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

[mewzilla]

Thanks! We donated yesterday, to the SA, and Mr. Mew's employer is matching the donations. Folks should check to see if their employers are, too.

[bwteim]

YEP.


In the meantime from WWL

Updates as they come in on Katrina

06:11 AM CDT on Friday, September 2, 2005

Tom Planchet

6:10 A.M. - (AP) Texas agreed to triple to 75,000 the number of evacuees being taken in from Louisiana. Houston officials temporarily stopped admitting people to the Astrodome late Thursday after accepting 11,325. Others will be housed in the adjacent Reliant Center, where the Houston Texans play football.

6:08 A.M. - St. Bernard Parish resident who was rescued after three days: "I love Chalmette, but I'm out. I'm not coming back."

6:07 A.M. - Jefferson Parish Emergency Operations Director Walter Maestri: Entergy is considering pulling out its crews trying to bring power back until there is some semblance of order. Entergy says some crew linemen have been shot at.

6:06 A.M. - James Hartman, St. Tammany Parish spokesman: The parish has had few problems with unrest. Some citizens are frustrated, but we've had little looting and mostly a spirit of cooperation.

6:05 A.M. - James Hartman, St. Tammany Parish spokesman: Gas leaks still rampant, needing to be repaired.

6:04 A.M. - Hartman: "We have no fuel. People are coming here and running out of gas."

6:02 A.M. - Hartman: We have taken over a radio station - AM 730, by authority of the parish president and trying to broadcast information to the Northshore.

6:00 A.M. - Hartman: People need to stay away and if they haven't left, they need to get away right now.

5:54 A.M. - (AP) An explosion in New Orleans jolted residents awake early this morning, illuminating the pre-dawn sky with red and orange flames over the city where corpses rotted along flooded sidewalks and bands of armed thugs thwarted fitful rescue efforts. The cause of the blasts or the extent of any possible damage is not known.

5:52 A.M. - NEW YORK (AP) -- Major League Baseball and the NBA have each pledged two million dollars to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and the Southeastern Conference is donating one million to disaster relief.

[NautiNurse]

ok - so the mall story and explosion story are two different events. Thanks.

[Uncle Ike]

"This is the last day of "normal" as the rest of the country has known it. "

In many ways, this is more of a transformative event than 9-11, IMO.

The sad thing is that I haven't yet seen a media talking head that "gets it" -- They're saying the words, but they still act like they'll be back to "business as usual" in short order.

[Reader of news]

This catastrophe is much worse than 9/11.

[bwteim]

morning don

"I was struck by"

should be "I was also struck by"
His blaming lawlessness on druggies was the first.

[NautiNurse]

another thing - the other day, the Salvation Army website was a tad slow, but I received donation confirm via email immediately. Could not get through to the Red Cross. Haven't tried Red Cross today.

[mhking]

I just turned to -- then away from -- CNN. Sanjay Gupta is at one of the hospitals pitching in (as he usually does - in addition to his reporting job with CNN, he is a surgeon with Emory Healthcare here in Atlanta; he takes his Hippocratic Oath seriously, if he can help, he will); he was talking to Soledad O'Brian about the snipers who are shooting at doctors and others near the hospital.

She was whining (seems like that's all she can do once she opens her mouth), "If you could get in, why can't the National Guard?" [click!]

I should have known better after Jack Cafferty's foaming-at-the-mouth commentary yesterday afternoon.

[Age of Reason]

This is the last day of "normal" as the rest of the country has known it. This is a sea change day, a watershed day, like 9/11. The "storm surge" from Katrina is going to engulf the country - economic, humanitarian, political - the whole deal. I sense things are about to be different. Like the migration of the middle west during the dustbowl, only faster.

Or we could ride bicycles.

[spectre]

Morning. I haven't had time to hear much. But the first thing I heard was there were people shooting off guns "to get the rescuers attention".

So all of them weren't desperadoes after all. Depressing.

sw

[tx_eggman]

St. Bernard Parish resident who was rescued after three days: "I love Chalmette, but I'm out. I'm not coming back."

I worked offshore out of Venice Louisiana ("the end of the world") with a Cajun welder who lived in Buras. After Camille blew through in '69 he said he was going to strap an oar to the side of his truck and drive north until someone asked him what it was ... that would be his new home.

[Trust but Verify]

Our employer is matching up to 1 million in employee donations, but only to the Red Cross. We always give to the SA, so we split our donation and gave to both.

[bwteim]

Some more helpful leadership comments /sarcasm off


FROM WWL
Updates as they come in on Katrina
06:21 AM CDT on Friday, September 2, 2005

Tom Planchet

6:20 A.M. - Terry Ebbert, the head of emergency operations for New Orleans. "This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can't bail out the city of New Orleans."

[Types_with_Fist]

So all of them weren't desperadoes after all. Depressing.

I wasn't online at all yesterday. I just kept watching the tube with my jaw hanging open. I saw the FEMA guy on every channel, several times, all day. He was on already again this morning saying FEMA had been getting help to the people at the Convention Center "for days." He said they had been evacuating people there as well. I've been watching television and haven't seen that at all. I had heard or been given the impression that the people at the Convention Center were the rioters. But I saw black and white people helping each other and babies dying for lack of water. What's the deal? They got news crews down there. Can't they get a crate or two of water there?

[SunnySide]

The Red Cross is in full action mode. If possible, please everyone, try to physically go to your local chapter(s) and offer assistance any way you can. Their phone banks are swamped. Even private citizens should create coordinated efforts in their local school gyms, churchs, empty unused warehouse or commercial space as canteens / first aid locations.

"Psych up" and pass it on. You will energize everyone around you and it will flow like "positive" electricity.

Pass it on - "psych up", be ready, keep the FAITH.

[bwteim]

"that would be his new home."

and that's the spirit!

[Dustoff45]

the news net NEVER lists the Salvation Army

Those of us in the Know on this list saw, discussed and affirmed during the 911 crisis that charitable funds were always wisely invested if provided to the Salvation Army.

It is the opinion of many that the ARC, among others exists for its own benefit and feeds off the emotions of others to obtain contributions, most of which do not go to the affected area.

This is not meant to bash the ARC, but to recognize that like other bureacracies that have become bloated and need to be continually feed, those that get their press releases out there first; the ones that are the most vocal, may actually not be doing the work they proclaim.

[spectre]

Hopefully, someone will figure out a way to actually house all these displaced persons in one location. We have vacant gov't installations that CAN be used. And if there is NOT enough housing to put them all in that location, they can buy mobile homes. The money will be there.

They would all be together, untill they can leave for a job elsewhere, or go back to New Orleans..if ever.

sw

[mewzilla]

Our employer is matching up to 1 million in employee donations, but only to the Red Cross. We always give to the SA, so we split our donation and gave to both.

We had a similar experience with our donation to tsunami aid, which was why I was so happy to see the SA added to the list of relief agencies for this one. I don't get why employers wouldn't include the SA.

[Uncle Ike]

Per Fox

Explosions earlier this morning were an oil storage facility.

OMG