.

There likely will be a lot of damage from Hurricane Gustav. To donate funds for the victims of Hurricane Gustav, call 1 800 Red Cross. They are there in Louisiana on the ground taking care of those hurricane victims.

Unfortunately, in an election year, it is difficult to keep politics out of anything. That includes Hurricane Gustav.

President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney did the right thing by not going to Louisiana during this hurricane and the evacuation. Anytime a president goes to a city, local government and police resources are strained because of security and other matters. Officials in Louisiana were using those resources to prepare for Hurricane Gustav and did not need the distraction.

Presidential candidate Barack Obama said the same thing and stayed away from Louisiana during Hurricane Gustav. He knew they did not need the distraction and that there is nothing he can do anyway.

John McCain is not at his convention because of Hurricane Gustav supposedly. John, let me reassure you. They do not need you in or around Louisiana with a concerned look on your face because you think it will win you votes. You are running for President. You are not President. There is nothing you can do.

They had to evacuate the nursing homes in Louisiana. Don’t distract them by showing up. They might think you belong in one of those evacuation buses. Go back to your convention. Have your party.

More than $15 million in federal disaster grants and loans has been approved so far by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for Illinois residents who suffered damages and losses from the severe storms and flooding June 1 through July 22.

The new James Bond (Daniel Craig ) is helping a group of Diasaster Victims in Pyin-kha-yaing town a small fishing village in the country of Myanmar, with fishing boats after they where destroyed by Cyclone Nargis in May. Mr. Craig is handing over around 13,000 Dollars so he can purchase kayaks for this group of Disaster victims when there small fishing vessels were destroyed by cyclone Nargis.

His representative came to Myanmar and said he will pay for 25 fishing boats, and our committee brought the representative to that village,” a member from the fishery rehabilitation committee told the publication.

It will cost about 15 million kyats (about 12,345 dollars) for the fishing boats made locally, he said.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev declared August 13th a day of mourning as Georgian Armed Forces invaded South Ossetia and killed civilian populations. Russia has also declared this “genocide” a humanitarian disaster which qualified as an act of aggression and will be dealt with accordingly.

Katrina Aid Today is a national case management consortium which will provide disaster case management services to disaster vicitms. It was created by The United Methodist Committee on Relief. They just received $24.5M in federal funding to add to the more than $66M they received from foreign nations and non-profit agencies.

A growing number of researchers and volunteers have been trying to apply the lessons learned from past disasters and offer help to the disaster victims of the Iwate-Miyagi Inland Earthquake and the recent 7.9 earthquake which leveled much of the Sichuan Province in China.

In early July, about two weeks after the Iwate-Miyagi Inland Earthquake, a nine-member team led by Prof. Yoshiteru Murosaki of Kwansei Gakuin University, who heads the Japan Society for Disaster Recovery and Revitalization, visited a shelter in the Koei district of Kurihara, Miyagi Prefecture.

On Monday, the devastated town of Mianyang saw the arrival of the Olympic torch, which was believed to raise the spirits and give hope to the many disaster victims of the 7.9 earthquake which leveled much of Sichuan Province, killing almost 70,000 people.

“It’s a way to encourage the victims to rebuild. The torch is a symbol of strength and will encourage them to carry on the tenacious struggle,” said Hu Lu, 27, a businesswoman and one of the 88 torchbearers.

The flame was carried around Jiu Zhou Stadium for an hour where thousands of earthquake refugees sought shelter. The stadium has been cleaned up since and its entrance was adorned with plants and flowers and banners to welcome the torch bearers and the flame.

Many spectators were heard cheering “No difficulty can beat the spirit of Chinese people”, “Go China!” and “Go Sichuan!”

The U.S. Small Business Administration reminds homeowners, renters, businesses and non-profit organizations of the deadline to submit disaster loan applications for damage caused by the Queen Anne’s Gate Apartments fire that occurred on June 14, 2008. The deadline to file an application for physical damage is September 2, 2008.

CAIRO (AFP) — Scuffles erupted at an Egyptian court on Sunday when five of six defendants were cleared of blame for a 2006 ferry sinking in which more than 1,000 people died, Egypt’s worst maritime disaster.

Hysterical relatives voiced anger as only Salaheddin Gomaa, captain of another ferry, the Saint Catherine, was jailed for six months for failing to come to the assistance of the Al-Salam Boccaccio 98.

FEMA has long struggled to rectify their issues regarding emergency shelters to disaster victims due in large part to unhealthy materials and shotty construction. Now, FEMA has devised an new approach as to how they will provide present and future disaster victims with suitable housing when needed.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) published the first draft of a policy for providing housing to victims displaced by large catastrophes in the Federal Register Thursday, calling for input on a post-Katrina strategy that has already drawn criticism from a Senate panel.