Hurricane Katrina

This article is about the 2005 hurricane. For other storms with this name, see Hurricane Katrina (disambiguation).

Template:Infobox hurricane Template:Wikinewshas

Hurricane Katrina was a major tropical cyclone that caused catastrophic damage in the southeastern United States and will likely become the worst natural disaster ever to hit the United States with major global economic consequences caused by the severe disruption of oil supplies, exports, and imports.

Disaster relief plans are in operation in the affected communities. Some experts predict one million people could become homeless as a result of the storm [1]. Currently five million people are without power in the Gulf Coast, and it may be two months before all power is restored [2].

Katrina is the deadliest hurricane in the United States of America since at least 1969, when Hurricane Camille killed 256 people, and may become the deadliest named hurricane in the U.S. on record (surpassing Hurricane Audrey in 1957, which killed at least 390, with up to 160 never accounted for). The deadliest hurricane in U.S. history (by far) is the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which killed around 8,000 (possibly up to 12,000) people. The death estimates of Katrina so far are "in the thousands", but it will take weeks before accurate numbers are known. Katrina is also expected to be the costliest natural disaster in United States history.

Storm history

Katrina is the eleventh named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Its central pressure of 918 mbar (27.108 inches Hg) at the time of its Louisiana landfall makes it the third most intense system to strike the United States in recorded history. The remnant of Katrina still remains as a powerful storm system as it moves northward across the eastern United States and Canada.

Katrina (at that time designated as "Tropical Depression Twelve") formed over the Bahamas on August 24, 2005 and made its first landfall near North Miami, Florida, United States, as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, causing major flooding, loss of power to more than one million residents, and eleven deaths. It weakened to a tropical storm as it moved offshore. However, the system regained strength much more quickly than anticipated in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, becoming a Category 5 hurricane and reaching a central pressure of 902 mbar (26.63 inHg)—the fourth most intense storm ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin—with maximum sustained windspeeds of 175 mph (280 km/h) and wind gusts over 200 mph (320 km/h). The system turned northward because of a trough moving southeast from the midwest and weakened slightly just before making its second landfall on August 29, 2005, on the Mouth of the Mississippi as a strong Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph (240 km/h). This was quickly followed by a third landfall south of Buras-Triumph, Louisiana at approximately 6:10 a.m. CDT (1110 UTC), with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 km/h). A final landfall was made at the Louisiana-Mississippi border at 10 a.m. CDT (1500 UTC) as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 125 mph (205 km/hr).

How the storm developed

Track of Katrina (10PM CDT, 29 August 2005)

Wind swath of Katrina. Hurricane force winds are indicated by red, tropical storm force by brown.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued a statement on August 23 saying that Tropical Depression Twelve had formed over the southeastern Bahamas. The numbering of the system was debated, as Tropical Depression Twelve formed partially from the remains of Tropical Depression Ten. The naming and numbering rules at the NHC require a system to keep the same identity if it dies, then regenerates, which would normally have caused this storm to remain numbered Ten. However, the NHC gave this storm a new number because a second disturbance merged with the remains of Tropical Depression Ten on August 20, and there is no way to tell whether the remnants of T.D. Ten should be credited with this storm. (This is different from Hurricane Ivan in the 2004 season, when the NHC ruled that Ivan did indeed reform; the remnant of Ivan that regenerated in the Gulf of Mexico was a distinct system from the moment Ivan originally dissipated to the moment it regained tropical storm strength[3].)

The system was upgraded to Tropical Storm Katrina on the morning of August 24. Katrina became the fourth hurricane of the 2005 season on August 25 and made landfall later that day around 6:30 p.m. between Hallandale Beach and Aventura, Florida.

Hurricane Katrina on August 28, 2005, near its peak intensity

Katrina spent only a few hours over South Florida. Katrina was predicted to go across South and Southwest Florida. However, Katrina moved farther to the south than expected and soon regained hurricane strength after emerging into the Gulf of Mexico in the morning of August 26. Katrina then quickly strengthened to Category 2 and its pressure dropped to 971 mbar, which prompted a special update from the NHC at 11:30 a.m. EDT (1530 UTC). At 5:00 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) on August 27, Katrina's pressure dropped to 945 mbar and it was upgraded to Category 3. The same day President Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana, two days before the hurricane made landfall [4].

At 12:40 a.m. CDT (0540 UTC) on August 28, Katrina was upgraded to Category 4. Later that morning, Katrina went through a period of rapid intensification, with its maximum sustained winds reaching as high as 175 mph (280 km/h) (well above the Category 5 threshold of 156 mph (250 km/h)) and a pressure of 906 mbar by 1:00 p.m. CDT. By 4:00 p.m. CDT, Katrina reached its lowest pressure reading, at 902 mbar. This made Katrina the fourth most intense hurricane on record in the Atlantic basin, surpassing such Category 5 storms as Hurricane Ivan of 2004, Hurricane Mitch of 1998, and Hurricane Camille, the legendary hurricane that made landfall on the Mississippi coast in 1969. Katrina, however, began an eyewall replacement cycle just before reaching shore, sparing the coast from a Category 5 landfall. Nonetheless, the system made landfall as a strong Category 4 hurricane on 5:30 a.m. CDT (1030 UTC) August 29 at the mouth of the Mississippi with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph. Its lowest minimum pressure at landfall was 915 mb, making it the third strongest hurricane on record to make landfall on the United States.

Eye of Hurricane Katrina seen from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft. Image taken on August 28, 2005, before the storm made landfall.

A 15- to 30-foot storm surge came ashore on virtually the entire coastline from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to Florida. The 30-foot storm surge recorded at Biloxi is the highest ever observed in North America.

Storm status

As of 5 p.m. EST on August 31 (2100 UTC), the center of the remnant low of what was Katrina, is located inland about 30 miles (50 km) east of Binghamton, New York. The system was moving east-northeast at 35 mph (55 km/h) with maximum sustained winds of 20 mph (30 km/h). It is now nearly totally absorbed by an extratropical cyclone to its northeast.

Katrina is currently in the eastern Great Lakes region, and affecting a very wide swath of land covering a good portion of northeastern North America.

For current forecasts, see the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center's latest public advisory on Katrina and the Canadian Hurricane Centre's latest public advisory on Katrina.

Tornadoes

On 30 August there was a minor risk from tornadoes, though nearly all of them were under F2 rank. Currently there have been tornado reports near Atlanta, Georgia, and Mobile, Alabama. On August 30, 2005 there is a very slight chance of tornadoes at the West Virginia/Virginia border.

Though tornadoes are possible as faraway as Richmond, Virginia; Washington D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland it is unlikely that there will be tornado warnings within eighty miles of its suburbs. No deaths have been reported with the tornadoes, and just one minor injury in Lula, Georgia so far. Tornado watches relating to Katrina include Tornado watch 757, 758, 759, 760, 761 and 762.

Historical analysis

Ranking Katrina's place in the history of hurricanes depends on the measurement used, as well as the source of data chosen.

Top four most intense hurricanes in recorded history Hurricane intensity is measured solely by central pressure, source: NOAA
North Atlantic				Landfall U.S.
Rank	Hurricane	Year	Pressure	Rank	Hurricane	Year	Pressure
1	Gilbert	1988	888 mbar	1	Labor Day	1935	892 mbar
2	Labor Day	1935	892 mbar	2	Camille	1969	909 mbar
3	Allen	1980	899 mbar	3	Katrina	2005	915 mbar
4	Katrina	2005	902 mbar	4	Andrew	1992	922 mbar
Based on data from: The Weather Channel				Based on data from: National Hurricane Center

The three categorizations of tropical cyclones are: fatalities (deadliest), property damage (costliest), and intensity (lowest central pressure). Katrina was the third most intense hurricane to hit the United States in recorded history. In the Atlantic Basin it achieved the status of the fourth lowest central pressure ever recorded. Many estimates predict that Katrina will be the costliest storm in history to strike the United States. In terms of fatalities, it will make the top ten if the death toll exceeds 275.

It is not yet known whether this storm will leave as many fatalities behind as the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 which killed an estimated 8,000–12,000, due to the fact that New Orleans is still under water and may continue to be for several months. Katrina also caused the first total devastation of a major American city since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fires. Katrina is likely to be the deadliest hurricane to hit the US in many decades, once total casualty figures are reckoned. News reports note this as being the deadliest hurricane since Hurricane Camille (which killed 256) in 1969 [5], although the total death toll from Katrina is likely to exceed Camille.

Katrina has been compared with Hurricane Camille in that hurricane was also an intense Category 5 storm which made landfall in the same general area. Katrina has also drawn comparisons to Hurricane Betsy, because of its similar track and potential effects on New Orleans. In 1965, Betsy struck New Orleans after passing over the Florida Keys, causing over $1.5 billion USD in damage in 1965 (over $9 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars), and the deaths of 75 people, earning it the nickname "Billion Dollar Betsy". However, Betsy was only a fast-moving Category 3 hurricane, limiting its potential for devastation, while Katrina was a massive, slow-moving Category 4 storm. For Katrina, some potential damage estimates exceed the $36 billion damage (in current dollars) caused by Hurricane Andrew (previously the most destructive hurricane to have hit the United States).

Preparations and expectations before landfall

Expectations

There was little advance warning since Katrina strengthened from a tropical storm to a hurricane in one day, and struck southern Florida one day later, on August 25.

On August 27, after Katrina crossed southern Florida and strengthened to Category 3, the President declared a state of emergency in Louisiana, two days before the hurricane made landfall. [6] This declaration activated efforts by Federal Emergency Management Agency to position stockpiles of food, water and medical supplies throughout Louisiana and Mississippi more than a day before Katrina made landfall. On August 28 the National Weather Service issued a bulletin predicting "devasting" damage rivaling the intensity of Hurricane Camille.

The city of New Orleans was considered to be particularly at risk since most of it is below sea level and it was likely that the expected storm surge would flood the city after topping the surrounding levees.

Evacuations

At a news conference 10 a.m. on August 28, shortly after Katrina was upgraded to a Category 5 storm, New Orleans mayor C. Ray Nagin, calling Katrina "a storm that most of us have long feared", ordered the first ever mandatory evacuation of the city. He established several "refuges of last resort" for citizens who could not leave the city, including the massive Louisiana Superdome, which housed over 9,000 people along with 550 National Guard troops as Katrina came ashore. [7]

Mandatory evacuations were also ordered for Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche (outside the floodgates), Plaquemines, St. Charles and St. James parishes and parts of Tangipahoa and Terrebonne parishes in Louisiana.

In Alabama, evacuations were ordered for parts of Mobile and Baldwin counties (including Gulf Shores). In Mississippi, evacuations were ordered for parts of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties.

Transportation and infrastructure

Hurricane Katrina on August 28.

In preparation for heavy evacuation traffic, Mississippi and Louisiana redirected southbound lanes of Interstate 55 and Interstate 59 northbound in certain areas; Louisiana also redirected eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 westbound for several hours. This contraflow lane reversal allowed all lanes to be used for evacuation, and prohibited inbound traffic in affected areas.

On Sunday, August 28, Canadian National Railway (CN) suspended all rail traffic on its lines south of McComb, Mississippi (lines formerly owned by Illinois Central Railroad that extend into New Orleans, Louisiana), in anticipation of damage from the hurricane. To help ease the resumption of services after the storm passes, CN also issued an embargo with the Association of American Railroads against all deliveries to points south of Osyka, Mississippi [8]. CSX Transportation also suspended service south of Montgomery, Alabama until further notice. The CSX (former Louisville and Nashville Railroad) main line from Mobile to New Orleans is believed to have suffered extensive damage, especially in coastal Mississippi, but repair crews were not able to reach most parts of the line as of August 30.

Amtrak, America's rail passenger carrier, announced that the southbound City of New Orleans passenger trains from Chicago, Illinois, on August 29 and 30 will terminate in Memphis, Tennessee, rather than their usual destination of New Orleans; the corresponding northbound trains will also originate in Memphis. The southbound Crescent from New York, New York, for the same period will terminate in Atlanta, Georgia, with the corresponding northbound trains originating in Atlanta as well. Amtrak's westbound Sunset Limited will originate in San Antonio, Texas, rather than its normal origin point of Orlando, Florida. Amtrak announced that no alternate transportation options will be made available into or out of the affected area during this time [9].

The Waterford nuclear power plant was shut down on Sunday, August 28, before Katrina's arrival.

Military

The frigates USS Stephen W. Groves and USS John L. Hall sailed from their home port of Pascagoula to avoid the path of the storm. Aircraft stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi (ironically home to the Air Force's fleet of WC-130 Hurricane Hunter aircraft), Pensacola and Whiting Field Naval Air Stations near Pensacola, Florida, and at Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field near Fort Walton Beach, Florida, were also evacuated.

Death toll (summary)

State	Location (County/Parish)	Deaths	Direct Deaths
Florida	Broward	6	3
	Miami-Dade	4	3
	Walton	2	0
Louisiana	E. Baton Rouge	3	0
	Jefferson	5	5
	Livingston	1	1
	Orleans	54-104	50-100
	St. Tammany	4	1
Mississippi	Harrison	110	110
	Hinds	1	1
	Jackson	10	10
	Leake	1	1
	Warren	1	1
Alabama	Washington	2	0
Georgia	Carroll	1	0
Georgia	Unknown	1	0
Kentucky	Christian	1	1
Ohio	Jefferson	2	0
Total		210-260	187-237

The confirmed death toll reported in various regions is given in the chart on the right.

Direct deaths indicate those caused by the direct effects of the winds, flooding, storm surge or oceanic effects of Katrina. Indirect deaths indicate those caused by hurricane-related accidents (including car accidents), fires or other incidents, as well as cleanup incidents and health issues.

However, the projected death toll may be much higher especially in New Orleans, but efforts are focusing on rescue rather than recovery of the dead. On 31 August, the Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin told reporters that the hurricane probably killed thousands of people in the city. [10]

Effects by region

See Hurricane Katrina effects by region and Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans.

Areas affected (so far) include southern Florida, Louisiana (especially the Greater New Orleans area), southern and central Mississippi, southern Alabama, the western Florida Panhandle, western Georgia, the Tennessee Valley and Ohio Valley regions, the eastern Great Lakes region and the western Appalachians. So far there have been over 200 deaths in seven states, a number which will rise as casualty reports come in from areas that are currently inaccessible. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin estimates hundreds, and as many as thousands, may be feared dead. Two levees in New Orleans gave way, and eighty percent of the city is now under water, which in some places is 20 to 25 feet (7 or 8 meters) deep [11].

Other effects

Oil Industry

Port Fourchon takes direct hit from Katrina (7a.m. CDT, August 29, 2005)

Katrina has interrupted oil production, importation, and refining in the Gulf area, where a tenth of all the crude oil consumed in America; and almost half of the petrol produced in the country comes from refineries in the states along the gulf's shores. An additional 24 percent of the natural gas supply are extracted or imported in the region. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is also stored along the Gulf.

There have been three offshore oil platforms that have broken loose. One oil rig, in dock for repairs before the storm, broke loose and hit the Cochrane/Africatown USA road bridge over the Mobile River in Mobile, Alabama. Two others are adrift in the Gulf of Mexico [12]. One of them washed up onshore at Dauphin Island, Alabama.

On August 29 at 7 a.m. CDT, Ted Falgout, port director, Port Fourchon, Louisiana -- a key oil and gas hub 60 miles south of New Orleans on the Gulf of Mexico -- reported on CNN that the port had taken a direct hit from the hurricane. According to Falgout, this port makes up 16 to 18 percent of the US oil supply and Hurricane Katrina "will impact oil and gas infrastructure, not just short term but long term as well. The impact of the storm -- the Gulf is shut down; all of the area of the storm is shut down; a half billion dollars a day of oil and gas is unavailable".

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, which imports 11% of US oil consumption, closed on August 27, and Royal Dutch/Shell reports a reduction in production of 420,000 barrels per day [13]. The AP reported at 12:44pm CDT that this port was undamaged and would be able to resume operation within hours of getting power back [14]. Many refineries are located in this area and may be disrupted by the hurricane.

Due to fears that the production of oil in the United States will be cut by up to one-third of normal capacity, the price of oil fluctuated greatly throughout the day. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures reached a record high of over $70 a barrel USD. Long lines developed at some gas stations throughout the U.S. as customers rushed to buy gasoline, anticipating price increases in the wake of the storm. Per gallon gasoline prices are expected to reach at least $3 USD by the Labor Day weekend in America as a result - a record high; in Atlanta, Georgia prices are already as high as $3.50 USD a gallon as consumers rush to fill up.

As of August 31, 12 p.m. CDT, eight Gulf of Mexico refineries remain shut down and one is operating at reduced capacity. Evaluation of five of the eight refineries is incomplete since access is limited. Aggregate offline capacity exceeds 1.9 million barrels per day.

The Environmental Protection Agency has moved to reduce prices by temporarily lifting fuel standards in America until September 15th. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve will be releasing some petrol as well to combat prices as major economic consequences are predicted if they remain high for a long period of time - leading consumer spending to drop and causing many foreign economies, especially in Asia to suffer.

Agriculture

The affected area's ports move a large fraction of the nation’s imports including roughly half of America's exports of agricultural commodities like corn and soyabeans.

Casino industry

Katrina forced casinos along the Mississippi Gulf Coast to close and evacuate. The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino was scheduled to open the first week of September, but will be closed indefinitely due to structural damage. The Beau Rivage was severely damaged by water that reached the third floor. The western Grand Casino Biloxi barge, containing Kid's Quest, washed across U.S. 90 and was left blocking the highway. Treasure Bay's pirate ship was washed ashore. The President Casino was washed across U.S. 90 and landed on top of a Holiday Inn, nearly a mile from the casino's berth. In Gulfport, the Copa Casino barge was pushed onto land next to the the Grand Casino Gulfport's parking garage [15]. At least 14,000 people are employed at the Gulf Coast casinos.

Mississippi will lose about US$500,000 in tax revenue for each day that the Biloxi, Mississippi-area casinos are closed, and about US$140,000 per day for the South River region casinos. As a comparison, in 2004, Mississippi earned US$2.7 billion in casino revenues, behind Nevada and New Jersey (US$10.3 billion and US$4.8 billion, respectively).

Ocean shipping

Gulfport, Mississippi serves as a major ocean shipping port for the southern United States. Currently the port is considered to be inoperable, and will be for up to one year. Chiquita, Dole, Crowley, Gearbulk, P&O, and others had significant operations in Gulfport. On a short term basis these companies will move necessary operations to unaffected ports. On a long term basis these companies will likely relocate the operations formerly based in Gulfport to other locations in the country [16], [17].

Space Shuttle program

The hurricane could threaten the Michoud Assembly Facility and materially interrupt the production of external tanks for the Space Shuttle, leading to a further interruption of the shuttle flights [18]. Evan McCollum, a Lockheed Martin Space Systems spokesman in Denver has reported that "there is water leakage and potential water damage in the buildings, but there's no way to tell how much at this point" [19].

New Orleans tourism

The hurricane has struck just days before Southern Decadence, a festival which is the second-largest money-maker for New Orleans businesses after Mardi Gras. It is predicted that outside of the obvious costs of the direct effect of the storm, the city will lose millions of dollars in tourist monies because of the cancellation of this festival and others in coming weeks.

Health concerns

There is growing concern that the prolonged flooding will lead to an outbreak of health problems for those who remain in hurricane-affected areas. In addition to dehydration and food poisoning, there is also a potential for cholera and typhoid fever, all related to the growing contamination of food and drinking water supplies in the area. President Bush has declared a public health emergency for the entire Gulf Coast and Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt announced that the DHHS will be setting up a network of 40 medical shelters to speed the relief efforts.

Price gouging

Hundreds of reports have poured into Louisiana (and other) authorities regarding price gouging on products like gasoline and bottled water, or of hotels dishonoring reservations in favor of accepting larger offers for rooms by desperate travellers. This is a felony offense and authorities are urging those who experience such a situation to immediately call police as they will be taken very seriously and an officer will be dispatched to the ___location of such an incident.

Looting and civil disturbance

Multiple incidents of looting have been reported in hurricane stricken areas, and in response, New Orleans, Biloxi and many other affected areas have declared 24 hour curfews [20]. New Orleans has deployed armed units to several locations within the city in response to looting. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has stated that he has told the "Mississippi highway patrol and the National Guard to treat looters ruthlessly" and that "looting will not be tolerated and rules of engagement will be as aggressive as the law allows" [21].

WDSU has been showing images of a Winn-Dixie store being looted on Canal Street. WWL reports looting in a Winn Dixie on Basin Street with police officials on the scene [22].

Deteriorating conditions and law enforcement focus on rescuing people have combined to increase the number of looting incidents. Several areas are reporting large numbers of people who did not evacuate breaking into homes and stores and carting off clothing, home entertainment systems, jewelery and other merchandise. There have been multiple reports of looters brazenly trying on looted clothing in the street and bragging of the ability to obtain merchandise. One motel owner says people are just "filling up garbage bags and walking off like they're Santa Claus" [23].

Witnesses have compared the looting in New Orleans as being similar to Baghdad, Iraq. Denise Bollinger, a tourist from Philadelphia, stated that "It's downtown Baghdad. It's insane. I've wanted to come here for 10 years. I thought this was a sophisticated city. I guess not." [24].

Law enforcement response has been hampered due to the focus on rescuing trapped civilians. In many instances, lookouts will shout out "86", New Orleans Police radio code for police, to alert looters to flee prior to police arrival. In most cases, police officers watched silently because of the lack of manpower and focus on saving lives.

In some cases, commandeering of necessary supplies of food, water, ice and medical supplies from Wal-Mart, Rite-Aid and other stores by authorized relief workers and law enforcement has been confused with looting.

Fox News has also reported that two men with automatic weapons opened fire on a downtown New Orleans police station late Tuesday in an apparent retaliation against an officer who tried to stop looters earlier in the day from carting off clothes and jewelry from stores in the area. The top Homeland Security official in New Orleans, Terry Ebbert , said bands of gunmen were roaming through New Orleans. The Times-Picayune newspaper reported gun sections at stores had been cleaned out by looters. [25].

There have also been reports of several major civil disturbances within the Superdome where over 20,000 civilians have sought refuge. Media have reported civilians attacking each other and refugees have also reported being robbed of their valuables by other refugees across New Orleans [26].

A New Orleans police officer was shot in the back of the head Tuesday afternoon on the west bank. The officer reportedly approached a looter near the intersection of Wall Boulevard and Gen. DeGaulle and, while talking to the suspect, was shot in the back of the head by a second looter. According to a police spokesman, the officer is expected to recover [27].

It was rumored that inmates at the Orleans Parish prison had rioted and attempted to escape, and taken hostages, among them a deputy, his wife and children, whom he brought to ride out the storm. ABC reported this, quoting an official source [28], but Ted Koppel, on the Nightline broadcast of August 30, characterized it as having been only a rumor.

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

In an interview on WDSU Tulane hospital spokeswoman Karen Troyer Caraway said efforts were underway to evacuate the hospital because of power failures and rising water but that the effort was hampered due to looters. Caraway reported that looters in boats with guns had attempted to loot the hospital and were repelled by hospital staff. The looters looted staff and patient cars in the parking lot and overturned numerous medical emergency vehicles. A spokeswoman for Lousiana's governor said workers at Children's Hospital huddled with sick kids and waited for help to arrive as looters tried to break in. Help never arrived. [29].

Internet

The effects of the storm disrupted the OC-12 Abilene Network [30] Internet2 link between Houston and Atlanta.

Response

The disaster recovery response to Katrina began before the storm, with Federal Emergency Management Agency preparations that ranged from logistical supply deployments to a mortuary team with refrigerated trucks, and an initial call-up of some 7,500 National Guard troops, most of them assembling at an armory near Memphis, Tennessee.

National Guard deployment

The initial call-up of guardsmen was affected by the deployment of some 35% of the Louisiana National Guard troops to Iraq, including equipment such as high-water Humvees that could prove useful in flooded areas. This was mitigated somewhat by interstate cooperation compacts that allowed Louisiana to request assistance including troops and equipment from nearby states, which was done as part of the preparatory phase.

Since the hurricane passed through, the governors of Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana have collectively called to duty more than 10,000 guard troops, but many more are expected.

Coast Guard

File:Navy-KatrinaSurvivorFlyover.jpg

A U.S. Coast Guard officer searches for survivors in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina.

The Coast Guard immediately responded by moving as many helicopters as it could to the affected areas, called from as far away as Cape Cod, Massachusetts. 500 USCG reservists were called to duty, and many of the hundreds of small boats in the fleet were sent to help.

Other military

The Navy arranged to send eight civilian 14-person Swift boat rescue teams to the disaster zone using C-5 Galaxy cargo planes. The hospital ship USNS Comfort was ordered to the Gulf of Mexico. The USS Bataan, an amphibious assault ship carrying Sea Stallion and Sea Hawk helicopters, was first to arrive along the Gulf Coast, from its homeport in Texas. [31] The Navy also announced plans to send the USS Iwo Jima amphibious assault ship and the USS Shreveport amphibious transport dock from their base in Norfolk, Virginia and the USS Tortuga dock landing ship and the USS Grapple rescue and salvage vessel from their base in Little Creek, Virginia. [32]

Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré of the Army was appointed to run a temporary special command to coordinate all military responses to the effort, which will be based at Camp Shelby in Mississippi.

Government non-military

FEMA sent 10 search and rescue teams from around the country to begin the search for survivors and their recovery, and 23 medical disaster response teams. The Department of Transportation was sending 390 trucks carrying water, tarpaulins, and even mobile homes and forklifts. The United States Public Health Service was activated and sent dozens of officers to supervise medical response. Though the hurricane closed several airports for some time to come, the Federal Aviation Administration rushed to reopen one runway at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport so that relief flights could begin.

Non-governmental organizations

A list of many NGOs posted at deadlykatrina.com

External links and sources

Disaster recovery

Live webcams

2theAdvocate.com - Traffic

Live streaming local coverage

The status of the following news feeds is subject to change.

22 minute video from WLBT 3 (NBC) news helicopter, surveying damage over coastal MS from Gulfport to Biloxi. August 30, 2005, approx 4:00 p.m. Central.

Message board thread from WWLTV.com's forums detailing webstreaming statuses of various Gulf Coast television stations

Live television coverage from WWL-TV Channel 4 (CBS) New Orleans - WMV - alternate feed via KHOU.com.
- (mms://beloint.wm.llnwd.net/beloint_khou)
Live television coverage from WWL-TV Channel 4 (CBS) New Orleans - WMV - Currently not working.
- (mms://beloint.wm.llnwd.net/beloint_wwltv)
Live television coverage from WDSU-TV Channel 6 (NBC) New Orleans - WMV - online
- (mms://a203.l1291238202.c12912.g.lm.akamaistream.net/D/203/12912/v0001/reflector:38841)
Live television coverage from WAPT-TV Channel 16 (ABC) Jackson, Mississippi - WMV - currently broadcasting footage from WDSU-TV Channel 6 above.
- (mms://a844.l1291238843.c12912.g.lm.akamaistream.net/D/844/12912/v0001/reflector:38843)
Live television coverage from WLOX-TV Channel 13 (ABC) Biloxi, MS - WMV (Station is off the air; studios heavily damaged from Katrina)
- (mms://a432.l1243132943.c12431.n.lm.akamaistream.net/D/432/12431/v0001/reflector:32943)
Live television coverage from WKRG-TV Channel 5 (CBS) Mobile, AL - WMV
- (mms://wmbcast.mgeneral.speedera.net/wmbcast.mgeneral/wmbcast_mgeneral_aug262005_1435_95518)

(The mms: URLs in parenthesis are links to the direct streams, provided for users of other operating systems than Microsoft Windows. Linux users can use the mplayer media player to play these streams. Many of the streams are being repeated for public consumption by Akamai.)

References

Government

Photos

Miscellaneous