Guest Author - Deborah Crawford

If you have a trip planned for anywhere near the Gulf states areas for the next two or three months, you need to double-check your arrangements. Many areas are without power, phone, transportation and other services. Roads are destroyed and impassable. Airports are closed.

Right now and for the immediate future, hotel rooms are full in areas as far away as Memphis and Little Rock.

The news from the Gulf area affected by Hurricane Katrina is devastating and seems to grow worse by the hour now. New Orleans as we know it may well be a lost city, and will at least be uninhabitable for two or three months. Other Gulf cities are experiencing massive flooding and the damage is astronomical--billions of dollars. Estimates of loss of life have grown from 50 to “thousands” according to news reports, and it may be some time before a more accurate cound is available. People are still being rescued and unfortunately, looting is rampant.

Millions of people are displaced and cities within 500 miles are welcoming these people, filling up hotels and shelters and sports arenas. Volunteers and rescue workers are responding, and citizens are making donations of time, money and products to help out. If you want to donate, remember there will be con artists out there—calling, knocking on doors, posting fake internet ads and who knows what. Be sure any donations you make are to a legitimate organization, such as the Red Cross or your own church.

If you are traveling to an area unaffected by the storm, expect to pay more for gas. Typically, gas prices decrease after Labor Day, but this year, it’s anybody’s guess.