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Hurricane Katrina

A round-up of Hurricane Katrina rumors.

Published Sept. 2, 2005

A round-up of Hurricane Katrina-related rumors we've collected so far:



Just learned that the Terrorists had bombs planted in the levees and intended to detonate them to destroy the Mississippi levees altogether.
They found the bombs. The terrorists couldn't get to them to detonate them because of the water.

We have seen no reports of terrorist-planted bombs being discovered on levees around the Mississippi area.


Is it true that there has been video footage of sharks swimming in the floods in New Orleans?

Various news accounts have reported people claiming to have seen sharks swimming in the floodwaters around New Orleans, but the reliability of such accounts is difficult to ascertain.


Before NBC, MTV or anyone else puts on a telethon to help victims of
Hurricane Katrina, they might want to explore some ancillary issues. To wit:
New Orleans is a city famous for its famous musicians, but many of them are
missing. Missing with a capital M.

To begin with, one of the city¹s most important legends, Antoine "Fats"
Domino, has not been heard from since Monday afternoon. Domino¹s rollicking
boogie-woogie piano and deep soul voice are not only part of the Rock 'n'
Roll Hall of Fame but responsible for dozens of hits like "Blue Monday,"
"Ain¹t That a Shame," "Blueberry Hill" and "I¹m Walking (Yes, Indeed, I¹m
Talking)."

R&B legend Fats Domino was missing in New Orleans, but he has since apparently been rescued.


Perhaps this is only the first unfounded rumor to come out of the
New Orleans area, but I was told that some residents who remained behind
have said that the city used dynamite on the levees at certain points in
an attempt save the French Quarter and Business District by flooding other areas.


Reports indicate numerous fraudulent requests for donations to aid
hurricane Katrina relief efforts. These requests typically arrive via
mass-mailings and appear to originate from legitimate charitable
organizations. The messages are designed to entice users to access a
web site and make a donation via a credit card. When the user attempts
to access the site, the browser is redirected to a malicious web site.
In addition to accepting a donation, these sites are likely to attempt
to install malicious code on the system.

Users are advised to verify the organization and URL to which they are
donating money. A listing of contact information for various charitable
organizations is available at the following link: FEMA.

Users are advised to not respond to e-mails requesting donations for
relief efforts, as legitimate organizations typically do not request
funds in this method.

Last updated:   31 August 2005


David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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