Hurricane Katrina Leaves a Path of Destruction By Nicole Seymour, Church Magazines The Church is responding quickly to member and community needs in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A significant amount of emergency response supplies was ready in bishops' storehouses across the southeast. The Slidell Louisiana Welfare Bishops' Storehouse was not impaired by the storm and is able to meet local needs. Additional trucks with commodities and supplies from the bishops' storehouse in Salt Lake City have been dispatched and two welfare committee members are in the disaster area to help with the distribution of supplies. All the missionaries from the Louisiana Baton Rouge and Mississippi Jackson Missions were evacuated to safety before Hurricane Katrina's arrival. No Church members have been reported dead or injured. Local Church leaders are in the process of assessing member needs. Meanwhile, meetinghouses throughout the South are in use as emergency shelters. Shelters include chapels in Hattiesburg and Jackson, Mississippi; and in Alexandria, Louisiana. The only report of significant damage to Church property is to the Homestead Florida Stake Center in southern Florida. Other reports denote only minor wind and water damage to inland meetinghouses as assessments of Church property continue. In the wake of the storm, health concerns abound. Many utilities are out of service, roads are blocked, and debris is scattered, while the threat of an upsurge in the number of mosquitoes rises. While state employees urge evacuees to stay put for the time being, many evacuees will remain displaced for an extended period. The American Red Cross reported that this is the biggest natural disaster relief effort in its history. Communication between stake and local leaders and Church Welfare Services continues as damages and needs are assessed. Hurricane Katrina's winds have slowed, and the storm is now classified as a tropical storm. Just as Hurricane Katrina neared landfall in New Orleans, Louisiana on the morning of Monday, August 29, it dropped to a Category Four hurricane and turned slightly. It had wind speeds of up to 145 mph. The resulting damage was catastrophic across the southern coast. From New Orleans through Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle, extensive wind and rain damage is abundant in both inland and in coastal areas. In New Orleans, 80 percent of the city is submerged and flooding continues. Many need to be rescued from rooftops. Mississippi took the biggest blow from the hurricane as a tidal storm surge 20 feet high slammed inland, causing the majority of the 68 reported deaths attributed to Katrina. Other areas have significant water and wind damage as the storm continues to move northeast. About 1.4 million people are without power and 1 million others are displaced from their homes.