Steve's Unofficial NOLA Breaking News Thread - mods please move threads

[steve2470]

This is the new home for all my threads

[Midlodemocrat]

1. You got it, dude!

:thumbsup:

[steve2470]

2. breached levee cannot be closed

BREACHED LEVEE CANNOT BE CLOSED

Officials expect 12-15 feet of water in parts of Jefferson and Orleans parishes.

http://www.nola.com/

[fishnfla]

3. They didnt even try!!!!!

Goddamned it all!

The helicopter was diverted. Mayor Nagin is bummed

[steve2470]

4. what happend and why ?

:shrug: :-)

[Midlodemocrat]

6. Thank you for all the information you have been posting

steve2470. I am very appreciative of the time and effort you are putting into informing people.

I can feel your compassion from here.


:hug:

[steve2470]

8. you're welcome, thank you for your kindness nt

[Horse with no Name]

11. Steve rocks

:yourock:

[Cooley Hurd]

20. I heard it described as a football field-sized hole in the levee...

That's a big hole. And, with water emptying out of Pontchartrain into the NOLA bowl, it must be exceedingly difficult to position the equipment necessary to fill the hole in.

From an engineering standpoint, it's a toughie. :(

[tedzbear]

96. When the Levee Breaks, by Led Zeppelin

If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break,
When The Levee Breaks I'll have no place to stay.

Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan,
Got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home,
Oh, well, oh, well, oh, well.

Don't it make you feel bad
When you're tryin' to find your way home,
You don't know which way to go?
If you're goin' down South
They got no work to do,
If you don't know about Chicago.

Cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good,
Now, cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good,
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move.

All last night sat on the levee and moaned,
Thinkin' about me baby and my happy home.
Going, going to Chicago... Going to Chicago... Sorry but I can't take you...
Going down... going down now... going down....

[ohio_liberal]

5. So they didn't try the gigantic sandbags?

:shrug:

I'm not an engineer of course, but it seems like they should brainstorm a bit before giving up.

[Rhiannon12866]

70. The helicopters were commandeered for search and rescue...

And I'm sure they're brainstorming, but this is such a desperate situation, getting worse by the hour. Last night they thought the worst was over, while today it just gets worse and worse...;(

[KeepItReal]

7. They tried: MAYOR SAID THE SANDBAGS NEVER CAME

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1738491

[skooooo]

9. Mayor said there are too many chiefs, not enough indians...

But that can't be true. The feds are saying there are enough NG there to take care of the problem!!

[Horse with no Name]

15. The feds are going to minimize this

because it is a direct policy failure of George W. Bush.
They won't admit anything else.
They'd rather let the city get washed away than admit that Bush fucked up again.:mad:

[skooooo]

18. You may be right...

..but how can you tell Bush lovers that he is responsible for this mess?

[Star]

104. Try telling them this

Read this DailyKos article, and you'll know how this mess was caused by *'s diversion of funds to pay for the Iraq invasion.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/30/225058/062

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. I am sitting here seething

The war is bad enough. The cuts to Medicaid are bad enough. Ignoring Cindy Sheehan - that alone is bad enough, IMO.

Now we can blame this horrifically terrible president for the destruction of one of our most wonderful cities. What the fuck else is this monster going to do to destroy our country?

God damnit :cry:

[fishwax]

75. i feel the same way

it's outrageous and shameful and really fucking depressing :(

[Jawja]

51. And don't forget that the

fawning corporate media will cover for *'s complete and total failure to provide for and respond to this disaster. But hey, he was informed about planes used as weapons against buildings and did nothing about that, either.

[DoYouEverWonder]

19. Actually there are plenty of Indians

but our Chief is AWOL again.

[radar]

94. Ah yes - the feds...

I'm recalling what the prez' old man did when a hurricane struck & what his ol' man did to battle Iraq....

George I has Twenty-Five thousand troops committed to help during Hurricane Andrew & in a 2nd situation, 500,000 troops to fight/prosecute the 1st Iraq war.

A dozen years later & Junior comes up small in both emergencies. With fewer than needed people & resources - Americans die.

[ohio_liberal]

10. Oh my God

I read the thread but didn't see a reason why the sandbags didn't come

[ChairmanAgnostic]

24. a 1k sandbag is rather small. Heavy, but small.

the levee's break is 300 feet, and possibly growing. no matter how you stack them little bags, they will wash away in the face of this awesome power. The force of water is so huge that even those huge sandbags would be like throwing spitballs at clouds to stop the rain.

One possible solution involves taking a barge, sinking it, and another and another. Then, closing off the canal, emptying it, then deliberately breaching the dyke and letting the water pour out of the city.

These solutions are so radical simply because what they face is so daunting.

We mere humans forget just how powerful water can be. Except for those creationists who claim god's finger did it, just think of the Grand Ditch, and you will get the idea.

[CatholicEdHead]

25. Exactly

as I lived through the 1997 Grand Forks North Dakota flood, sandbags are pretty useless against a full force of water.

Even dumptruk loads of clay dumped from the top of the dike would still not do much with the fast flow as the water pressure is trying to equalize.

[Redstone]

58. You're on to something. Plug the gap with a barge

full or sand, then use other barges to make a cofferdam upstream, and empty the water.

If you and I can think of this kind of solution, what the fuck are the people who get PAID to deal with disasters doing? Scratching their asses?

Redstone

[stillcool]

38. in the press conference....

the army corp. of eng. guy said they were coming tommorrow. will look for a link...

[sunnystarr]

95. I posted it on that thread so I'll repeat it here ...

8:04 P.M. - Mayor Nagin: Unhappy that the helicopters slated to drop 3,000-pound bags into the levee never showed up to stop the flow of water. Too many chiefs calling shots he says.
http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/WWLBLOG.ac3fcea.html

[fishnfla]

13. Helicopter was diverted, according to mayor

now reporter on wwltv disputing mayors account

[markus]

43. Water reaching the French Quarter

I took my kids to the back of the quarter to wait for the St. Anne's parade last Mardi Gras. My sister and I stopped for a quick to go cup at her hangout the Apple Barrel on Frenchman. The place (full of some Very Wierd People Up Drinking All Night Still There At 9 am) made a big impression on my 13 year old daughter.

Anyway, my daughter is *certain* she saw the Apple Barrel with a couple of feet of water.

It looks like water might get to the quarter. Or, at least, that the flooding is near it's peak (one hopes).

[Jacobin]

68. HIPPATITUS

I love the Apple Barrel!!!

Gawd I'm gonna miss NOLA.

:cry:

[xultar]

88. I thought that was the sandbags for the pumps near the levee.

The pumps used to move the water out and back into the lake.

[crispini]

12. wwwltv.com saying it's not true that things were "diverted."

their assessment was that they needed to bring in heavier stuff.

from their stream now.

[Horse with no Name]

16. I believe the mayor and not our federal government.

[SammyWinstonJack]

17. So who do we believe?

I'd really like to know the truth about this. I listened to the Mayor and he said the sandbags were diverted and now this guy said they absolutely were not.

[crispini]

22. well what would you say the meaning of diverted was?

the guy speaking on WWWLTV -- Senator Vitter -- said they flew in there, assessed the situation, and decided that there was not any point in using sandbags and they needed bigger stuff -- sounded to me like they would keep trying.

Probably just a miscommunication, there is a lot of stuff, I'm sure.

My GOD, these people anchoring on WWL look like they're about 21. Are they putting their interns on air now?

[mccoyn]

37. Didn't they evacuate to LSU?

Maybe they interned some students to fill in the late hours. I'm sure the regular staff, which lives in NO, wants to get some rest, and maybe some time to try and contact family.

[shirlden]

23. "This guy" was Repub

Senator, David Vitters. Could it be that he is there to make sure the shrub does not take any blame for this. Personally, I have no reason not to believe the mayor.

My beautiful, compassionate, charming, and oh so unique city, will rise from these flood waters. I do believe that, because right now, I must believe it.

Nola, I love you

[SammyWinstonJack]

66. I believed the Mayor and sorry I didn't know who Senator Vitters was.

[HereSince1628]

14. Well that seems to seal the City's immediate fate

I hope that the military at least pitches in to help evacuate those still stuck there.

I'm so sorry for the people of New Orleans.

[steve2470]

26. Water rising at 17th St. canal

Water rising at 17th St. canal
Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

Mayor Ray Nagin has announced that the attempt to plug a breach in the
17th Street canal at the Hammond Highway bridge has failed and the
rising water is about to overwhelm the pumps on that canal.
The result is that water will begin rising rapidly again, and could
reach as high as 3 feet above sea level. In New Orleans and Jefferson
Parish, that means floodwaters could rise as high as 15 feet in the next
few hours.
Nagin urged residents to try to find higher ground as soon as possible.

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/

[NMDemDist2]

27. steve, you really should do one thread with all the updates, it's so hard

for me to find all these threads scattered all over. One thread with all the updates would be so cool! :hi:

[Roland99]

28. Was there something about a 9' wall of water??

[dejaboutique]

29. oh my this is bad

how terrible, just makes me want to cry. why isnt this breaking on the MSM or is it?

[proud2BlibKansan]

30. Where is this canal

in relation to the MS River and to the lake?

[markus]

46. Got to maps.google.com

and search up New Orleans. Find the marina in the upper left hand corner. Follow that canal down just a bit to the first bridge. The levee/floodwall combination on the east side has failed right at that new bridge for 200 to 300 feet, allowing the lake water to pour into the city.

[proud2BlibKansan]

54. "Your browser is not officially supported by Google maps."

:grr:

:argh:

[Cooley Hurd]

31. Here's the related LBN thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1738491

Jesus... :( :(

[Rhiannon12866]

73. Thanks!

Wow! Words fail me... :wow::scared:;(

[Cooley Hurd]

77. It's bleak, Rhi...

:cry:

[Rhiannon12866]

80. So you're still following this. I figured that you probably were.

I was watching Aaron Brown, but I just couldn't take it anymore. It just gets worse by the hour. So where did I go to distract myself?:eyes:

Hang in there, my friend.:hug:

[Cooley Hurd]

84. Yes, still up - TDS is a repeat - watching AB...

...nothing but bad news coming out of NOLA.

Christ... :(

[Rhiannon12866]

89. It just seems to get worse and worse... with no end in sight.

I posted that TDS was another repeat. Somebody said that Jon Stewart would have a field day with the Yahoo stories.

Get some rest, if you can. You've had a long couple of days. I'll pass on any LBN.:pals:

[steve2470]

32. Wonderful link for breaking NOLA news

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/

[Rhiannon12866]

78. Thanks. Great paper with a memorable name.

I wonder how long that they'll be able to publish. And what is the fate of their advertisers. They're offering local jobs and catering, among other things. Seems so irrelevant now...;(

[steve2470]

33. 100 Feared Dead In Miss. County

http://www.wdsu.com/news/4917204/detail.html

POSTED: 6:59 pm CDT August 30, 2005
UPDATED: 7:29 pm CDT August 30, 2005
Email This Story | Print This Story
JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi authorities say at least 100 people have died in a coastal county slammed by Hurricane Katrina.

Gov. Haley Barbour said he can't begin to describe the devastation he witnessed during his tour of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

"You simply cannot imagine the destruction, particularly between the beach and the railroad," Barbour said.

Barbour says at least 90 percent of the structures in the state's Gulf Coast area are destroyed. He said when he looked at the debris he could only imagine what Hiroshima looked like after the atomic bomb was dropped.
Story continues below ad


He called the devastation worse than he anticipated because of the totality of the destruction.

<snip>

[steve2470]

34. Massive hole in levee is major challenge for engineers

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/nation/12517242.htm

BY MICHAEL GRABELL

The Dallas Morning News



BATON ROUGE, La. - (KRT) - Federal engineers now face the challenge of plugging a massive hole in a levee that burst on Tuesday, adding to the misery that Hurricane Katrina inflicted on New Orleans.

The 26-foot-deep, 500-foot-wide breach in the 17th Street Canal sent flood waters surging through an estimated 80 percent of the city.

With many people still stranded in the flooding, Tuesday's break compounded the area's problems.

Officials said fixing the breach is their top priority after saving human lives.

"You've got to stop the bleeding before you fix the wound," said Mark Lambert, spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Tranportation and Development.

<snip>

[ChairmanAgnostic]

41. as it flows, it erodes the edges and foundations

what you see on the surface is quite different from what is under the surface.
Water is strange, mysterious, powerful stuff.

with a breach 500 feet wide, you need dam technology to fix it. Basically, you stop the rush, and start from scratch.

sandbags are just plain useless.

[nashbridges]

62. It's worse than what the photos show

They are earthen levees. Once they break, you can get a good idea of how they will behave by aiming a garden hose at a small pile of sand. Every second the water flows through the breach it makes it bigger. Eventually it is going to spread to every area of higher water pressure on the lake side.

Sandbags might have been a solution during the first hour, but as time wears on the only solution is going to involve some help from nature to equalize the pressure on both sides, and that is going to mean a great amount of flooding on the city side.

Why do I know this? Because it's how they build levees in the first place. You build a wall underwater higher than the water level and drain one side. You assume the wall is high/strong enough to hold the water back. When they fail, they fail hard, and you have to start over, just as the poster I am responding to said, "from scratch".

[kenny blankenship]

106. So basically there's no stopping the lake now, is that right?

and New Orleans...is what? sinking into its grave?

[steve2470]

35. Does anyone know what happened to that man who lost his wife ?

What was his man ??? Harvey ? He was on TV and was so sad and distraught.

[steve2470]

36. Utilities Rush Crews to Restore Power to Areas Damaged by Katrina

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB9X54W0DE.html


Electric companies from around the country began rushing crews to the hurricane-ravaged South on Tuesday to help restore power to an area so devastated that it could be weeks or even months before the lights come back on in many places.

"It's catastrophic. Working conditions are hazardous. It's hot and humid," said David Botkins, a spokesman for Dominion Virginia Power, which sent 200 workers to Louisiana and Mississippi. "The entire grid system in these areas is completely ruined. They're starting from scratch."

Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on Monday, packing winds of 145 mph, killing dozens of people and swamping thousands of homes in one of the most punishing storms on record in the United States. Nearly 2 million customers were without power Tuesday in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

"It looks like it's going to be a massive undertaking," said Jim Owen, spokesman for Washington-based Edison Electric Institute, a group of 200 investor-owned power companies.

<snip>

[steve2470]

39. Looting difficult to control

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/


Tuesday, 8:10 p.m.

By Ed Anderson and Jan Moller

Widespread looting contributed to a deteriorating situation in Louisiana's largest city Tuesday in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina Tuesday, according to witnesses and second-hand accounts from evacuees.

The problem is being compounded, officials said, by a breakdown in the ability of public agencies to communicate with one another, said New Orleans City Council President Oliver Thomas.

“The most frustrating thing about this whole thing has been communication,” Thomas said. “We have to devise a better system.”

He said looting has also escalated and an atmosphere of lawlessness has developed as police resources have been almost entirely devoted to search-and-rescue operations for people trapped by floodwaters on roofs and in attics. “Widespread looting is taking place in all parts of the city” - from uptown and Canal Street to areas around the housing projects, Thomas said.

<snip>

[steve2470]

40. Shot police officer in surgery

Shot police officer in surgery
The New Orleans police officer shot in the head by a looter Tuesday was expected to survive, officials said.

The officer, who has not been identified, was in surgery at West Jefferson Medical Center after being shot in the forehead, police said.

The officer was shot by a looter after he and another officer confronted a number of looters at a Chevron store at Shirley and Gen. DeGaulle.

Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputies on the scene arrested four people in connection with the shooting. One of the looters reportedly was shot in the arm by an officer during a shootout.

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/

[steve2470]

42. 'First Go for Life,' Workers Are Told

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/31/national/31rescue.html?hp&ex=1125460800&en=7d0e639ca67c99ba&ei=5094&partner=homepage

By RALPH BLUMENTHAL
Published: August 31, 2005

NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 30 - "If we come across a body floating?" Sgt. Chris Fisher of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office asked.

"Let it go," Maj. Bobby Woods replied, as Sergeant Fisher and other rescue workers prepared for the day's mission. "Let's first go for life."

With hundreds of New Orleans residents stranded on upper floors and roofs by rising floodwater from Hurricane Katrina, rescue teams from across the country mobilized in the gulf area on Tuesday in the largest relief effort since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

They sailed the seas over Interstate 10 and other submerged arteries, plucking people to safety with an arsenal of lifesaving equipment.

<snip>

[steve2470]

44. Networks fall in Katrina's wake

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,16444398%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html

Correspondents in Washington
AUGUST 31, 2005
TELEPHONE companies have struggled to restore service and measure the damage to their networks in Louisiana and Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina cut power and triggered severe flooding.

Residents reported trouble making and receiving calls throughout the day, and many turned to the internet and text messaging to try and reach relatives and friends.

"It's spotty at best," Josh Britton, a student at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge said. With mobile phones, "a lot of times you'll have to try for several minutes to make an outgoing call ... In several of the parishes in southeast Louisiana there's virtually zero communication capability."

A spokesman for BellSouth, the largest local telephone company in the region, said while the company estimated about 53,000 lines were out in the two states, the actual numbers were likely to be higher.

<snip>

[steve2470]

45. Tensions inside the Superdome rise along with refugees' ranks

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/nation/12517207.htm

BY DAVID OVALLE

Knight Ridder Newspapers



NEW ORLEANS - (KRT) - The rescuers on the boat only had room for Lee Coleman's wife, his two daughters and his mother-in-law.

So he trudged - more than two miles - through black water coated in rainbow-tinged oil. Past the abandoned cars swallowed by the flood waters. Past a single blue flip-flop floating next to the bombed-out bank.

His final destination: the Louisiana Superdome, the designated refuge of last resort from Hurricane Katrina's onslaught. On Tuesday, though, the signature stadium was transformed into the city's Alamo.

Surrounding it was the enemy - millions of gallons of water from Lake Pontchartrain that flooded most of the city.

<snip>

[steve2470]

47. Katrina Cripples Gulf Gambling Industry

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?feed=AP&Date=20050830&ID=5074030

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) - Hurricane Katrina picked up several Gulf Coast casinos and hurled them hundreds of yards inland, crippling the region's gambling industry for months and potentially even years.

At least three of the floating barge casinos in hard-hit Biloxi were tossed from their moorings by the storm's 25-foot wall of water, their barnacle-covered hulls coming to rest up to 200 yards from the shore.

[steve2470]

48. Gambling companies tally damage to Mississippi, Louisiana casinos

http://www.klfy.com/Global/story.asp?S=3786231

GULFPORT, Miss. Hurricane Katrina dealt Gulf Coast casinos a devastating hand, destroying several properties and crippling the region's gambling industry for months, if not years to come until the companies can rebuild their operations.
In Mississippi, some of the hardest hit were in Biloxi, where company officials and witnesses say the Grand Casino, Hard Rock, Treasure Bay, Palace Casino, Boomtown and President Casino felt the brunt of the powerful hurricane.Gary Loveman, chairman of Harrah's Entertainment, the world's largest gambling company, told C-N-B-C its Grand Casino -- built on a floating barge -- was probably ruined. Aerial footage showed the ravaged casino had washed ashore and landed on the other side of a busy highway.An official with Harrah's says the company's Grand Casino Gulfport also was swept inland, and damage was comparable to its sister property in Biloxi. C-N-N footage revealed that the Copa Casino in Gulfport was most likely destroyed.Loveman told C-N-B-C that Harrah's New Orleans sustained very little damage.Boyd Gaming spokesman Rob Stillwell says only one of its three properties in Louisiana, the Treasure Chest casino in a New Orleans suburb, had been affected by Hurricane Katrina, though damage information was unavailable. Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[steve2470]

49. Looters "walking off like they're Santa Claus" in wake of Katrina

http://www.newswatch50.com/news/national/story.aspx?content_id=C19E98F2-677C-45C8-889A-8BDD5814F804

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - What police presence there is in New Orleans and Biloxi, Mississippi, isn't slowing down looters.

A police spokesman in New Orleans says a police officer was shot in the head by a looter, but he's expected to recover.

Dozens of looters on historic Canal Street have ripped open steel gates to stores. Some filled plastic garbage cans to carry or float stolen goods.

In Biloxi, looters picked through slot machines of damaged casinos to see if they still have coins inside.

<snip>

[steve2470]

50. Crews frantically work to fix breach

Crews frantically work to fix breach
Tuesday, 8:55 p.m.

The state Department of Transportation and Development and the Army Corps of Engineers worked into the night to plug a 500-foot breach in the 17th Street Canal
which has flooded Lakeview, West End, Bucktown and large swaths of East Jefferson.

Mark Lambert, chief spokesman for the agency, said that a convoy of trucks carrying 108 15,000-pound concrete barriers – like those used as highway construction dividers -- was en route to the site Tuesday night.

Once there, Lambert said, helicopters which hook up the barriers, and drop them into the hole in the canal.

Lambert said another 50 sandbags, each weighing 3,000 pounds, are also being maneuvered into place to stop the breach.

<snip>

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/

[Drewskie]

57. time

It will still take alot of time to get all of that in place. Assuming the trucks can get anywheres near the breach.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9130254/

That was one of the more informative things I've read today concerning the issue.

[steve2470]

52. Hospitals hobbled by Katrina -- but still open

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3786238

(New Orleans, Louisiana-AP) Aug. 30, 2005 - Hurricane Katrina is forcing hospital workers to go to great extremes to do their jobs.

National Guard troops are evacuating 300 patients from Charity Hospital in New Orleans, which is surrounded by water.

Nurses held flashlights and ventilated patients by hand. Doctors wearing green scrubs used canoes to ferry supplies between the city's four downtown hospitals.

There's no working plumbing or electricity at Charity, but patients keep coming.

<snip>

[steve2470]

53. Chaos and Martial Law Consume Gulf Coast

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/2250907322

August 30, 2005 10:01 p.m. EST



Douglas Maher - All Headline News Staff Reporter

New Orleans, Louisiana (AHN) - The city of New Orleans has fallen into chaos, Tuesday, as massive flooding consumes 80-percent of the entire city.

Video images of people being rescued from rooftops were aired all day long as survivors of the rising floods busted through roofs in their homes and waited for Coast Guard choppers to pick them up in rescue baskets.

The city is under martial law and the Governor has ordered everyone out of New Orleans and the evacuations of city shelters as they are no longer safe to reside in.

Clean water is gone as is power, food, ice, gas, and sewage is backing up in homes as well as the Super Dome where 35,000 people are currently sheltered although floods are now threatening that building.

<snip>

[steve2470]

55. Internet becomes clearinghouse of news, view of disaster

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/12517162.htm

BY STEVE JOHNSON

Chicago Tribune



CHICAGO - (KRT) - On the Web site Metroblogging New Orleans on Tuesday, you could read of the relief and despair felt by Hurricane Katrina evacuees, one of whom counseled, "Patience, y'all."

On the site of New Orleans station WWL-TV, you could summon video replays of the station's news coverage - including a seemingly despondent Mayor C. Ray Nagin talking of "a state of devastation" - and read a nearly minute-by-minute news update on the station's Web log.

At Wikipedia, the user-crafted Internet encyclopedia, you could get a steadily revised read on the storm's history and effects and follow your curiosity through links to video coverage of the hurricane and much more.

As is now the pattern during major news events, the Internet during Hurricane Katrina has become a central information clearinghouse for everyone from devastated Gulf Coast homeowners to compassionate Midwestern bystanders.

<snip>

[dasmarian]

56. PRISONERS IN NOLA HAVE TAKEN HOSTAGES!

Somone please post this into a new message, I don't have enough posts.


http://abcnews.go.com/US/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=1081633&page=1

Aug. 30, 2005 — Inmates at a prison in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans have rioted, attempted to escape and are now holding hostages, a prison commissioner told ABC News affiliate WBRZ in Baton Rouge, La.

Orleans Parish Prison Commissioner Oliver Thomas reported the incident to WBRZ.

A deputy at Orleans Parish Prison, his wife and their four children have been taken hostage by rioting prisoners after riding out Hurricane Katrina inside the jail building, according to WBRZ.

Officials are expected to hold a press conference regarding the riots at 9 p.m. ET.

A woman interviewed by WBRZ said her son, a deputy at the prison whose family is among the hostages, told her that many of the prisoners have fashioned homemade weapons. Her son had brought his family there hoping they would be safe during the storm.

[steve2470]

59. Martial law clarified

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/


Tuesday, 9:02 p.m.

The state Attorney General's office on Tuesday sought to clarify reports in some media that "martial law' has been declared in parts of storm-ravaged southeast Louisiana, saying no such term exists in Louisiana law.

But even though no martial law exists, Gov. Kathleen Blanco's declaration of a state of emergency gives authorities widespread latitude to suspend civil liberties as they try to restore order and bring victims to safety. Under the Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act of 1993, the governor and, in some cases, chief parish officials, have the right to commandeer or utilize any private property if necessary to cope with the emergency.

Authorities may also suspend any statute related to the conduct of official business, or any rule issued by a state agency, if complying would "prevent, hinder or delay necessary action'' to mitigate the emergency.

It also gives authority the right to compel evacuations, suspend alcohol and weapons sales and make provisions for the availability and use of temporary emergency housing.

<snip>

[steve2470]

60. Evacuees can't get word on relatives

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/

Tuesday, 9:10 p.m.

By Bob Ussery

Some of the 50-plus New Orleans residents who took refuge in Houma on Tuesday were worried about the safety of relatives they left behind in the path of Hurricane Katrina.

Julius Jones, 68, and his wife, Geneva, 63, got a call from their grandson, Gerald Williams, 21, early Monday as the storm approached him in the Lower 9th Ward. Gerald Jones and about 15 friends and neighbors were stranded on the second floor of the home where he and his grandparents live on Tupelo Street. Water was halfway up to the second floor and the group, including two neighbors’ babies needed help.

Julius Jones said he finally got through to New Orleans police but does not know if help arrived in time. The phones stopped working, and as of Tuesday evening, the Joneses had no idea of the safety of their grandson and the others.

Tragedy has already struck at the same family. Julius Jones said his son, Joseph Jones, 23, and daugher, Geraldine Jones, 34, were murdered at the house in 1997.

<snip>

[markus]

61. NOLA.Com: Breech 500 feet, trying jersey barricades and the sandbags

which are now in place, as of 8:53 pm CDT.

WDSU is reporting they've given up, but they have a sister station with Flordia talent streaming now and I don't think they know what they're talking about.

I can't get WWL -TV to stream dial up to save my life.

[Individualist]

64. Try the following for WWL stream

www.wwltv.com/perl/common/video/wmPlayer.pl?title=beloint_khou&props=livenoad

[steve2470]

63. Hospital Becomes Eye of Hurricane for Those Needing Medical Care

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBNRVYX0DE.html

The hospital is crowded and hot. Surgeries go on with the help of generators. A teen arrives by boat after giving birth in a hotel. And outside, a steady stream of homeless, frightened people seek refuge.

This was the scene Tuesday at New Orleans' Ochsner Clinic, the eye of the hurricane as far as medical care is concerned.

Federal officials said that 2,500 patients in the drowning city were being evacuated because at least seven hospitals in Orleans Parish were threatened by the loss of their power generators and other problems.

Perched a lofty 8 feet above sea level in Jefferson Parish, Ochsner is one of the few in the area still up and running.

<snip>

[steve2470]

65. Updates as they come in on Katrina

09:22 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Tom Planchet

9:23 P.M. - FEMA bringing 2,000 officials to town. Bringing in food, water, ice, tarps. Setting up offices where you can get grants and loans.

9:21 P.M. - (AP) One Mississippi county alone said its death toll was at least 100, and officials are "very, very worried that this is going to go a lot higher," said Joe Spraggins, civil defense director for Harrison County, home to Biloxi and Gulfport.

Thirty of the victims in the county were from a beachfront apartment building that collapsed under a 25-foot wall of water as Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast with 145-mph winds.

9:19 P.M. - Lt. Governor Landrieu: Asking hotels in neighboring states to extend stays of refugees and to give them first priority and to possibly offer discounts for extended stays.

9:18 P.M. - Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu: 3000 rescued to date. People taken from rooftops, attics and from water, clinging to inner tubes.

9:17 P.M. - New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin says hundreds, if not thousands, of people may still be stuck on roofs and in attics, and so rescue boats were bypassing the dead.

http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/WWLBLOG.ac3fcea.html

[steve2470]

67. shameless altruistic kick nt

[crispini]

69. Thank you so much! nt

[steve2470]

71. sure thing, thanks for your hard work too nt

[lildreamer316]

72. Kicky.

[geomon666]

74. The steve-o thread

You probably hate that name don't you? :)

Thanks for all of your hard work throughout this whole mess.

[steve2470]

76. actually the name I hate is "stevie"

When I was 5 I hit a big kid with a rake for saying that :-)

[geomon666]

79. Well I was a big kid

and I don't usually like rakes hitting me in the face so I'll just call you Steve. :)

[annabanana]

81. how about "steverino"

Or are you too young to "get" it?
(Thanks for the collection of threads and ongoing information)

[steve2470]

83. you're welcome !

Steverino is cool. Just not STEVIE :grr:

:-)

[steve2470]

82. Can someone briefly explain to me how levees are built ?

What are the materials ? Thanks in advance.

[wildflower]

91. I found this...

(I didn't know either.) I hope it helps a little.

A levee or levée (from the feminine past participle of the French verb lever, 'to raise') is a natural or artificial embankment or dyke, usually earthen, which parallels the course of a river. The word seems to have come into English through its use in colonial Louisiana.

...

Artificial Levees

Artificial levees function to prevent flooding of the adjoining countryside; however, it also confines the flow of the river resulting in higher and faster water flow.

Levees are usually built by piling earth on a cleared, level surface. Broad at the base, they taper to a level top, where temporary embankments or sandbags can be placed. Because flood discharge intensity increases in levees on both river banks, and because silt deposits raise the level of riverbeds, planning, as well as auxiliary measures are vital.

...

Natural Levees

A natural levee results from the deposit of material by a river during flood stage resulting in the land near a river being raised in elevation. When the river is not in flood state it cuts a channel in the elevated material. Natural levees are especially noted on the Yellow River in China near the sea where ocean going ships appear to sail high above the plain on the elevated river. Natural levees are also present on the Rio Grande in Colorado's San Luis Valley.

Natural levees are formed as sediment of larger grain size settles out on the banks of channels owing to the drop in flow velocity on the edge of the channel.

...

Levees in Tidal Waters

The same basic process occurs in tidal creeks when the incoming tide carries mineral material of all grades up to the limit imposed by the energy of the flow. As the tide overflows the sides of the creek towards high water, the flow rate at the brink slows and larger sediment is deposited, forming the levee. At the height of the tide, the water stands on the salt-marsh or flats and the finer particles slowly settle, forming clay. In the early ebb, the water level in the creek falls leaving the broad expanse of water standing on the marsh at a higher level.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levee

[steve2470]

92. thank you for your time !!! nt

[steve2470]

85. shameless altruistic kick nt

[steve2470]

86. New Orleans plunges deeper into chaos and despair

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-050830neworleans-story,1,2073312.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Hurricane death toll and cost expected to rise

By Howard Witt
Tribune senior correspondent
Published August 30, 2005, 10:06 PM CDT


BATON ROUGE, La. -- With the death toll mounting, floodwaters rising, health concerns multiplying and looters racing to grab their fill, New Orleans plunged deeper into chaos and despair Tuesday, one day after Hurricane Katrina pummeled three states along the Gulf Coast and triggered what officials predict will be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

At least 100 people were reported killed in the Mississippi county of Harrison, home to Biloxi and Gulfport, and officials there feared the body count would go much higher still.

Louisiana officials reported the deaths overnight of four infirm or elderly patients who were among more than 15,000 refugees huddled inside the New Orleans Superdome, but many other deaths across the city remained to be counted. One man inside the Superdome reportedly died when he tried to jump from one section to another.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said rescuers were bypassing floating bodies to concentrate on saving the untold numbers of victims still clinging to rooftops more than 24 hours after the killer storm roared through. State and federal rescuers in boats and helicopters pulled more than 1,200 victims to safety on Tuesday and were flying precise search-and-rescue grid patterns over the city to try to find more.

<snip>

[steve2470]

87. FEMA must find housing for tens of thousands

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/nation/12517822.htm

BY ALEX BRANCH

Knight Ridder Newspapers



BATON ROUGE, La. - (KRT) - Sprawling tent cities where hundreds of people sleep on cots. A barge ship turned into a floating dormitory. Brand-new mobile home parks.

All are considered options by state and federal officials for housing tens of thousands of people who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina.

"We are going to have to get really creative," said William Lokes, Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinating officer for the state of Louisiana. "It's going to be a real challenge, so we will have to use our imaginations."

Lokes declined to estimate how many people would be left homeless for an extended period. But he said in recent years FEMA had been asked to simulate housing 1 million people after a catastrophic event in southern Louisiana.

<snip>

[steve2470]

90. Jamie McIntyre on cnn saying that there are thousands of potential

national guard troops available. Kind of made it sound like, no big deal. He showed stats showing most Ng's are at home. I was thinking, WTF ????

[steve2470]

93. latest from times picayune, i will trim it down

State Police send troopers to region
Tuesday, 10:30 p.m.

More than 40 State Police troopers are being sent to New Orleans to help local law enforcement combat what Col. Henry Whitehorn called “pretty severe”
looting in the city.

Two mobile force units of 16 officers each will be deployed, as well as about a dozen tactical officers and one armored personnel carrier, which should be
able drive through the deep flood waters, said Whitehorn at a 9 p.m. briefing at the state Office of Emergency Preparedness.

The State Police, which already has more than 250 officers in the area
affected by the storm, will be supplemented by an additional 30 officers from various sheriff and city police office around the state.

Whitehorn would not say exactly when the additional police will be deployed, saying they could go Tuesday night or on Wednesday.<snip>




City a woeful scene
Tuesday, 10:14 p.m.

By Brian Thevenot, Gordon Russell, Keith Spera and Doug MacCash
Staff writers

Sitting on a black barrel amid the muck and stench near the St. Claude Avenue bridge, 52-year-old Daniel Weber broke into a sob, his voice cracking as he recounted how he had watched his wife drown and spent the next 14 hours floating in the polluted flood waters, his only life line a piece of driftwood.

"My hands were all cut up from breaking through the window, and I was standing on the fence. I said, ‘I’ll get on the roof and pull you up," he said. "And then we just went under."

Weber sat among hundreds of refugees rescued Tuesday from rooftops, attics and floating debris in the 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish by an armada of more than 100 boats. Officials from the Coast Guard estimated they pulled thousands of people off of rooftops and attics, many with stories as grim as Weber’s. Officials believed hundreds and maybe thousands more remained in peril. They declined to estimate the number of dead. That will come later.

"We’ve got cadaver dogs, but we’re only looking for the live people at this point," said Rachel Zechnelli of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, which deployed all available boats to the Industrial Canal Monday night. "We’re dealing only with live voices and heartbeats."
<snip>

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/

[sunnystarr]

97. It's time for the big guns ....

In Uptown, one the few areas that remained dry, a bearded man patrolled Oak Street near the boarded-up Maple Leaf Bar, a sawed-off shotgun slung over his shoulder. The owners of a hardware store sat in folding chairs, pistols at the ready.

Uptown resident Keith Williams started his own security patrol, driving around in his Ford pickup with his newly purchased handgun. Earlier in the day, Williams said he had seen the body of a gunshot victim near the corner of Leonidas and Hickory streets.

"What I want to know is why we don't have paratroopers with machine guns on every street," Williams said. (ummm they're in Iraq)

Like-minded Art Depodesta sat on the edge of a picnic table outside Cooter Brown's Bar, a chrome shotgun at his side loaded with red shells.

"They broke into the Shell station across the street," he said. "I walked over with my 12-gauge and shot a couple into the air."

The looters scattered, but soon after, another man appeared outside the bar in a pickup truck armed with a pistol and threatened Depodesta.

"I told him, ‘Listen, I was in the Army and I will blow your ass off," Depodesta said. "We've got enough trouble with the flood."

The man sped away.

"You know what sucks," Depodesta said. "The whole U.S. is looking at this city right now, and this is what they see."

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/

[steve2470]

98. Governor's call for evac of superdome

Late Blanco statement
By Robert Travis Scott

BATON ROUGE -- Gov. Kathleen Blanco called for an
evacuation of the 20,000 storm refugees from the
Superdome after she visited the hurricane-damaged
stadium Tuesday evening for the second time of the
day.

She set no timetable for the withdrawal but insisted
that the facility was damaged, degrading and no longer
able to support the local citizens who had sought
refuge in the Dome from Hurricane Katrina.

“It’s a very, very desperate situation,” Blanco said
late Tuesday after returning to the capital from her
visit, when she comforted the exhausted throngs of
people, many of whom checked in over the weekend.
“It’s imperative that we get them out. The situation
is degenerating rapidly.”

Blanco also said the people in the New Orleans
hospitals were being moved out.

The Dome has no electricity, holes in the roof have
let in water and the sanitary conditions are growing
worse, Blanco said.

<snip>

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/

[steve2470]

99. dupe nt

[steve2470]

100. kick nt

[steve2470]

101. Katrina pushes public health system to brink

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/storm/content/nation/epaper/2005/08/31/a9a_kat_health_0831.html

By Los Angeles Times

HASH(0x2e37e9c)

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

BATON ROUGE, La. — Authorities along the Gulf Coast faced the collapse of the public health system Tuesday with water supplies sporadic, electricity shut off, hospitals closing and the threat of more injuries and infectious diseases in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Officials also warned against a variety of imminent problems, including encounters with snakes, alligators and other wildlife displaced by the flooding, and the need to minister to the mental health needs of survivors who have lost nearly all their worldly possessions.


The biggest problem they face is that modern medicine requires large amounts of electricity and there was very little available Tuesday — and for the foreseeable future.

At least 10 hospitals in New Orleans were using generator-supplied electricity, and several have already closed. State health authorities have been transporting critically ill patients out of New Orleans by boat, helicopter and bus, said Dr. Jimmy Guidry, the state health officer.

<snip>

[steve2470]

102. latest from times picayune

Wednesday, August 31, 2005



DEQ flyover finds few environmental problems
Wednesday, 12:04 a.m.

Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality officials flew over
flooded southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday, looking for oil and chemical
spills and other environmental threats, said department spokesman Daniel
Mann.

While what looked like a slight oily sheen was found around at least
one refinery in Chalmette, few other problems were spotted in the initial
fly-over, Mann said.

Officials will make a second inspection from the air today.
The environmental agency also has issued an emergency declaration
reducing regulatory requirements resulting from problems caused by Katrina
in southeastern parishes stretching from East Baton Rouge to Plaquemines
and as far west as St. Martin.

“After such a terrible disaster, the No. 1 priority is human health and
emergency response,” said DEQ Secretary Mike McDaniel. “This
authorization will allow areas impacted by the hurricane to recover, cleanup and
rebuild faster because the regulatory process will be reduced.”

The order is intended to expedite repairs to facilities like sewage and
water treatment plants, and to speed clean-up of solid wastes, burning
debris and animal carcasses without DEQ’s oversight.
Meanwhile, the federal Environmental Protection Agency reminded
businesses that they’re required to report any spills of hazardous chemicals
at [phone] or [phone].






Print | Send To A Friend | Permalink (Learn More)



Tuesday, August 30, 2005



Children's Hospital under seige
Tuesday, 11:45 p.m.

Late Tuesday, Gov. Blanco spokeswoman Denise Bottcher described a disturbing scene unfolding in uptown New Orleans, where looters were trying to break into Children's Hospital.

Bottcher said the director of the hospital fears for the safety of the staff and the 100 kids inside the hospital. The director said the hospital is locked, but that the looters were trying to break in and had gathered outside the facility.

The director has sought help from the police, but, due to rising flood waters, police have not been able to respond.

Bottcher said Blanco has been told of the situation and has informed the National Guard. However, Bottcher said, the National Guard has also been unable to respond.
snip

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/

[steve2470]

103. Damage to Economy Is Deep and Wide

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/31/business/31econ.html

By EDUARDO PORTER
Published: August 31, 2005

As Hurricane Katrina plowed through the Mississippi River basin, shutting down ports, flooding cities and cutting power lines, economists warned that it was likely to leave a deeper mark on the national economy than previous hurricanes because of its profound disruption to the Gulf of Mexico's complex energy supply network.

The Brighton Exxon service station in Brighton, Mass., stopped selling gas when it could no longer compete with lower prices at other stations.

"The typical pattern with a natural disaster like this is that the regional economy gets clobbered but you can barely see it in the national statistics," said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at Global Insight in Lexington, Mass. "This time it is very different because of the impact on the energy infrastructure."

Already, it is clear that much of the economic activity in the gulf region has indeed been clobbered. New Orleans, home to nearly a million people, is under water. By yesterday morning an estimated 2.7 million residents in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi had reported power failures, with many expected to be without electricity for weeks. Conventional and mobile telephone service along the Gulf Coast suffered from severe disruptions from flooded call-routing equipment and damaged cellular towers.

Businesses across the Southern interior ground to a halt as then storm affected the region's transportation network and power grid. Since last Thursday, AirTran, a low-fare airline, has canceled 195 flights because of Katrina, including 18 cancellations yesterday.

<snip>

[spuddonna]

105. Steve, thank you so much... and kick!!

Have you slept since Sunday? :)

You don't know how much we appreciate the news...

[markus]

107. Can anybody link me to the story of the two cops looting the drug store

for the people in hotels? I can't remember where I saw it, and want it on my blog wetbankguide.blogspot.com.

Thanks.

Any other unusual stories or neighborhood specific info, I would appreciate a quick note to [e-mail]

[Gruenemann]

108. This just in from a friend in Lafayette

The tenuous chain of information flow might make this rumor-mongering, at least the first and last part.

"I was in Alexdria yesterday. My brother's head nurse's son is down there in the Nat. Guard and said they are finding HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of bodies. And going back down here yest. evening in the slow lane were dozens of "refrigerated trucks." Lana's son said they'd ordered 5000 bodybags."

[geomon666]

109. Coffins are popping up now

[steve2470]

110. shameless altruistic kick nt

[steve2470]

111. Official: situation in New Orleans "growing more desperate."

http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2005/08/31/breaking_news/doc4315d19b3015c939457072.txt

rmy engineers trying to plug New Orleans' breached levees struggled to move giant sandbags and concrete barriers into place, and the governor said Wednesday the situation was growing more desperate and there was no choice but to abandon the flooded city.







``The challenge is an engineering nightmare,'' Gov. Kathleen Blanco said on ABC's ``Good Morning America.''










As the waters continued to rise in New Orleans, the Pentagon began mounting one of the biggest search-and-rescue operations in U.S. history, sending four Navy ships to the Gulf Coast with drinking water and other emergency supplies, along with the hospital ship USNS Comfort, search helicopters and eight swift-water rescue teams. Red Cross workers from across the country converged on the devastated region.

[markus]

112. Looking for links to missing person/match up blogs

and any neighborhood specific information (eyewitness or sourced to some new source) to post at wetbankguide.com. Post here, prviate message markus or send to [e-mail].

Let me save Steve is the greatest for keeping these threads organized.

[steve2470]

113. Governor: Everyone Must Leave New Orleans

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-hurricane-katrina,0,4527135.story

By BRETT MARTEL
Associated Press Writer
Published August 31, 2005, 10:33 AM CDT


NEW ORLEANS -- The governor of Louisiana says everyone needs to leave New Orleans due to flooding from Hurricane Katrina. "We've sent buses in. We will be either loading them by boat, helicopter, anything that is necessary," Gov. Kathleen Blanco said. Army engineers trying to plug New Orleans' breached levees struggled to move giant sandbags and concrete barriers into place, and the governor said Wednesday the situation was growing more desperate and there was no choice but to abandon the flooded city.

"The challenge is an engineering nightmare," Gov. Kathleen Blanco said on ABC's "Good Morning America."

As the waters continued to rise in New Orleans, the Pentagon began mounting one of the biggest search-and-rescue operations in U.S. history, sending four Navy ships to the Gulf Coast with drinking water and other emergency supplies, along with the hospital ship USNS Comfort, search helicopters and eight swift-water rescue teams. Red Cross workers from across the country converged on the devastated region.

The Army Corps of Engineers said it planned to use heavy-duty Chinook helicopters to drop 3,000-pound sandbags Wednesday into the 500-foot gap in the failed floodwall. But the agency said it was having trouble getting the sandbags and dozens of 15-foot highway barriers to the site because the city's waterways were blocked by loose barges, boats and large debris.

Officials said they were also looking at a more audacious plan: finding a barge to plug the 500-foot hole.

The death toll from Hurricane Katrina reached at least 110 in Mississippi alone, while Louisiana put aside the counting of the dead to concentrate on rescuing the living, many of whom were still trapped on rooftops and in attics.

<snip>

[Roland99]

114. Answers from Army Corps of Engineers on unwatering New Orleans

http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/083005cccawwlunwatering.45718845.html

Q.1. How long will it take to get the water out of New Orleans?

A.1. We are unsure. A number of factors play into this. First, Lake Pontchartrain is at roughly 4.5 feet above sea level and falling. The city is at a lower elevation so water will continue to flow into it until it equalizes.

Once the breach on the 7th Street Canal is closed, Pump Station 6 can pump 10,000 cubic feet per second.

Once the breaches are closed and all of the pumps are running, the pumps can lower the water level ½ inch per hour or about a foot per day. We can get the water level to sea level in four and a half days. The ½ inch rate assumes the late is at normal levels. That would create pumping inefficiency, as could trash in drains and canals that feed into the pump stations.

More info at the site.

[steve2470]

115. New Orleans Is Now Off Limits; Pentagon Joins in Relief Effort

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/31/national/nationalspecial/31cnd-storm.html?hp&ex=1125547200&en=737b69f420b8d648&ei=5094&partner=homepage

By JOSEPH B. TREASTER and N. R. KLEINFIELD
Published: August 31, 2005

NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 31 - Search and rescue teams in helicopters and boats braved the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina today to look for survivors in the battered city of New Orleans, which was isolated and virtually submerged after water broke through two levees on Tuesday, and efforts were being made today to stanch the flooding with sandbags.
Enlarge This Image

Gerardo Mora/European Pressphoto Agency

Rescue workers searched for survivors in New Orleans.

Hurricane Katrina: Photos and Video of the Storm's Impact
Forum: Hurricane Katrina







Damage in New Orleans
Hurricane Katrina spared New Orleans a catastrophic hit but inundated the city.
• Mississippi | Oil Industry

OIL PRICES The cost of a barrel of oil soared above $70 as the damage to offshore platforms became apparent.

PUBLIC HEALTH Officials warned the health consequences were likely to be enormous.

WHITHER NEW ORLEANS People are wondering what will remain of the city, physically and psychologically.

MILITARY RESPONSE Five Navy ships and eight maritime rescue teams were ordered to the Gulf Coast.

HOW TO HELP A partial list of relief organizations and other information on the Web.
Enlarge This Image

Rick Wilking/Reuters

A view along Canal Street in New Orleans Tuesday as floodwaters rose, threatening the French Quarter.

The hurricane has wrought incalculable destruction in the city and other parts of Louisiana, leaving thousands of people homeless and stranded. Today, the mayor said it could be months before residents would be allowed to return to their homes.

With bridges washed out, highways converted into canals, and power and communications lines inoperable, government officials ordered everyone still remaining out of the city. Officials prepared for the evacuation of the Superdome, where about 10,000 refugees huddled in increasingly grim conditions as water and food were running out and rising water threatened the generators.

The mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, told reporters late on Tuesday that it would be three to four months before residents would be able to return to their homes, but in Baton Rouge today, officials questioned that timeline.

<snip>