Katrina Live Thread, Part XIV

Various ^ | 2 September 2005 | Various

[NautiNurse]

President Bush continues to assess the catastrophic damage by air and on the ground in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Bush spent the day meeting with search and rescue personnel, relief commanders, and displaced residents in Mobile, Biloxi, and the New Orleans area. U.S. Congress passed a $10.5 billion relief package for the hurricane ravaged areas. First Lady Laura Bush issued a press statement from an evacuation shelter in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Patient and staff evacuations continue from numerous New Orleans Hospitals. Thousands of patients are being airlifted to a field hospital at Louis Armstrong New Orleans Airport for triage, staging, and transport to hospitals throughout the United States.

The U.S. Coast Guard and civilian volunteers continue to evacuate thousands of survivors from their flooded homes in New Orleans. The Army Corps of Engineers continues work to repair the damaged levees.

The nation's airlines today began an operation intended to fly up to 25,000 refugees out of New Orleans. The airlines are volunteering their aircraft and crews for the program. Long convoys loaded with relief supplies arrived throughout the day into New Orleans, while convoys of buses are moving survivors out of the city.

Several large fires are burning in the city and greater New Orleans area. Reports indicate snipers are holding down firefighters. Reports of shots fired with LEO down in the St. Bernard Parish area. Rescue operations are underway. A bus carrying NOLA evauees rolled over in Opelousa, LA.

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:

New Orleans Emergency Operations Center - is now open:
504-463-1000
504-463-1001
504-463-1002

WWL-TV New Orleans (via WFAA Dallas) - WWL-TV is operating from studios at Louisiana Public Broadcasting. CBS has a relay during the morning and afternoon. When available, use the CBS relay first as they have greater streaming capacity. Yahoo has also provided a relay.

WDSU-TV New Orleans - The news staff has started to return to temporary news studios near New Orleans. However, expect evening coverage from Hearst-Argyle sister stations WAPT Jackson and WESH Orlando when the New Orleans staff needs to take a break.

WGNO-TV New Orleans - New Orleans' ABC affiliate has returned to the air with WBRZ-TV and launched video streaming with continuous Katrina coverage.

WPMI-TV Mobile, AL - WPMI is webcasting from 5:30am - 10:30pm CDT. When off air, you can view pre-recorded reports on demand. This feed is often unreliable.

WKRG-TV Mobile, AL - This station is providing good coverage of the situation to the east in Mississippi and Alabama. However, the station is now signing off at around 10:30pm CDT like WWL and WPMI.

WJTV-TV Jackson, MS - The CBS affiliate in Jackson is providing live coverage for both the Jackson area and south Mississippi (knowing a lot of media in that area is off the air).

United Radio From New Orleans: WWL-AM, WNOE-FM, "KISS-FM," WRNO-FM, WYLD-FM, and WJBO-AM who have joined forces as United Radio From New Orleans, and they are streaming.

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/ Southern Baptist: NAMB - http://www.namb.net/
Samaritan's Purse - http://www.samaritanspurse.org/

Previous Threads:
Katrina Live Thread, Part XIII
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

[SunnyUsa]

I don't hero worship, thanks

Do you?

I can see with my own eyes the neglect. Just the "visual" of those people being aided a few days ago with food/water drops or INFO being bullhorned to them would've made a difference.

At this point, what's gone on at the center of New Orleans outside that dome and that convention center is nothing to be proud of and what I find amazing is that the news reporters are all over that place - have they outsmarted FEMA?

[RDTF]

Guy on Fox just said his friend is still on his roof needing rescue.

[Mike Bates]

One of the unintentionally funny reports I saw last night - don't remember which channel - was an extremely irate woman of color who challenged "George W. Bush" to look her in the eye and she told him she would never vote for him.

I wondered:
If she'd ever voted for him before and what she thought he'll be running for in the future.

Michael M. Bates: My Side of the Swamp

[lainie]

In case anybody missed it, Tony Orlando said the annual Labor Day MDA Telethon will be used to raise money for both causes this year. I didn't catch how that's supposed to work, exactly.

[oceanview]

however, I still think these forces are under command of the governor. that is the big problem here, I understand why, but she is an idiot.

[sheikdetailfeather]

I saw that report and thought the same thing. By the way..I like your tag line.

[Patriot from Philly]

Julian on F&N is an idiot. He is embarrassing and F&N tries to raise his credentials by giving him important interviews which he does not have the substance and knowledge to conduct credibly.

This is just a fact. Wendal Gomez is very skilled, however, so FNC does have competent minority reporters.

Shep and Geraldo are starting to become a joke.

[hoosiermama]

Look at picture onpost 19 of that thread...It's the picture I saw a coupleof days ago....Can't url to copy.

[LadyBuzz]

Please remind me WHO told people to go the Convention Center - there were no supplies there. I do remember hearing the mayor telling folks to go to the Superdome but not the Convention center. The mayor & gov sent thousands of folks to places they damn well were not equipped to handle them & know it's the feds fault.

[Cboldt]

Per WWL-3 firefighters & 2 police, hehydrated, trapped on roof of Bell South bldg. taking rifle fire from snipers.

I bet that's the same bunch reported yesterday.

[oceanview]

part of the show, and part of the $$$s, will go to Katrina relief.

However, Tony then put his foot in his mouth when he defended the rap star comment on the NBC telethon last night.

[Mike Bates]

By the way..I like your tag line.

Thanks. What is it again? Have a heck of a time recalling it. . .

[plushaye]

Maybe so, but couldn't they be bussed to the Dome from there? It would be the logical thing to do, if the Dome is the only exit point.

[Heatseeker]

At this point, what's gone on at the center of New Orleans outside that dome and that convention center is nothing to be proud of and what I find amazing is that the news reporters are all over that place - have they outsmarted FEMA?

What I'm curious about is whether these news crews take in water & food with them and bring out a few people when they come back out.

Meanwhile, the female co-anchor of WWL-TV just quoted scripture on live TV. Guess she just lost all her ACLU browie points.

[NautiNurse]

I've never understood why pols get into congrats mode so quickly during a crisis. Each and every time, there are logistical problems because each event has unique difficulties. You would think they would learn to just thank the volunteers and to remind the public that there will be problems during first responder efforts.

[LadyBuzz]

Tony defended the remark - jeez these folks are pissing off a lot of folks (like me) who would otherwise give generously

[oceanview]

I still don't understand that point.

Bernard Kerik on FNC now, talking about the terrible local response.

[PigRigger]

"He said that by Sunday, FEMA had staged in-place the standard Category 4-5 hurricane "package" - which was based on Hurricane Andrew experience...By sunrise Tuesday, he said, he knew that "package" was not going to be sufficient, and that they were going to be scrambling to play catch-up. "

This is where they dropped the ball....but how could they be blamed...Should we change the package for Cat 4/5 relief going forward when 95% of Cat4/5 hurricanes would have been adequately responded to with existing package?

Maybe there needs to be two cat4/5 packages...one for land falling hurricanes striking land not surrounded by water and one for the other...

Andrew was devastating, but Katrina made Andrew look kids play.....

[texasbluebell]

In case anybody missed it, Tony Orlando said the annual Labor Day MDA Telethon will be used to raise money for both causes this year. I didn't catch how that's supposed to work, exactly.

Jerry Lewis was on LKL last night, and said that while he cannot just funnel the donations to the MD telethon without permission of the donors, he is going to suggest that if people are donating $20 to MD, then instead just give MD $10 and send the rest to hurricane relief.

[morans14]

I'm watching it too. He is doing well don't you think?