NEW ORLEANS, LA, July 27, 2010 - Dead fish mixed with tar balls wash up along the beaches in Pensacola, Fla. Laughing gulls fall from the sky along the Mississippi River in Empire, La. A posted photo shows a small hammerhead shark lying on a beach near Gulf Shores, Ala., streaked with oil.
In the last week, Gulf Coast residents continued to post findings of injured and dead wildlife washed ashore, even as Louisiana reopened certain waters to sports fishing and Alabama reopened parts of Mobile Bay to shrimping.
"Laughing gulls on three separate occasions have been spotted on LA 23 falling from the sky dead," read the report out of Empire, La.
Meanwhile, a Gulf Coast resident spotted booms along a beach near Apalachicola National Forest, east of Panama City, Fla. "Boom was in place as far as I could see looking north or south. Watched it drift closer toward shore as the day passed. I felt it really marred the beauty of this unique beach," the report said.
Users logged about twenty new reports in the last week, many of which dealt with birds and marine wildlife. About 12 posts also focused on oil sightings onshore and in the water. Health concerns of eye irritation came up in three reports, while incidents of coughing and headache came up in two reports each. Users can check off multiple categories for each report.
Reports can be made and viewed at oilspill.labucketbrigade.org. Mobile phone users can text or call in reports to (504) 27 27 OIL. Reports can also be sent to bpspillmap@gmail.com and through Twitter with the hashtag #BPspillmap. If you are in danger or witness an emergency, please contact your local emergency response agency immediately. The Oil Spill Crisis Map is not an emergency response service.
Tulane University's Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy is an interdisciplinary academic center with participating faculty from Tulane's School of Architecture, A.B. Freeman School of Business, School of Law, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and School of Social Work. The academy provides training in Disaster Resilience Leadership Sciences/Studies.
The Louisiana Bucket Brigade is an environmental health and justice organization supporting neighborhoods' use of grassroots action to create informed, sustainable communities free from industrial pollution.
