KAT HITS AS CAT 4

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Hurricane Katrina plowed into this below-sea-level city Monday with howling, 145-mph winds and blinding rain that ripped away pieces of the roof of the Superdome, knocked out power and flooded some homes to the ceilings.

Katrina weakened overnight to a Category 4 storm and turned slightly eastward before hitting land about 6:10 a.m. CDT east of Grand Isle near the bayou town of Buras, providing some hope that this vulnerable city would be spared the storm's full fury.

But National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield warned that New Orleans would be pounded throughout the day and that Katrina's potential 15-foot storm surge, down from a feared 28 feet, was still substantial enough to cause extensive flooding.

...At the Superdome, home to 9,000 storm refugees, wind peeled off pieces of metal on the golden roof, leaving two holes that were visible from the floor. Water dripped in, and people were moved away.

Others stayed and watched as sheets of metal, flapped and rumbled loudly. From the floor, looking up more than 19 stories, it appeared to be openings of about six feet long.

General Manager Glenn Menard said he did not know how serious the problem was. "We have no way of getting anyone up there to look," he said.

Scores of windows were blown out at some of New Orleans' hotels.

Katrina, which had strengthened a day before into a 175-mph Category 5 behemoth before weakening, still had hurricane winds extending 120 miles from its center. Mayfield said at midmorning the worst flooding from storm surge was on the Mississippi coast, east of the eye, with the highest storm surge recorded so far at 22 feet in Bay St. Louis.

Along U.S. 90 in Mississippi, the major coastal route that is home to the state's glitzy casinos, sailboats were washed onto the four-lane highway, which was deserted and flooded in areas.

"This is a devastating hit _ we've got boats that have gone into buildings," Gulfport Fire Chief Pat Sullivan said as he maneuvered around downed trees in the city. "What you're looking at is Camille II."

Thankfully, the storm weakened before landfall. New Orleans is NOT under water. The catastrophe that was feared hasn't happened.

That's not to say that there isn't tremendous damage. However, it could have been worse.

Now, Katrina has been downgraded to a Category 3.

HEY! EUROPE!

TIME TO STEP UP AND SEND AID TO THE DEVASTATED AREAS OF THE U.S.!

Remember, at the time of last December's tsunami, the U.S. was bashed for being "stingy."

Jan Egeland, UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, slammed the U.S. and suggested that our taxes be raised to enable us to give more.

In April, Jimmy Carter chastised the U.S., saying that we "don't really give a damn" about those in need.
Figures like these, showing that the U.S. lags behind other nations in providing foreign aid, are time and again trotted out to tout the moral superiority of Europe and the selfishness of the U.S.

It's one of the reasons that's often cited by Leftists to explain why the world hates us.

I hope the oh so generous Denmark and the rest of Europe is gearing up right now to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina.


HELP STORM VICTIMS: FEMA, American Red Cross: 1-800-HELP-NOW, Catholic Charities, Salvation Army