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Navy sending four ships to Gulf to help with hurricane relief
8/30/2005, 6:57 p.m. CT
By LOLITA C. BALDOR
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Navy is sending four ships to the Gulf Coast with water and other supplies for those hit by Hurricane Katrina, but officials are urging service members not to try to return to their military bases in New Orleans.

Navy bases in Gulfport, Miss., and New Orleans were evacuated and suffered heavy flooding and wind damage. Officials are gearing up to fly over the bases to get a detailed assessment of the damage.

Meanwhile, Rear Adm. George Mayer, commander of Navy Region South, issued a statement extending the evacuation for Naval Air Station New Orleans and the naval support base there, saying only personnel specifically contacted for the recovery effort should go back to the city.

The two bases were flooded, with as much as 3 feet of water, and there was no power or utilities.

In Gulfport, many of the buildings were damaged.

The four amphibious ships will be leaving from Norfolk, Va., in the next few days. The Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida will be a base for the relief effort.

Air Force bases in Florida and Mississippi also were hit hard by flooding and high winds.

Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi suffered extensive damage to base housing, training facilities and industrial areas from raging flood waters that were up to 4 feet deep. Flooding and downed trees also battered buildings at Homestead Air Force Base in Florida. There were no injuries reported at either base.

Army officials were en route Tuesday to Camp Shelby in Mississippi, where power had been knocked out and fallen trees and flooding had done some damage. The base was not evacuated, and there were no early reports of injuries.

The 1st U.S. Army, based at Fort Gillem near Atlanta, has already received some requests from state officials and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for aircraft to conduct search and rescue missions and assessment flights over the region.

The Defense Department's Northern Command was setting up a joint task force Tuesday that will coordinate the Pentagon's response to the hurricane.