Katrina Live Thread, Part XIII

Various ^ | 1 September 2005 | Various

[NautiNurse]

28,000 National Guard troops are deployed to the disaster areas in Mississippi, Alabama, and to Louisiana, where SWAT teams are working to combat the looters and shooters in New Orleans. Additional 1400 National Guard troops are being deployed daily.

Shootings reported at a New Orleans hospital, rescue boats, and a military helicopter, while conditions continue to deteriorate at the SuperDome amid refugee deaths and chaos. Evacuation of New Orleans continues.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert has voiced serious doubts about rebuilding New Orleans with federal funds, while assuring the people of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida that the United States Congress stands ready to help them in their time of need. New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin issued a "desperate SOS."

Doctors at two desperately crippled hospitals in New Orleans called The Associated Press Thursday morning pleading for rescue, "We have been trying to call the mayor's office, we have been trying to call the governor's office ... we have tried to use any inside pressure we can. We are turning to you. Please help us," said Dr. Norman McSwain, chief of trauma surgery at Charity Hospital, the largest of two public hospitals.

The Port of New Orleans is now open to shallow draft vessels. Congress is reconvening in an emergency session. International offers to assist the U.S. have been received from Russia, Japan, Canada, France, Honduras, Germany, Venezuela, Jamaica, Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, China, South Korea, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, NATO and the Organization of American States.

Jesse Jackson has arrived in Louisiana...

Links to various news, local and state government websites:

WLOX TV Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagula has link to locate family and friends
2theAdvocate - Baton Rouge Includes Slidell, St. John Parish, St. Bernard Parish updates, and other locations.
NOLA.com
Inside Houma Today includes shelter and volunteer updates
WLBT.com Jackson MS
WALA Channel 4 Mobile, AL Includes links to distribution centers, Emergency Ops, etc.
Sun-Herald Gulfport MS Includes link to town by town reports
Gulfport News via Topix.net
WAFB Baton Rouge
Mobile Register via al.com
Mississippi updates via Jackson Ledger
Lafayette LA Daily Advertiser
Pensacola News Journal
St Bernard Local Government
Alabama Homeland Security Volunteers can sign up online
Alabama DOT
Alabama.gov
Louisiana Homeland Security
Louisiana State Police road closure info
State of Mississippi Website has traffic alerts, emergency contact numbers

Streaming Video:

WWL-TV (via CBS): WWLTV via CBS
WWL-TV Now via WFAA Dallas **NEW LINK**: http://www.wwltv.com/cgi-bin/bi/video/makeadplaylist.pl?title=beloint_wfaa&live=yes
WDSU-TV: http://mfile.akamai.com/12912/live/reflector:38843.asx
WPMI-TV: http://www.wpmi.com/mediacenter/default.aspx?videoId=113739
WKRG-TV: mms://wmbcast.mgeneral.speedera.net/wmbcast.mgeneral/wmbcast_mgeneral_aug262005_1435_95518
WTOK-TV Temporarily Not Live Streaming (follow the link on the home page): http://www.wtok.com/
WJTV-TV: mms://wmbcast.mgeneral.speedera.net/wmbcast.mgeneral/wmbcast_mgeneral_aug262005_1435_95563
Louisiana Statewide Katrina Network (WJBO-AM Baton Rouge): http://ccri.eonstreams.com/ccri_la_batonrouge_wjbo_am.asf
Gulf Coast Storm Network (radio): http://www.stormalert.net/main.html#
Louisiana Scanner

Related FR Threads:

FYI: Hurricane Katrina Freeper SIGN IN Thread FReeper Check In thread
Discussion Thread - Hurricane Katrina - What Went Wrong?!?
Post Hurricane Katrina IMAGES Here
Looting Begins In New Orleans
Hurricane Katrina HOUSING Thread
Martial Law Declared in New Orleans

Due to the number of requests to assist, the following list of some charities is provided.
This is not intended as an endorsement for any of the charities.

www.redcross.org or 1-800 HELP NOW - note: website is slow, and lines are busy
Salvation Army - 1-800-SAL-ARMY or Salvation Army currently looking for in-state volunteers - (888)363-2769
Operation Blessing: (800) 436-6348.
America's Second Harvest: (800) 344-8070.
Catholic Charities USA: (800) 919-9338, or www.catholiccharitiesusa.org.
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee: (800) 848-5818.
Church World Service: (800) 297-1516 or online at www.churchworldservice. org.
Lutheran Disaster Response: (800) 638-3522.
Nazarene Disaster Response: (888) 256-5886.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance: (800) 872-3283.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is accepting donations at its 3,800 stores and Web site, www.walmart.com.
National Black Home Educators Resource Association http://www.nbhera.org/

Previous Threads:
Katrina Live Thread, Party XII
Katrina Live Thread, Part XI
Katrina Live Thread, Part X
Katrina Live Thread, Part IX
Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part VIII
Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part VII
Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part VI
Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part V
Hurricane Katrina, Live Thread, Part IV
Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part III
Katrina Live Thread, Part II
Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part I
Tropical Storm 12

[Arizona Carolyn]

That's about the size of it.

This story on Hurricane Kartina on Discovery Channel is very interesting. Lots of graphics, shows the wetlands and how and why they had been worried about this happening... showed lots of photos of New Orleans before the Hurricane... makes what we've seen this week even sadder.

[sageb1]

Admitting to being tired at 1 a.m. EST, why is it I expect to see a caped Tom Cruise flying in to NO?

[ClancyJ]

What adorable little girls.

[luckystarmom]

How did they get the bus? I've only heard bits and pieces of that story?

[conservativebabe]

niavite

be nice if I spell checked once in a while.

[gpapa]

It may take a while to get a reply but here are a few places to go for help.

US Coast Guard
Hurricane Katrina Search and Rescue
In order to assist the United States Coast Guard in Hurricane Katrina Search and Rescue efforts, submit a missing/stranded person request at http://homeport.uscg.mil
The Coast Guard has a system which will match up names submitted with their rescue database. It will take quite a while for information to catch up with demand however.

Salvation Army Emergency Radio Network
Health and welfare Information Request Form
http://www.tsasw.org/qso/healthandwelfare.asp
Your information will be sent to the disaster area, most probably a Salvation Army "Command" Post

While slow to respond, an inquiry to the Red Cross would also be helpful.

For local info in New Orleans the best place to go is the Parish Forums at nola.com. Just post your family info. there, were exactly they live and request help. Some folks are still communicating via the web in NO using batteries and satellite links.

Prayers for your family.

[eternity]

You must be reading all the posts. I posted that way back. Got to thank Lee Harvey Oswall for that.

[BurbankKarl]

actually, there are no New Orleans PD ops on the stream...it is State Police and National Guard, and county sheriffs.

[mhking]

One other thing: WWL-TV has signed off for the night - they'll be back at 6:30A ET; WTOK (Meridian) has ceased their live streaming entirely.

[BurbankKarl]

There is a pursuit on the SCANNER FEED!

[Smogger]

What I mean is that there is ABSOLUTELY no sense of COMMUNITY, no one in New Orleans is even ATTEMPTING to lead

Heck from what I can see the only people that ARE DOING any leading are the evacuee's.

The comments from the joe blow in the crowd seem 10 times more reasonable than their elected leadership.

[conservativebabe]

crap, still didn't spell it right. I give up.

[luckystarmom]

I have some sleeping pills. Before the hurricane, I knew it was going to be a stressful month for me (my brother died last year, and my special needs daughter started a new school). Anyway, I told my doctor that I knew I wouldn't be sleeping this month and asked for sleeping pills.

Well, those pills are not working, now.

[Tarheel]

I was once--with four little kids--all I did all day was boil water! Nothing like being able to turn that faucet on and have pure H2O come out. Thank goodness it was only for three days.

[SolomoninSouthDakota]

'We are not taking these fine Americans to trash a sports arena. Think of it as triage. It takes a little time to determine all of the needs. High priority is getting people back to a routine. School, medical care, and such. Not to worry, we will not send our fellow southern "dregs" to invade pristine Iowa. Would not want the Hawkeyes to have to deal with Americans that have a different skin color, and speak with a drawl. Let us all just cram them into tents in 105 degree heat. Read your quote. Dispicable.
"This is long term, we are probably supporting them anyway, lets do it right and have a controlled situation""

There's some truth to both of your posts. BTW there are some great hearted people in the heartland too. We are just quite separated from the area. If you have a way to send up 5-10 families, I'll see they are given food and shelter. Just don't send any gang-bangers.

[kingu]

Ahh. I get it now. It's easier for the Red Cross to line their own pockets with cash than with a used sweater.

I'm wondering how many folks have actually seen a disaster area... Cash is a hell of a lot easier to transport, it helps the economy in a ravaged area, and folks get the stuff they generally need.

But let's look at item collection - let's say they do a gathering of stuff in Los Angeles, not limiting it to only new items. They get to gather the stuff, sort the stuff, clean the stuff, sort what is left, then pack it into containers, ship it.. All of this takes time. Meanwhile, folks would be really happy for some bottled water, a bit of OJ and a hot meal.

Typically, at the shelter, folks will come by and deliver stuff to be distributed. I've seen this in islands that have been ravaged by typhoons where I didn't think anyone anywhere had anything left. But they did, they came by, and they donated it. I guarantee you by morning that there will be hundreds of cars in front of the Astrodome with folks offering blankets, toys and other items for the refugees.

This isn't 9/11. You're not talking about a generally well off population, you're talking about people who were poor to begin with. And you're not talking about a small number of people, you're talking about upwards of a million. Even if the generous people of these United States raised a billion dollars, that is only a thousand dollars a person for the affected.

The Red Cross is going to be bleeding bucks from this, as well as the Salvation Army, as well as just about every other charity organization. A month from now, a lot of them are going to be screaming for even more money as they try to get a handle on the situation.

The president is talking 10 billion dollars - 10,000 per person directly affected. The majority of that money is going to go towards infrastructure. Rebuilding schools, court houses, police stations, communications infrastructure, water mains, gas lines, public facilities such as parks.

Give to whomever you like, as much as you can. The Red Cross is out there operating the shelters and they really need money right now. Work with your church to do clothing, canned foods, and other drives - sort the items, package it, and then give a call to one of the aid organizations - oh and be ready to pony up the bill for shipping it too.

[185JHP]

The Ford political family in Memphis could easily afford tp put up thousands of people from NO...

[Ovation_girl]

Howlin, just because I may be new here(but not to other BBS'), does not mean I do not know what I am talking about. Lifelong Floridian, with Mississippi roots, who saw the damage after Camille as a child, and have had a fascination and a respect for storms ever since. Lived through Kate and Andrew, last year endured four(but not as a direct hit) and just went through a direct hit by Katrina here in Miami(my friends say I am a storm magnet). I do KNOW what a good EOC should be doing, and am just pointing that out. Walk a mile in my shoes.. and until then.. please back off...

[luckystarmom]

Except of course for the 2 dead bodies they showed outside the civic center.