Hurricane Katrina Could Push Fuel Costs and Air Fares Up, Up And Away!

The tragedy of Hurricane Katrina now looks as if it's killed hundreds, maybe thousands of people already. And the diseases we hear of in Third World countries - Cholera and Typhoid - now look set to hit the southern USA.

And fuel costs look set to skyrocket.

The chances of the US getting their fuel production back to normal quickly now are anything but good. They have a bigger disaster to cope with.

It might have taken them a month to get fuel supplies in the US back to normal if Hurricane Katrina has been a run-of-the mill disaster. But Hurricane Katrina looks like she's the biggest calamity the US has ever faced.

So even with the vast wealth the United States has at her disposal, a large military machine and some of the world's best and most sophisticated civil defense and rescue expertise, they have a really tough road ahead to help the people of New Orleans.

The US still needs its fuel, so world fuel prices, and our air fares, are likely to go to heights we've never seen before... and heaven only knows how long fuel prices will stay high. There are so many different factors involved.

The immediate victims of Hurricane Katrina are those who have died already. But the survivors are now facing an even bigger danger... from disease.

Here we have people from the world's richest country who have suddenly found themselves faced by a common Third World danger.

The survivors are in an environment with contaminated water. You can't drink the water anymore because it's contaminated by sewage. And with everything flooded, how will they boil water to make it safe to drink? How will the survivors there maintain cleanliness, to keep off disease, and how will they get food.

Electricity supplies are intermittent in many places, and others have no electricity at all. So many have no cooking, lighting, fuel or even communications... That is a real disaster.

Shelter and drinking water are the first priorities now for the survivors. Most people don't realize that a healthy human being can last up to one month without any food. But you can only last two days without drinking water.

If you would like to help you can contact these two agencies directly:

• FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency): http://www.fema.gov
• Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org