Posted on 09/06/2005 10:15:17 AM PDT by Abigail Adams
This thread is for Katrina news and updates.
A friendly haven Oneonta gives New Orleans refugees welcome
By ELAINE WITT / BIRMINGHAM POST-HERALD
ONEONTA — By Thursday, T.J. Lowry couldn't take it any more.
He had seen the TV footage of desperate people who'd been waiting for days for a way out of New Orleans.
He'd heard Mayor Ray Nagin's pleas for buses.
He started calling charter services until he found one in Meridian, Miss., that for $2,400 would help him collect a load of people in New Orleans and deliver them to Alabama.
And by Friday night, Lowry, a former Peace Corps volunteer, his father, Tom Lowry, and Oneonta lawyer Bob Bentley were on a highway overpass in Metairie, La., preparing to bring 53 bedraggled souls back to the rural Blount County community of Oneonta.
As they waited in a line of buses to receive their human cargo, Tom Lowry, a State Farm agent, began to have doubts.
"When we rode in, you could see the faces of the people lined up. You could tell they were just waiting to get on that bus. They were all black people, and we were going to Oneonta, Ala. I didn't know how the community would respond or how the people from New Orleans would respond to the community."
At this point in telling his story outside a corrugated metal church that has been transformed into a shelter, Tom Lowry broke down in grateful sobs Monday afternoon.
The town — his town — a mostly white community of 6,300, came through beyond his imaginings.
A few hours later, when the bus pulled up to the local Methodist church, it seemed half the town was there — with food, cots, clothing and open arms.
Each evacuee was personally greeted and escorted into the church. After a meal, the operation moved to the metal Assemblies of God church on Alabama 75 — a church called simply The Church at Oneonta.
For more see: http://www.postherald.com/katrina.shtml
I knew this was going to happen. I said it on another thread - that most of these people are not going to want to go to someplace like Massachusetts.
I wouldn't come here either if I had a choice.
That is very distant for those people and a very drastic weather change as well.
I didn't even look in The Advocate. I doubt it's there, they don't want to spread rumors ya know.
http://www.thedeadpelican.com/translation.htm
How to speak "Katrina"
by: OilOnline
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Penn Virginia Corporation has reported the operational impact from Hurricane Katrina on the Company's operations in Mississippi and south Louisiana. As a precaution, on August 28, the day before the arrival of Katrina, approximately 13.6 million cubic feet equivalent (Mmcfe) per day, or approximately 17 percent of the Company's total daily production, was shut in. As of September 6, all but approximately 2.9 Mmcfe per day had been turned back in line. The preliminary estimated impact on Penn Virginia's production is expected to be a reduction of 100 to 150 Mmcfe, or less than one percent of the latest 2005 production guidance provided by the Company.
In Mississippi, the Company's Baxterville and Maxie fields in Marion, Lamar and Forrest counties were shut in. Daily net production from these fields was approximately 10.7 Mmcfe prior to Katrina. Damage to these fields was minor. At this time only the Maxie field, comprising approximately 0.5 Mmcfe per day, remains shut in due to scarcity of fuel needed by third party well maintenance contractors. The Company expects the Maxie field to be back in line by September 11. The Company's production in the Gwinville field in Jefferson Davis County was not materially affected by the hurricane.
In south Louisiana, the Company's non-operated Stella field in Plaquemines Parish, which was making approximately 2.4 Mmcfe per day net to the Company prior to Katrina, has been shut in since August 28. The operator of this field has not been able to completely evaluate the extent of damage, if any, due to lack of access to the field. The Company estimates that it will be a few weeks before production in this field resumes. Production from the Company's remaining fields in south Louisiana, all of which are outside operated, is believed to have been only minimally affected by the hurricane.
In addition to the production disruption, three drilling rigs in Mississippi discontinued operations as a result of the hurricane. Two rigs in the Gwinville field and a rig in the Baxterville field resumed drilling on September 7. This interruption should not impact completion of the Company's projected 85 well Mississippi drilling program.
Tuesday, September 6, 2005
Here's some stuff the USDA is doing to help Fema, mostly with the Incident Command staff they use for wildland fires. In my opinion, if they had let NICC (the National Interagency Coordination Center) run it instead of FEMA, it would have gone much smoother! Those people know how to deal with disaster, and how to work with locals, cause they do it every year, multiple times each year.
HURRICANE KATRINA SUPPORT, Federal Emergency Management Agency. Emergency Support Function #4 is staffed at the Regional Response Coordination Centers in Atlanta, GA and Denton, TX. Seven Type 1 Incident Management Teams (Custer, Quesinberry, Pincha-Tulley, Gelobter, Cable, Molumby and Wilcock) are assigned. Custer's Team is managing an evacuation center and base camp, and also supporting the Army's 82nd Airborne mission at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Kenner, LA. Quesinberry's Team is managing a mobilization center at Meridian Naval Air Station in MS. Pincha-Tulley's Team is managing a base camp and supporting the receiving and distribution of relief supplies at Stennis Space Center in MS. The Team also assisted in establishing an incident command post for FEMA. Gelobter's Team is managing a base camp at Gautier, MS. Cable's Team is establishing a base camp and providing support for 600 out of state firefighters at Baton Rouge, LA. Molumby's Team continues to construct and manage a base camp in support of the Disaster Mortuary Operation Response Team at St. Gabriel, LA. Wilcock's Team has arrived in Marietta, GA, and will receive briefing and be assigned today.
Eight Type 2 Incident Management Teams (Mullenix, Smith, Thomas, Philbin, Stanford, Hildreth, Whalen and Sinclear) are assigned. Mullenix's Team is assigned to an evacuation center housing more than 12,000 evacuees at San Antonio, TX. Smith's Team is managing a base camp at Camp Shelby, MS. Thomas' Team is establishing a base camp in Gulfport, MS. Philbin's Team is being assigned to a new evacuee center in Phoenix, AZ. A Texas State Incident Management Team (Stanford) is assigned at Hammond, LA. A North Carolina State Incident Management Team (Hildreth) is managing a base camp and staging area at Shiner Brooklet Field, Mobile, AL. Two Type 2 Incident Management Teams (Whalen and Sinclear) are in Jackson, MS to support National Forest recovery operations in Mississippi. A Planning Team (Terry) is supporting relief efforts at the Long Term Recovery Center in Orlando, FL.
Five Logistics Management Teams (Privy, Humphrey, Line back, Jenkins and Floyd) have been mobilized; two to Meridian, MS, and one each to Camp Beauregard, LA, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL, and Barksdale Air Force Base, LA. A Florida State All Risk Incident Management Team (Hill) has been assigned at Biloxi, MS. The Team is providing logistical support to Urban Search and Rescue teams. A Florida State Incident Management Team (Jones) has established a Logistical Staging Area at Stennis Space Center in MS. National Park Service All Risk Teams have been assigned to various areas to assist with hurricane recovery. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service team is engaged in road clearing, community assistance, and supporting search and rescue work in LaCombe, MS.
"That is very distant for those people and a very drastic weather change as well."
Yes, it sure is. I just feel bad for you Texans.
9/7/2005 9:59 AM
By: Associated Press
(SHELBY) - As the world reaches out to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, one North Carolina county is adopting an entire town.
Residents and government officials from Cleveland County have sent aid to Laurel, Mississippi, where about 60 to 65 percent of the homes and businesses were destroyed.
Massive trees in the town have been cracked in half, snapping utility lines and destroying homes, many in the city's historic district. At least a dozen storm-related deaths have been reported in the town of about 19-thousand.
Shelby resident Ron Schaeffer came up with the adoption idea.
He, Shelby Mayor Ted Alexander and Cleveland County commissioner Ronnie Hawkins traveled to Laurel for a few days then helped organize help when they returned.
And locals responded.
A group of 35 to 40 volunteers left last week for Laurel, armed with supplies and skills to help them rebuild.
Mississippi town reining in looters
By Brian Livingston LAUREL LEADER-CALL (LAUREL, Miss.)
It didn't take long for what Laurel Police Department Chief Marvin Lindsey described as "thugs" to take advantage of the terrible situation Hurricane Katrina had created when she cut a swath of destruction through Jones County and Laurel . There isn't any fear the lawlessness seen in New Orleans will occur here but the more Lindsey talked of the incidents his officers had to respond too shortly after the wind had subsided, the more he became incensed at the people looting homes and businesses.
"We were having some problems with roving bands of teenagers and thugs going through the neighborhoods since the hurricane came through," Lindsey said. "It was out of hand because we were trying to maintain order with all the destruction around us. It was impeding our ability to do our jobs. But things have calmed down considerably since then."
But, Lindsey said, that doesn't mean there isn't a problem in Laurel.
"They are still out there," he said. "We still don't have power to many homes and businesses in Laurel and that leaves them vulnerable."
The arrival of Mississippi Army National Guardsmen will help bolster the law enforcement power in Laurel. Lindsey said a number of those soldiers would be deployed in the role of keeping the looting to an absolute minimum.
"The guardsmen are going to help us stop this," said Lindsey. "We have isolated the problem areas and we have suspicions of who is responsible. This will be dealt with very, very soon."
Lindsey was pleased that the majority of crimes committed since Katrina hasn't escalated into aggravated assaults or murder saying, "We haven't had those problems, thankfully. No one has been injured due to lawlessness as a result of the storm. Let's keep it that way."
One of the ways to ensure no one is injured is to stay at home whenever possible, Lindsey said. It does no one any good to drive around when the gas situation is deteriorating so rapidly. In addition, Lindsey said residents need to not wander the streets until the power and debris problems are rectified.
"Stay close to home and out of the way of disaster crews," Lindsey said. "Let them, and let us as law enforcement officials, have the room to do the job that needs to be completed. The sooner people realize that the better off we'll all be."
Many of the concerns Lindsey expressed were situations the Jones County Sheriff's Office deputies haven't had to face. Sheriff Larry Dykes had said earlier while the storm plunged the county into darkness Monday, the roadways were so clogged in a large majority of places, potential looting couldn't occur. That's not to say there haven't been isolated cases.
"Very isolated and since the roads have opened we still haven't had that many, if any," Dykes said. "For the most part the people of Jones County realize the situation the situation they are in and they are trying to work through it as best as they can."
Just in case a rash of looting does suddenly raise its ugly head, Dykes said after a conversation with Jones County District Attorney Tony Buckley that the full extent of the law would be brought down on anyone charged with looting.
"There is a special statute of Mississippi law that pertains to looting during a natural disaster," said LPD Asst. Chief Eddy Ingram.
"Basically it just doubles everything and makes it a felony offense.
You don't want to get caught doing this sort of thing, I assure you."
Having seen much of the plight of the residents in the county, Dykes, like many county officials, urged the people to remain patient.
"We've done real well so far," he said. "Although we have a long ways to go, we have a long ways to go, we are making progress every day.
We just need to keep our heads about us."
Man in southeast La called Moon's show. I am with US Customs and Border Protection. 300 plus federal officers came down here to assist local officers, we need to be deputized. We were told the The governor of LA is considering it, then we were told it was close she was thinking about it, then we were told she wanted more info because she was afraid the feds would come in and run the show, then she finally said no." "We came from all over the country to help and left our families and now we are stuck."
Please add me to the Katrina ping list as well. I'm on the live thread ping list but just wanted to make sure I'm on the Katrina one too if you don't use the live thread ping list for that. Thanks!!
Next caller is a "firefighter from another state, entire group of them and they are ready to go, have been down here for days, and are being told by the state they can't come into NO and help".
....but it's all Bush's fault.
Good luck. Who is LEADING this? Who is responsible for DOING this?
Already heard the NG isn't doing it- so is this left to the depleted NOLA PD to carry out? From what I understand there are several thousand people refusing to leave.
Popcorn, anyone?
Another swipe at provoking civil unrest. This time, those who resist are likely to be middle class working people who have property they want to defend.
I hope the media does not portray resitance to the forced evacuation as a race thing -- but if wishes were horses, my house would be full of horse poop.
For my money, the first group that should be forcibly evacuated are the thugs and homeless, but they are not quite the easy targets.
The NG will do it if so ordered. They are under the command of Blanco. It's the active duty military, Honore's tropps, that will not contribute.
I guess you can't please all the people all the time.
Good point. I'm trying hard to keep the lines clear in my mind. NG under state control. All other military under General Honore.
This is just a mess.
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