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

[MarMema]

"I just got here last night, and haven't been to bed yet. I haven't really had a good full briefing yet. Now is not the time to point blame."

Witt when asked why there were no communications in NO.

[bwteim]

WWL

Updates as they come in on Katrina

01:15 PM CDT on Saturday, September 3, 2005

Tom Planchet

1:14 P.M. - Marriott hotel press release: Marriott has established a toll-free line for friends and families to call for information about guests and associates who may have been affected by the hurricane. That number is (866) 211-4610. Outside the U.S. and Canada, the direct dial number is (402) 390-3265.

1:09 P.M. - Health spokesperson: We have 21 children separated from their parents and we are trying to help get them with their parents. The children range from infancy to 8 years of age. missingkids.com 1-800-THELOST. The spokesperson said there are additional displaced children out of state and they are working on getting those numbers as well.

1:03 P.M. - (AP) Evacuees continue to board buses at the New Orleans Convention Center, with many people filing past corpses to make their escape. Conditions are crowded and many people have had to leave bags full of belongings at the side of the road because there's no room. National Guardsmen are providing security at the center. They're confiscating knives and letter openers from people before they board.

12:55 P.M. - WWL-TV: City Councilman Oliver Thomas is livid that evacuees are being taken out of the state capital to shelters in other states because, according to him, the city is scared of New Orleans residents.

Thomas said Governor Blanco has done the best she could do, but said she has to tell people around the state that N.O. residents are not thugs and looters, and to accept them in their community. "They got a lot of good people in New Orleans," Thomas said.

Said he was at the scene of the alleged "riot" at the Centroplex, but that it was blown out of proportion.

Thomas said that only a few people are committing acts of criminal looting, and are not in the majority.

[LadyBuzz]

real men are incredibly sexy

[SE Mom]

ROFLMAO........Chertoff just told a reporter the kind of question he just asked would be ruled "argumentative in court"......

[PureSolace]

Where are the dolphins?

[nuclady]

*yep - she'll hand them their testicles on a plate*

OR, she could use the "Hillary Clinton Testicle Lock Box." Good grief, the first time I heard that on Rush Limbaugh I almost lost bladder control for laughing.

[LadyBuzz]

she'll do just fine & we'll all be very proud

[hipaatwo]

Thanks. The race baiting is making my blood boil. How many starving and displaced in the African countries are called refugees. They are black and I see no one complaining that calling them refugees is racist but when done here it is? Talk about hypocracy at it's best.

[samantha]

Actually Witt was not that bad at Fema. He needs to just do his job and stay out of the way of the Current Fema Director Brown, and keep his mouth shut and not interfere.

[Txsleuth]

Like I said on other post...

Perhaps I was listening wrong last night...and the media wasn't slanting it that way...I will admit to being pretty upset by the "racist" aspect of some of the media..and I might have projected that onto the story...

I hope so...because ya'll are right...the Bush Admin. doesn't work that way....

I feel better now...thanks....

[Uncle Ike]

"ROFLMAO........Chertoff just told a reporter the kind of question he just asked would be ruled "argumentative in court"...... "

For those with short or selective memories -- there was a contingent of posters on this thread (or its ancestors) demanding that Chertoff (among others) be FIRED forthwith.

Just a reminder

[RDTF]

I am impressed! Listen to his rant right now about his confidences!

[conservativebabe]

Thanks for your response. That's a shame. The truth will come out in the end.

[MarMema]

Blanco - "Yesterday I was with fema director Brown, and he told me that hiring Mr. Witt was the right thing to do".

"We don't pretend to have all the manpower internally...we need to put the *right* kind of people in place to help us as we proceed."

(Anyone else reading this like I am?)

"fema has never handled anything of this magnitude. Ya understand?"

[tcrlaf]

"I don't like politics, it just takes you off-task"

So I guess that explains why this DINGBAT just hired Witt???

[norton]

"Until they can get a LONG WIDE SWATH of dry land to drop on, they can't do it without dropping pallets everywhere, some of which will land on *people*. See old refs to "bombing and killing people in Afghanistan with supplies".

(Moment for light hearted memories...) "Bet I can drop my pallet of chickens on top of your pallet of chickens.."

[Heatseeker]

The appropriately named Governor Blanco now explaining to the press why she hired Witt (even the reporters seem bemused by this). Blah blah blah.

Translation: "I got a call from Chappaqua".

[supercat]

They obviously are trying to make the best of things.

Didn't the mayor tell people to try to make this a good experience or somesuch?

[LadyBuzz]

keeping his mouth shut is going to be the hard part - he's a partisan hack

[SE Mom]

This guy is exactly the kind of sane and balanced "git 'er done" man that we need. Actually- I'm impressed at this point with his attitude and tone.