Better
You might reference some of my posts in the Mississippi forum. I'm located in the Jackson area, which is 150 miles north of New Orleans, or 120 miles north of Gulfport.
It might surprise many to learn that initially in the JXN area 70% of the citizens did not have power! We had sustained winds perhaps as high as 70mph, and gusts 30+ for perhaps 6-8 hours. Many trees were uprooted, or limbs crashed in powerlines. Some homes were damaged, and a few were demolished by falling trees, but structural damage was generally light. As you get SE of here, the intensity of the damage increases. 90 miles SE in Hattiesburg I have heard it stated that "every home is damaged." Hattiesburg is still 60 miles North of Gulfport.
HF radio links (though initially very limited) have been continously maintained thoughout MS. It is my understanding that VHF ham links were restablished Sat. afternoon. So now I can talk all the way down to the gulf coast with an HT in Jackson.
Even this far North, life has been very inconvenient (though I hesitate to complain given the horrendous sufferings of many). For example people have been descending in droves on grocery stores, hotels are overbooked, and refugees abound.
Fuel is difficult or impossible to obtain, though my sources suggest this may improve over the next few days.
Overall, although I am not an official member of any relief organization or emergency services unit, I have served several of them over the past few day, and we in MS seem a bit better organized than those state/local agencies in the New Orleans area. Public order is being maintained in Central MS, although my ability to comment on the gulf coast is more limited.
