The video from my brother’s cell phone is of the family cleaning up the branches and trees damaged by Hurricane Gustav in Baton Rouge, LA. My father was lucky this time around; while there was a lot to cleanup, no trees fell on any of the house (as they did during Hurricane Katrina). This will be a familiar site over the next few days as people take advantage of breaks in the weather to clean up.

We’ve gotten lots of comments over the last two days - thanks everyone for their input and concerns… similarly, if you had a question we’re doing our best to get back to you as soon as possible. It’s really inspiring to see how our blog is helping keep people connected and help create social action. Also, a lot of the comments have noted that because New Orleans didn’t flood, the national media seems to have traded in the still devastating disaster for the Republican National Convention. Let’s be clear - while New Orleans fared well, normal life in Baton Rouge and surrounding area has ground to a halt and won’t be back to normal for quite some time. Updates after the jump including hospitals, areas with no clean water, and Southern manners…

UPDATES

• Hospitals continue to struggle in Baton Rouge. Our Lady of the Lake (OLOL) handled over 400 emergency cases alone yesterday. Further north, there have been problems getting power fully restored to Earl K. Long Medical Center, so all patients are being evacuated to other facilities around the state. The closure of their ER will put further strain on local health infrastructure. While most people are staying home to repair their homes, my stepmother, a cardiac nurse practitioner, reports that hospitals are running overtime hours with full staffs.
• A boil advisory for water systems remains in effect for multiple water systems in more then 20 parishes. The range of the area with threatened water supply extends from Plaquemines parish south of New Orleans west to the Texas border in Calcascieu parish (including areas of Lake Charles) and as far north as Natchitoches and Sabine parish (one parish shy of being in Arkansas). the 15 page list of water systems under boil advisory is available as a pdf here.
• President Bush visited Baton Rouge today, taking in damage from inside his motorcade. He then left for a multiple day retreat at Camp David. (feel free to comment below…)
• LSU head football coach Les Miles is living on campus at LSU due to damage at his home. Sources on the ground say that the football stadium sustained some damage to signs and seating areas, forcing the game’s postponement on Saturday. For all you Tigers that would like info on LSU’s response to Gustav - click here.
• Some smaller roads remained blocked in neighborhoods. Multiple friends and family say that traffic is horrible (which is saying something given BR’s horrible traffic) and that the mood is tense and folks “aren’t being as polite as usual.”
• A friend returned to New Orleans to find that his home, taken down to the studs and rebuilt after Katrina, was high, dry, and safe. Most of his mid-city neighborhood is still without power, but grateful that things weren’t worse.

takepart and use some of your vacation time to volunteer in Louisiana for hurricane relief efforts. It will be one of the most rewarding vacations you’ll ever take, and the food in Louisiana is delicious.

Read more from our Hurricane Gustav coverage