An email update from a friend in New Orleans

This is an email I received from a friend who just got evacuated from New Orleans, having recently closed on her first house:

Thanks again for all of your emails and phone calls. We do appreciate your thoughts and prayers. A couple of you also have family from the New Orleans area and we are very glad that they are safe as well.

As of last night, after the storm had passed and the initial assessments were done, we were more hopeful that we may still have a house even though it could be very, very wet. However it appears that the situation in New Orleans is only worsening, and at an exponential rate. While the storm is over, the water to continues to rise and areas that were not flooded yesterday are flooded today. Despite the massive amount of water covering the city, fires are breaking out all over. Structures that appeared to be spared are collapsing. Levees that appeared to be holding are being breached. Unlike hard-hit Mississippi which was devastated but today can begin clean-up, New Orleans is only getting worse. Martial Law has been declared in the City of New Orleans... when was the last time that happened - the Civil War? There is no way to re-enter the city and the list of concerns are endless. There is 100% power loss, contaminated water supply, impassable roads and fear of disease because of the breeding mosquitoes and standing water. With the entire area becoming an extension of the swamps there are likely to be alligators, water moccasins and hoards of fire ants in the "streets" and in homes. We're getting information nationally as many of you have seen, and local reports from people in Baton Rouge and others close enough to get local reports. It is difficult to wrap our minds around losing everything, but as we watched people being rescued from their roof tops and hear the reports of bodies floating in the water we know how fortunate we are.

Sorry for the "doomsday" email. This is all a little hard to swallow and we just want to thank you all for your support.