with that type of storm, the scenarios should have been taken seriously.

Several major police incidents were not in any 100-day plan. Hurricane Katrina wasn't in any 100-day plan. The DWP power outage was not in any 100-day plan.

Sen. Lott feels any time he can show his colleagues up close what Mississippians are facing then certainly that contributes to a better understanding of the Katrina recovery and what it's going to take to continue that recovery over the long term.

So far (there has been) no pass through of high energy prices into core inflation. What sticks out most is that the New York state manufacturing survey was spot on with forecasts and not (as) disastrous as some had expected. That is consistent with the view that the economic impact of Katrina will likely be limited and temporary.

So many people did open up their wallets during (Hurricane) Katrina and that was very much needed. Unfortunately, we need it again and it's right here in our local community.

She's ahead of where she was at the same point last year, too. And Katrina is coming off a great track season.

Since we announced this campaign, there has been an incredible outpouring of support from the music and entertainment community, who want to lend their voices, performances or messages of hope to those in need. The affected area hit hard by Hurricane Katrina shares a rich musical and cultural heritage, so it's all the more meaningful that we try to support these massive relief efforts through music and encouraging our audiences to help any way they can.

Since Katrina came it made me realize that all the things I used to do, I can't do it anymore.

Since Hurricane Katrina in early September, we have observed buyers taking longer to make their purchasing decision. We attribute this change to the significant decline in consumer confidence in the last two months that was precipitated by the hurricanes and their aftermath, and to record gas prices. It appears we may be entering a period of more moderate home price increases, more typical of the past decade than the past two years.

Since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast region, I have been asked by many of our student-athletes and fans if they could pitch in and help raise funds,

Mike managed over 160 disasters during his tenure at FEMA, and his service in those disasters has been commended by many, ... He has done everything he possibly could to coordinate the federal response to the unprecedented challenge posed by Hurricane Katrina and the New Orleans levee breach. He is a good man, and I personally appreciate his work and his commitment.

Mississippi taxpayers who were so generous to Hurricane Katrina victims now may receive some help through the Gulf Opportunity tax law changes made to encourage rebuilding and economic recovery.

Mr. President, haven't you been watching the news? Katrina hit New Orleans five days ago. The city is flooded. Many people are homeless, desperate for food and water. They're wondering why it's taking so long for the government to send help.

Much like New York continued after 9/11 with the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square, Mardi Gras has to continue in New Orleans. If they cancel, Katrina wins. We think it's important for everyone to stand behind this and get involved.

My fellow Katrina survivors and I have experienced more tragedy in the last six months than most people have in a lifetime. We have lost relatives, friends and our community. The federal government should live up to its responsibility to rebuild.

My fear is that the people who suffered the most when Hurricane Katrina struck will be the people who become most exposed to toxins.

My foundation donated to his church building fund and to a Katrina relief effort that his church sponsored. That's it. Period.

Nobody finds God in the wake of destruction, ... Very few atheists will look at Katrina or a tsunami and think, 'Oh my, there's a God.'

One of the unfortunate lessons from Katrina is that states cannot always count on the federal government for prompt disaster response and assistance,

One man called us and said, 'I have a three-bedroom house I'm working on, and you can use it. He is letting us use his home for Katrina evacuees.

One lesson we learned from Katrina is that you don't wait 'til the levee breaks to take action.

Obviously, we're starting to get the news from Katrina on the real situation, and the market is viewing that as not as bad. What's really driving it is when some refiners will come on line. That kind of certainty gives the market a platform to move higher.

My concern is if Katrina were not to have happened, I'm wondering if people would realize the continuing relevance of pieces such as this. I really think a lot of white folks just get tired of being reminded that race is still an issue, because today it is so subtle and kind of masked.

m working with the White House Task Force on Hurricane Katrina Response in order to find ways that we can help these children in any way we can. We will stick with these communities for as long as it takes to get them back on their feet.

More than 35 percent of the children exposed to a single traumatic event will develop serious mental health problems ... The real crisis of Katrina is the hundreds of thousands of ravaged, displaced and traumatized children.

Moreover, the impact of Hurricane Katrina on fuel supplies and refinery capacity will only ensure that relief will not come soon.

More important than this temporary alignment is the fact that the indicators are going in the same direction and have been doing so for several months. The Katrina period seems to have been the low point and we interpret the trend as the slow accommodation to the reality of higher oil prices. We also like seeing user expectations in line with vendor revenue forecasts.

My heart is filled with tears for the victims and all those who have lost loved ones in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. No one can challenge Mother Nature. All we can do now is band together the best we can as one family and help everyone get back on their feet.