Local reports from the blog community: Noted legal weblogger Ernie the Attorney, a New Orleans resident, has been posting his perspective of Katrina-related events, along with resources and links to reports from other local bloggers. We’re relieved that he is OK, and we extend our condolences to him for the tragedies that are befalling his beloved city.
GruntDoc is a blog by an emergency physician in Texas who has been posting some great items about medical response, medical issues, and first-person accounts from medical staff. Two that we found interesting were five days of reports from Dr. Mattox at the Astrodome and a reporter’s notebook about treating those left behind.
For other local reports: The Times Picayune has a breaking news weblog; WWLTV, Channel 4 in New Orleans, also has a breaking news weblog; and The Interdictor is a blog run by an entrepreneur who runs a network operations center in downtown New Orleans. He’s kept the business running throughout the entire disaster, all the while posting regular updates about the experience. He also has had a webcam trained on Poydras Street throughout.
Job loss and employment: One of our readers recently posted a comment about how a job is closely entwined with identity, so loss of a job as a result of a disability can add insult to injury. It’s a good comment, and we can’t help but note that this loss of job/identity will be one more blow for many of Katrina’s victims. Many lives that are already shattered may suffer further devastation from loss of job and livelihood. HR Blog looks at the anticipated toll on jobs in the Delta region, and Strategic HR Lawyer posts about some preliminary employer responses to Katrina. George’s Employment Blawg urges employers to hire refugees and posts a message from SHRM on the importance of jobs.
Regulatory relief: Two interesting posts from BenefitsBlog. One is about the status of federal courts affected by hurricane Katrina and another discusses relief measures that some federal agencies offer affected employers in terms of filing requirements for benefits.
Economic and insurance costs: Katrina’s economic impact could be much broader and more prolonged than originally thought. Several bloggers are discussing the specific impact on insurance. Specialty Insurance Blog discusses Katrina and insurance prices; RiskProf specifically addresses Katrina’s effect on Florida insurance prices; and Joe Paduda discusses Katrina’s anticipated impact on specific insurers.
Giving or getting help: RawblogXport suggests some ways to help. Inter Alia points us to a site by the American Bar Association offering Katrina-related resources for victims, for lawyers needing help, lawyers wanting to volunteer, military personnel needing help. MSSPNexus suggests that this might be a good time to review your FEMA’s Emergency Preparedness Information.

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