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

[BlackRain]

Would anyone who was in the throes of dehydration have managed to fight off the crowds sufficiently to actually get any water, even if it was airdropped in bulk?

---

You know that is an excellent question.

The problem with dehydration and hunger would not have been an issue if pre-position supplies were released immediately after the storm. That was not done.

Everyday you did not provide supplies the danger went up to rescuers and to the people themselves as the situation got worse.

Apparently, people these days have a misconception of what an airdrop consists of.

It is not like the refugee-pancaking parachute anvil most people conjure in their brains.

MRE, Water, and HDR supplies are now designed to be rolled off the back of a C17, C130, or large helo and break into small 1 foot long card board boxes.

We did this to great affect in Astan in a short period of time. Once this painful display is over, the question will be asked why we did not use this capability.

The advantage would have been that air crews would not be exposed to gun fire, large quantities could have been delivered rapidly and with great accuracy.

[milkncookies]

80 showers installed on floor of George R. Brown Center here in Houston yesterday. Room for 3,000 more.

[nairBResal]

"Was I wrong in thinking that Witt was a Clinton hire that Bush should've asked to stay on?"

Like Richard Clarke?

[bvw]

Re the replacement and return to position of hazard and navigation bouys -- Thank Heavens for satellite GPS! At least I would think that GPS makes the job easy.

[Heatseeker]

One big political game in place and people dying in the midst of it.

Exactly. And Kanye West thinks Bush doesn't care about black people. Amazing!

[nhoward14]

bttt = bump to the top (to keep the thread at the top of the most active threads list)

[mystery-ak]

Once you've been Clintonized, there's no going back.....only a few have successfully been deprogramed, but they have suffered for it..

[Uncle Ike]

"80 showers installed on floor of George R. Brown Center here in Houston yesterday. Room for 3,000 more."

Don't know why, but I just had a flashback to "Woodstock" -- "Breakfast in bed for three-hundred-thousand!"

I think I've been at this computer too long... ;)

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Geraldo did become over emotional - Shep Smith did also - both last night.

I still switch between stations on commercials.

Late report from MSNBC: Governor of Louisiana has hired James Witt - former FEMA director to be her "liason" with FEMA. Witt of Clinton administration fame now has a new taxpayer funded job. Sick.

[supercat]

MRE, Water, and HDR supplies are now designed to be rolled off the back of a C17, C130, or large helo and break into small 1 foot long card board boxes.

So (1) do such things naturally disperse as they fall, and (2) is their terminal velocity and construction such as to limit personal injury if they hit?

[bvw]

BTTT = "Bump To The Top" aka "btt" aka "bump", and many decorative variations. Pushes a thread to the top of the "recent posts" list.

[buickmackane]

To answer your question:

During the early morning hours on Monday 8/29, several cars parked at Pineville apartment complexes were broken into and their car stereos and speakers stolen. The police officer who originally responded said he believed the burglaries were intentionally done at a time when the police force's resources were directed toward the hurricane effort. However, when confronted with that remark by Newschannel 5, the Chief strongly denied this suggestion, stating that the police department had been more than adequately staffed in anticipation of the hurricane. After this, it was suggested that I need to prove the crime was genuinely committed by a refugee in order for the crime to be newsworthy. Neither KALB nor The Town Talk ever published any accounts of the burglaries. The local media seems to be taking the attitude that there was crime before the hurricane and there will be crime afterward, so who cares about somebody's car stereo?

Meanwhile, it cost me $300 to replace a shattered window, $10 for a copy of the police report, and that doesn't even take into account the fact that the burglars didn't bring the right tools for the job. They defaced the interior of my car so badly that the entire dashboard console has to be replaced along with the stolen stereo equipment. I've been told I'll need a rental car for two days while the auto body shop does the repairs. Pretty stupid considering that the thief will probably only fetch about $10 for the used CD player on the street, don't you think?

Someone in my neighborhood walked up to me yesterday and asked if I had replaced the stolen stereo yet. It gave me the creeps, because now I'm so paranoid that I don't know whether this was just polite conversation or whether I'm being watched so the replacement equipment can be stolen from me, too. I wondered whether it was a coincidence that suddenly I can't close the little door to my car's gas tank. I went to the nearest auto parts store and was told I'd just bought the last locking gas cap in town. Shortly thereafter, I received a call from a friend asking me to please be very aware of my surroundings when I go shopping. He'd overheard some disturbing conversations but because of the statements made on TV about putting people in jail for spreading rumors, he refused to be more specific.

I've lived in Pineville for two years and I always felt very safe and comfortable here. However, the mood in this town is changing this week whether the media and law enforcement want to suppress it or not. I imagine it's like that in Monroe, too.

[ARealMothersSonForever]

Please, FEMA does not confiscate. They make the request, and generally the owner of the equipment honors the request. There have been numerous postings about FEMA confiscations in Texas. Simply untrue, and feeds hysteria. Texas, and Texans are helping as much as we can. Re-imbursement will come later.

[bwteim]

Don't know. Was looking but can't find anything.

[Andy'smom]

If you could keep us "pinged" that would be great!

[MarMema]

Fact: There are far too many posters here who "assume" the rest of us give a s#%*t about how they think they could have done better.

Nonetheless it is important to hear from people with experience, because there have been significant possibilities that have been overlooked or just ignored. With political ramifications.

I am tired of the freepers, personally, with no experience or training, who echo the Blanco-deadhead-line that this was just too overwhelming and there is no way it could have been done differently or better.

Both Howlin and I have been wondering about the director of emergency services, who has been absent from the entire scene since day 1.

Yes it is a huge tragedy, but the mayor and governor have been shown to be hugely incompetent and should take the heat for their lack of action and negligence.

Some of us think we could have made better choices when people were dying. A lot of us think the flooding was more than accurately predicted.

See post number 11 on this thread

[Carolinamom]

Chertoff emphasized the the PRIMARY control would be federal. I think President Bush 'got the picture' of more than the flood waters in NO. LOL He was gracious (in public) to the mayor and gov., that's style...grace under pressure, but HE gets things done instead of doing nothing but wringing his hands and swapping feel-good nothings.

[ClancyJ]

Did anyone get the telephone number or website for volunteers to check in to help? Some official in the press conf. mentioned it but it was too fast to write down (great!)?

[bvw]

Do you use a meat cooking thermometer? My son just graduated culinary school and he taught me, the home grill meister, to use one. I had always relied on drippings to signal internal heat level of burgers. The thermometer works much better -- especially when I have to grill the adulterated-burgers my wife favors, or when cooking chicken.

[queenkathy]

Sounds like you and all of us need to be careful from now on. I really think life has changed for the whole nation in one way or another. Nothing will ever be the same. Just like after 9/11