New Orleans' 'West Bank' inundated and Salesian property damage is huge

NEW ORLEANS: 31st August 2005 -- From official reports from the SUE Province now reaching ANS it appears that the Salesian Family in New Orleans, following the devastation wrought by Hurrican Katrina, has been deeply affected.  Thankfully all confreres and Sisters survived without injury.  In most cases our Salesians and Sisters sought refuge on the 2nd floor of their larger institutions.  Most of the Sisters evacuated to a motel outside the affected area.  At this point little is known of the general well-being of many other members of the Salesian Family, Cooperators and collaborators.  It seems that structural damage to school and parish buildings is enormous.  Preliminary reports indicate that Shaw High School lost one side of its gymnasium, and the roof from the Chapel.  Many windows were shattered.  At. St. John Bosco Parish, glass of the church building was blown out; the roofs were lost on the school building and Family Life Center, with subsequent interior damage; and the rectory suffered partial roof collapse.  At St. Rosalie Parish, the front door was ripped off the church building; the Cafetorium and one school building lost their roofs, again with interior damage; and the power lines and poles came down by the rectory. 
Communication has been difficult and there is much yet to be learned, says the Provincial, Fr. Jim Heuser, in a preliminary report on the situation.  But there is little doubt that therre are several million dollars of damage to Salesian property at this stage.  Most confreres have at this stage withdrawn from Louisiana as there is little that can now be done until general services are restored and people are allowed back into the city.  Pretty much 80% of New Orleans proper is under water, so the city is simply not functioning.  The province has meanwhile established a Hurricane Katrina Salesian Solidarity Fund to gather together donations for the rebuilding efforts, and has asked all communities in the province to work in a spirit of solidarity to help the communities affected.
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