The CG coordinator of SAR missions has a dozen copters for the entire coast. He told NPR he flew out to Pascagoula and the devastation was complete there, 90% vanished and 10% wrecked along the beach. The pilots were said to have that look in their eye of utter awe of what they have seen, chopping holes in roofs, beyond anything they could describe, and if MS looks this bad...
The CG spokesman said they were prioritizing calls by priority of need, but will answer all that they can. The NPR person asked why not evacuate? The CG said you can be 200 miles from the eye of the hurricane like his and he got two large trees knocked down.
Yikes! Any word on deaths, damage to the Ingalls Shipyard, etc.?
PBS had on the DHS representative who is saying those rescuees needing care are being sent to medical facilities and others are being sent to other facilities for the time being. He noted the MS areas are reminiscent of the tsunami. He said NG forces are working in the recovery and triage efforts. He said that there are hundreds of thousands without power, but crews are working their way in throughout the areas, and the phone companies are planning how to restore service.
On Biloxi, someone told PBS a cautious estimate is 40 dead, but there are trees and powerlines down. He described the city as a ruin, as 8-10 feet of water came in for several blocks, ruining the casino industry which has become the industry in town. He said gas lines are open, there is no water, and lots of emergency need. The streets are now "dry as a bone" there. Officials are assessing and rescuing any trapped people and treating post-storm injuries. They also commandeered a store to prevent looting and secure stores for themselves. There was not much to loot as the casinos were wiped out.
Someone asked if people thought the storm was to go to LA? The answer was that they had been through Camille, but a lot were second-guessing themselves right now, "wish I'd listened, had got out" instead of swimming.
The mood was said to be a lot of tears, feeling lucky to be alive but wondering how they would now make it, especially in the poorer neighborhoods. And on the wealthy end, would the insurer pay for wiped-out hotels or would the government do it if the insurer bails?
The FEMA rep said they are still assessing, but putting together a massive response op, commodities, pre-deployed urban search and rescue teams being utilized now. He thought there will be a couple of days working on how to go about setting up a system for checking out everywhere, relying on federal and local partners.
PBS asked about death toll. FEMA said that a toll of 50 should be going higher. The paramount concern is SAR. Then they need health care and housing, but they are partnering with charities on that. PBS asked about how many people will need housing, but the response was they are still assessing.
PBS asked about military. Bush signed a disaster declaration early, so DoD, Transportation, Red Cross, etc were on board early.