Katrina Live Threads, Part XV

U.S. commercial air carriers continue transporting tens of thousands of evacuees from the New Orleans airport to destinations throughout the nation.

Rooftop air rescue efforts continue. One rescue chopper crashed late today. Crew members are reported safe. Gunmen who fired upon bridge repair contractors were killed by law enforcement.

To date, an estimated 70 countries and U.S. businesses have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars, supplies, food and equipment to assist the United States' efforts in Katrina's aftermath. Lt. General Honore described the damage to Mississippi today, "all infrastructure south of Jackson, MS is either damaged or destroyed." Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice visited the devastated areas, and attended Sunday church services in Mobile, Alabama.

Elsewhere, Sean Penn's rescue boat, sans plug and full of his personal entourage,reportedly sank during launch in New Orleans. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) threatened to punch President Bush, and Jefferson Parish President Broussard decried that the bureaucracy of FEMA has committed murder.

New Orleans Emergency Operations Center - is now open:
504-463-1000
504-463-1001
504-463-1002

All information is subject to change. Many stations are relying on their corporate parents to configure and maintain Internet streaming. Because of the intense interest in the feeds, they may be unavailable at times because of network congestion or a problem feeding the video to the streaming servers.

WWL-TV New Orleans - 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. They have a secondary stream from Yahoo. WWL-TV is also offering a special low-bandwidth audio-only stream for dial-up users.

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).

WFAA-TV Dallas, TX - WFAA-TV is here because Dallas is one of the evacuation cities.

United Radio From New Orleans: WWL-AM, WNOE-FM, "KISS-FM," WRNO-FM, WYLD-FM, and WJBO-AM (Clear Channel & Entercom) who have joined forces as United Radio From New Orleans, and they are streaming.

Gulf Coast Storm Network (Clear Channel Radio) - Clear Channel offers radio listeners across the gulf coast access to a simulcast emergency radio service. This service seems primarily focused on Alabama and Mississippi, but does cover Louisiana to some degree.

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/

Mayor-President of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Kip Holden

Previous to his political career, Holden became known as a journalist and later an attorney.

Professional History

Louisiana State Senator, District 15

Southern University School of Law - Baton Rouge, Louisiana Adjunct Professor of Law (1991-Present)

Louisiana House of Representatives State Representative, District "63", (1988- 2001)

Councilman, Baton Rouge Metro Council District "2" (1984-1988)

Louisiana Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation - Baton Rouge, Louisiana Law Clerk

Baton Rouge City Police - Baton Rouge, Louisiana Public Information Officer

United States Census Bureau - Baton Rouge, Louisiana Public Relations Specialist

WBRZ Channel 2 - Baton Rouge, Louisiana Reporter, (1978-1979)

WWL Radio - New Orleans, Louisiana Reporter, (1977-1978)

WXOK Radio - Baton Rouge, Louisiana News Director, (1975-1977)

His election was buoyed largely by the support of Jim Bernhard, CEO of The Shaw Group.

Louisiana State Democratic Party Chairman Jim Bernhard.

******government contracts******

The Shaw Group is a corporation headquarted in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Group provides engineering, design, construction, and maintenance services in the sectors of:

* Energy
* Environment
* Fabrication and Manufacturing
* Infrastructure

The Advocate attributed to him:

The party's Louisiana agenda should emphasize access to health care, an opportunity for a great education for everyone and making sure the state's environment -- from its water and air to its moral values and economy -- "are better than our parents left us," Bernhard said.

Hurricane Pam Exercise Concludes

Release Date: July 23, 2004

Release number: R6-04-093

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Hurricane Pam brought sustained winds of 120 mph, up to 20 inches of rain in parts of southeast Louisiana and storm surge that topped levees in the New Orleans area. More than one million residents evacuated and Hurricane Pam destroyed 500,000-600,000 buildings. Emergency officials from 50 parish, state, federal and volunteer organizations faced this scenario during a five-day exercise held this week at the State Emergency Operations Center in Baton Rouge.

The exercise used realistic weather and damage information developed by the National Weather Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the LSU Hurricane Center and other state and federal agencies to help officials develop joint response plans for a catastrophic hurricane in Louisiana.

"We made great progress this week in our preparedness efforts," said Ron Castleman, FEMA Regional Director. "Disaster response teams developed action plans in critical areas such as search and rescue, medical care, sheltering, temporary housing, school restoration and debris management. These plans are essential for quick response to a hurricane but will also help in other emergencies."

"Hurricane planning in Louisiana will continue," said Colonel Michael L. Brown, Deputy Director for Emergency Preparedness, Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. "Over the next 60 days, we will polish the action plans developed during the Hurricane Pam exercise. We have also determined where to focus our efforts in the future."

A partial summary of action plans follows:

Debris

The debris team estimates that a storm like Hurricane Pam would result in 30 million cubic yards of debris and 237,000 cubic yards of household hazardous waste The team identified existing landfills that have available storage space and locations of hazardous waste disposal sites. The debris plan also outlines priorities for debris removal.

Sheltering

The interagency shelter group identified the need for about 1,000 shelters for a catastrophic disaster. The shelter team identified 784 shelters and has developed plans for locating the remaining shelters.

In a storm like Hurricane Pam, shelters will likely remain open for 100 days. The group identified the resources necessary to support 1000 shelters for 100 days. They planned for staff augmentation and how to include shelterees in shelter management.

State resources are adequate to operate shelters for the first 3-5 days. The group planned how federal and other resources will replenish supplies at shelters.

Search and Rescue

The search and rescue group developed a transportation plan for getting stranded residents out of harm's way. Planners identified lead and support agencies for search and rescue and established a command structure that will include four areas with up to 800 searchers.

Medical

The medical care group reviewed and enhanced existing plans. The group determined how to implement existing immunization plans rapidly for tetanus, influenza and other diseases likely to be present after a major hurricane.

The group determined how to re-supply hospitals around the state that would face heavy patient loads. The medical action plan includes patient movement details and identifies probable locations, such as state university campuses, where individuals would receive care and then be transported to hospitals, special needs shelters or regular shelters as necessary.

Schools

The school group determined that 13,000-15,000 teachers and administrators would be needed to support affected schools. The group acknowledged the role of local school boards and developed strategies for use by local school officials.

Staffing strategies include the use of displaced teachers, retired teachers, emergency certified teachers and others eligible for emergency certification. Displaced paraprofessionals would also be recruited to fill essential school positions.

The group discussed facility options for increasing student population at undamaged schools and prioritizing repairs to buildings with less damage to assist in normalizing operations

The school plan also calls for placement or development of temporary schools near temporary housing communities built for hurricane victims.

The Hurricane Pam scenario focused on 13 parishes in southeast Louisiana-Ascension, Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John, St. Tammany Tangipahoa, Terrebonne. Representatives from outside the primary parishes participated since hurricane evacuation and sheltering involve communities throughout the state and into Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas.

On March 1, 2003, FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA's continuing mission within the new department is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates proactive mitigation activities, trains first responders, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.

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