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

[cgk]

Yes. :-( And to know there probably are dozens of other identical stories to his.

Did you hear about the 5 children found wandering alone on the interstate? There is a picture on L.A. Times of one of the girls: she is probably the same as our littlest: 3?

Unable to speak, a young girl who was found wandering on the interstate out of New Orleans with several other small children receives food and shelter at the Jimmy Swaggert Ministries in Baton Rouge. The five children were rescued by highway workers who were leaving the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. (Mark Boster / LAT) September 2, 2005

No adults anywhere? They are so fragile, the horrors they've seen, it breaks my heart that on top of this disaster and losing everything they've known, they're being preyed upon.
I had a near-fit of vigilante rage tonight when I heard a woman on Greta talking about the rape/murder of a 7 year old girl. But I then read the story where a Nat'l Guardsman says when the crowd found her body in the bathroom, they found the guy who did it and beat him to death. Is it wrong that I felt better knowing he could never hurt a child again?

[Prince Charles]

Good find!

[mathluv]

Thanks, backhoe. I love your compilations of threads!

[Uncle Ike]

Is this thread still alive? New post on FR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1476956/posts?page=1

Headline "As Last Refugees Escape, New Orleans Turns to Its Dead ^"

I've been out of the loop getting 8 hours of needed sleep -- have the CG and NG abandoned the house-to-house search/rescue operation?

[conservative cat]

Well, I have to say, I will actually give Gore credit here in this situation. Nice of him to actually do something and not need to pat himself on the back about it with the press. I am perfectly willing to take back my compliment if he uses it later for that purpose, though!

[backhoe]

Your kind words are appreciated- thank you.

[conservative cat]

Oh, how heartbreaking. Poor things.

By the way, it is definitely not wrong to feel that way. I am glad they killed that guy, too (hope it was the right guy, though!) I wish all justice would be as swift and on the mark, especially for those who would harm children.

[gg188]

While the thread is slow, allow me to make a comment. While prayer is vital, Blanco's call to prayer Wednesday morning, the morning after the levee burst, seemed a sort of resignation. A moment of prayer, certainly, then---"Everyone evacuate", "Stop the looting or we will shoot you," "Moblize the boats and helis that are staged but can't come in due to shots being fired at them", and on and on. Decisive action was required, and Blanco asked the citizens to spend the day in prayer... Yes, thankful you survived, at that point, but the fight for survival was just beginning...

Wednesday, AUGUST 31

Faced with widespread rooting in New Orleans, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco is asking residents of the hurricane-ravaged city to spend today in prayer.

Blanco says, "That would be the best thing to calm our spirits and thank our Lord that we are survivors." She added, "Slowly, gradually, we will recover; we will survive; we will rebuild."

Some of the looting is taking place in full view of police and National Guardsmen. New Orleans Police say one officer was shot in the head by a looter, but was expected to recover.

On Canal Street, dozens of looters ripped open the steel gates on clothing and jewelry stores.

Looters at a Wal-Mart brazenly loaded up shopping carts with items including microwaves, coolers and knife sets. Others walked out of a sporting goods store on Canal Street with armfuls of shoes and football jerseys.

http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=3786929&nav=EyB0dxCY

[Alia]

The administration sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301680.html

bookmark.

[gg188]

The story here is that the Blanco administration maneuvered during those days to maintain control of incoming resources and funds, to be able to get the gravy without ceding power, maintaining their political supremecy, controlling then who gets what help within their state.

The Administration wisely demanded control rather than allowing the notoriously corrupt Louisiana/NO dem machine to remain in charge...

[IrishRainy]

When I heard her say that, I burst out laughing...I couldn't help myself. Her answer to a legitimate question posed by a reporter to her, the freakin' governor, was totally bizarre! Rudy Guiliani would NEVER have responded that way...and it was then that I knew -- she was a total loon. I half expected her to start singing kum-ba-yah.

Then I saw Mary Landrieu (sp) standing next to her, doing her little ventriloquist act to help Blanco with her answers, always with her little happy face on, and then I saw one side of her face start twitching...and again I knew...New Orleans was totally screwed.

[kcvl]

It's getting even better. N.O. elected officials and Baton Rouge elected officials are at war because BR says it can't take anymore evacuees and N.O. isn't pleased. N.O. is afraid that if they leave Louisiana they WON'T COME BACK. lol!

[SE Mom]

Just listening to Adam Howley on FOX- he's in NOLA. He went out on a boat through the streets with rescue workers.

A couple of tidbits from his report: NOLA PD has 3 boats...2 of which were not working.

As they've been going through the streets (Venice style) they ran into countless people who are unwilling to leaves their homes...when asked to get in the boat to be rescued they said no.

[gg188]

And the left media didn't scream about the mixing of religion and politics! Haha. The one time they SHOULD have---Mrs. Governor, we need decisive leadership and action, not a DAY OFF to PRAY! The waters were rising at that moment---the worst was just beginning.

The left hates religion and prayer and God so much, why didn't they raise cain that Dem Blanco was advising the citizenry to pray.

Basically the answer to that is this: the mainstream media has already absolved any Dems (Nagin, Blanco, Landrieu) of any responsibility. It is ALL Bush's fault.

[Alia]

The great irony, in all this to me? The lib-Dems assert that "traditional religionists have constructed G-d", but the lib-dems are the true zealots, ready to believe anything, regardless of fact, facts be damned, to support their "agenda".

Ergo, they always end up building their houses upon the sand. And sometimes, a hurricane sweeps in.

[kcvl]

when asked to get in the boat to be rescued they said no

Maybe they know something we are just now finding out, like how incompetent N.O. officials are at EVERYTHING! I wouldn't get in a boat with them either.

[Alia]

Corruption in NO? Lordy, who'd a guessed. NO has long been a location of corruption. The great access to sea is not just useful for shipping vessels for goods, but also drug dealers. The money that has flowed through NO hands, and there's no accounting for what NO officials ever does with that money.

The Admin was indeed, very wise.

[Ellesu]

Another storm reaches hurricane status


MIAMI (AP) - There's another hurricane. Maria has been upgraded this morning from a tropical storm to a hurricane.

The National Hurricane Center says it's winds have grown to about 75 miles-an-hour and it's expected to get even stronger over the next 24 hours.

Maria this morning was about 645 miles east-southeast of Bermuda. Forecasters expect it to remain well off Bermuda and for now it's only a threat to shipping.

Maria is the 13th storm of the Atlantic hurricane season big enough to rate a name and it's the fifth to become a hurricane.

Peak storm activity typically happens right about now, between the end of August and the middle of September. But in an average year there are only four or five named storms by this date.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

It breaks my heart. When I think of the days my major concern is my sons hitting the toilet or the mess they leave in their wake, I feel so petty.

At least I have them close.

[Tensgrrl]

Thanks, this is going to make the libs foam at the mouth!