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

[lugsoul]

Peach - Actually they weren't his people - they were tourists.

[ican'tbelieveit]

I think you need a break. I was not complaining the last time I posted, and you responded to me last night. I commented that the Mayor finally made an honest request to the President. Been over 12 hours since I did that, and it was not complaining.

[SE Mom]

per MSNBC- the president is going BACK to the Gulf on Monday

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

FEMA Director saying that 95% of dome evacuated. Let's get these folks out of there and the causeways, then we can get the press to STFU. The tone of the presser with Brown is clearly different. The Dems are going to be sucking wind today.

[ohioWfan]

HOOAH

And a BIG HOOAH!! back atcha, mystery!

[NittanyLion]

I know that people will insist that it took the President to actually show up for the assistance to show up.

I can't imagine that his visit hurt. But like I said, perhaps this mobilization is a coincidence. It just seems that a lot of action is happening almost immediately after he got on the ground.

[steveegg]

Thanks again. WWL still on the FEMA briefing.

Now taking questions. Paraphrasing...

First question - Q: This was bigger than expected, but not even the worst case scenario. Can we be prepared? - A: First, if a city doesn't have the resources to evacuate the poor or even the police to enforce a mandatory evacuation, you get what we got. Goes on to point out the levees started breaking a day after the hurricane hit, that some people have been shooting at rescue/relief workers.

Second question - Did you appeal to cruise lines? - Yes.

Missed a couple of questions, will skip to catch up - Asked about the security question. - Is improving with the arrival of armed forces relief.

Next question - Where are the additional people at the convention center showing up? - From other places as they can make it there.

[ohioWfan]

Thank God for our President and his REAL leadership!

[SunnyUsa]

on the highway overpasses particularly.

[NautiNurse]

I'd like to see footage today of them getting food, water and information...I haven't seen it yet and I want to

So, because you haven't seen it, it hasn't occurred. That's a tad silly.

[Cboldt]

Someone on the news last night complained why we could get troops into Iraq in 24 hours, not into NO.

Lots of us followed the Iraq invasion, and while diplomatic avenues were being followed, troops and material were being marshalled in Kuwait. It took WEEKS to organize the effort, and even that was blinding fast.

Our men and women in uniform are real pros, and damn, well, I'm tearing up beause I am so proud of them, and so sorry for the poor people in NOLA who suffered more than necessary because their polical leaders are incompetent.

[mhking]

I am stunned that the mayor, staying at the Hyatt Hotel, ordered 700 of his people removed from the hotel AHEAD of those living in the Super Dome.

As slimy as he is, I am nto surprised. Not only that, because of his teflon-liberal status, he WON"T get blamed.

[ican'tbelieveit]

The NG troops that showed up with relief supplies yesterday said they had been driving for days to get to NO. Unless they show up with what is on their back, it truly takes time. But, I knew yesterday, that people were going to suggest this other possibility. I think it hurts the President not to put it into perspective.

[publana]

I am sticking to my tin-foil claim (as alleged by other freepers) - that Blanco was under orders from the DNC to "go easy" on maintaining civil order, to hameper the FEMA efforts, so they could turn the "failure" around on Bush politically. the way the media and the Dems have moved in lock step to politicize this, tells me it was centrally planned. Blanco can't possibly be this stupid.

The exact same thought has crossed my mind. Nobody could be as stupid as Blanco and succeed politically. She did manage to get elected to governor; so she has to have some wits buried within that skull of hers.

[LadyBuzz]

Bush kicked some *ss and this is the result - you could see the disgust in his face yesterday that this had almost been allowed to get to a point of NO return

[ohioWfan]

I don't think it's one bit a coincidence. He's leading........and things are happening.

[ican'tbelieveit]

Oh, seeing them drive into NO yesterday gave me chills. What an impressive sight they make.

[Spktyr]

There are some things he can do, but by and large the state and local govts have to do several *specific* things to get max Federal aid and assistance.

And the LA Governette STILL hasn't done that. She's quivering in a corner sniffling, eating Rocky Road ice cream and crying about what's on Oxygen.

[steveegg]

Concluding the FEMA portion of the Q&A (watching on the WWL feed) - Asking about the shootings. - No shootings at rescuers in the last 48 hours.

Army Corps of enginners up now.

[SunnyUsa]

Let's get these folks out of there and the causeways, then we can get the press to STFU

Whatever the motivation - it should be JOB One.