What about the life in cruise lines?

Cruise Ships for New Orleans Relief

• What is being done to recruit cruise lines (and their life boats ?) to rescue and redistribute homeless families from the Gulf Coast ?

• Answer:

  Dear dilman-ga; Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. At the moment the idea of utilizing cruise ships to aid in the rescue and relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina is still in the conceptual stage, but it definitely HAS been and IS being considered by some agencies. ?The Federal Emergency Management Agency is considering putting people on cruise ships and in tent cities, mobile home parks and so-called floating dormitories.? TORONTO SUN http://torontosun.com/News/Katrina/2005/08/31/1195482-sun.html ?While Tuesday was a day of assessment, FEMA already was considering housing alternatives at property outside the damaged areas, he said. It may put people on cruise ships, in tent cities, mobile home parks or so-called floating dormitories, boats FEMA normally uses to house its employees, Lokey said.? SHREVEPORT TIMES http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050831/NEWS01/508310335/1002/NEWS What is known is that the US Navy is sending warships such as the USS Iwo Jima group (several ships) from Norfolk Naval Base, that can help rescue and relieve some people. The helicopter carrier USS Bataan that had been conducting training in the gulf has also been diverted to the coast to help rescue efforts. The ships and helicopters should be arriving in the area of devastation over the next 5 days. There is talk that the USNS Comfort (mobile Naval Hospital) may also sail from Baltimore to provide additional medical assistance, temporary lodging, and supplies but no decision has been made as of yet. WIRED NEWS ?Warships, hospital ship join in storm relief ? http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1083086&tw=wn_wire_story Unfortunately it?s hard to say what additional progress these emergency response agencies have made, or might be making with regard to your shared idea about civilian vessels (a great one too I might add) as communications in and out of these areas is still quite limited. Let?s hope that some of these cruise companies step forward and offer to do what needs to be done in the interest of these unfortunate people and their horrible situation. I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have any questions about my research please post a clarification request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us. Best regards; Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher INFORMATION SOURCES Defined above SEARCH STRATEGY SEARCH ENGINE USED: Google ://www.google.com SEARCH TERMS USED: New Orleans Hurricane Katrina Rescue Cruise Ships Plan Efforts