Officials say thousands of homes and businesses have been demolished and food,
water and power supplies are hard to come by. Katrina is also set to become
the costliest natural disaster ever in the U.S.The city of New Orleans, home
to Cash Money’s Lil Wayne, Juvenile and Mannie Fresh as well as Master P’s No
Limit family, was flooded when levees protecting the city ruptured. According
to Chuck George, Chief Meteorologist of KOLD 13 in Tucson, Arizona, “the levees
that protected New Orleans were never intended to withstand more than a Category
3 hurricane. Katrina pulled water from the Gulf of Mexico eastward into Lake
Pontchartrain and the extra water resulted in very fast flow through the canals
that carry the water through New Orleans and back into the gulf. That extra
flow resulted in breakage of the levees.” Reports say the flooding caused massive
amounts of people to be stranded and contagious diseases are prone to spread
in the devastated areas. The city is reportedly 80% under water with some areas
drowned in water 20 feet deep.

With the conditions making it difficult to come by food, many have resorted
to looting grocery stores and businesses to survive. The looting is presently
escalating at a rapid rate. Looters are said to use garbage cans to sail away
with food, TV sets, clothes and guns. There have been reports of car jacking,
police officers claim to have been shot at and police say a man in Hattiesburg,
Mississippi killed his sister, shooting her in the head over a bag of ice. President
George W. Bush vowed a no tolerance policy against looters. About 4,000 National
Guard troops were sent to New Orleans to combat the looting.

Meanwhile, the Hip-Hop world has been shaken by Katrina’s deadly impact. Lil
Wayne’s daughter and mother are presently still in the depleted New Orleans.
Other Cash Money members also have relatives stranded in the N.O. “My family
was affected by the hurricane. I am waiting to see what the damage is.” For
Chopper aka Young City, the loss is devastating. The former Making Da Band star
is assessing the damage, having lost possessions and friends. “I got a lot of
food on the table (meaning mad sh!t on his mind) so much I gotta digest. A couple
of my homies drowned.” The 19 year old rapper, the main breadwinner for his
family and on the cusp of enjoying his newfound success, reports that the homes
of his mother, grandmother and one of his homes was destroyed by water. “[I]
Just put a movie theatre in the house…now that’s ruined,” says Choppa. “Cash
Money’s Houses were also underwater… they live on the same block as me. I’m
in the process of relocating my family to Cali [California], Atlanta, Houston
and Memphis.” The Scream Tour 4 featuring Bow Wow, Omarion, Pretty Ricky, Bobby
Valentino and Marques Houston was slated to stop by the Mississippi Coliseum
in downtown Jackson. Instead, the concert was canceled and the venue served
as a shelter filled with evacuated residents from nearby areas.

With large parts of Louisiana and Mississippi still under water, relief efforts
are coming from all angles. Weezie said that he and Baby will likely start relief
efforts once they secure their loved ones’ safety. Houston’s Astrodome is set
to take in 25,000 refugees previously packed in New Orleans Superdome. The operation
was set to begin today, but was halted due to gunshots and fires outside the
arena. Buses are on the way to take the refugees from New Orleans to Houston.
Reports say that 78,000 people are presently in shelters since the storm hit.
FEMA sent over 50 disaster assistance teams to the devastated areas. The organization
also sent over 25 urban search and rescue squads amounting to over 1,000 people
to help save lives. The United States Coast Guard is also conducting searches.
The Coast Guard is working in conjunction with local officials and local assets.
They have rescued up to 2,000 people to date. The National Guard presently has
11,000 Guardsmen helping governors and local officials with safety and disaster
relief efforts. FEMA is also working with the Army Corp of Engineers and local
officials to repair breeches in the levees in hope to stop the flooding in New
Orleans. The Department of Transportation is also sending in 400 trucks to move
1,000 truckloads containing 5.4 million meals ready to eat, including 13.4 liters
of water,10,400 tarps, 3.4 million pounds of ice, 144 generators and 20 containers
of prepositions disaster supplies with 135,000 blankets and 11,000 coats. More
relief efforts are expected to follow. Despite the heavy burden he is bearing,
Choppa is “trying to keep on a smiley face” and stay strong for his family.
The rapper has already donated $100,000 to the Red Cross and is interested to
do a benefit concert. “In N.O., they always said that one day the city would
be underwater. We never pictured this one…never like this.”