Hurricane Katrina

For other storms with this name, see Hurricane Katrina (disambiguation).

Hurricane Katrina was a powerful hurricane that caused extensive and severe damage over the southeastern United States, including the major city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Katrina will likely be judged as the worst natural disaster to hit the United States to date. Disaster relief plans are in operation in the affected areas.

Storm development

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

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[1].)

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 on 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 [2].

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

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. Nonetheless, on August 29 the system made landfall as a strong Category 4 hurricane at 6:15 a.m. CDT near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (235 km/h). Its lowest minimum pressure at landfall was 918 mbar, making it the third strongest hurricane on record to make landfall on the United States.

A 15 to 30 foot (5 to 9 m) storm surge came ashore on virtually the entire coastline from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to Florida. The 30 foot (10 m) storm surge recorded at Biloxi, Mississippi is the highest ever observed in America.

At 11 p.m. EDT on August 31 (0300 UTC, September 1), U.S. government weather officials announced that the center of the remnant low of what was Katrina had been completely absorbed by a frontal boundary in southeastern Canada, with no discernible circulation.

Katrina, which affected a very wide swath of land covering a good portion of northeastern North America, was last seen in the eastern Great Lakes region. Before being absorbed by the frontal boundary, Katrina's last known position was over southeast Quebec and northern New Brunswick.

The Hydrometeorological Prediction Center's last public advisory on Katrina was at 11 p.m. EDT Wed Aug 31 2005 and the Canadian Hurricane Centre's last public advisory on Katrina was at 8 a.m. EDT Wed Aug 31 2005.

Tornadoes

There were tornado reports near Adams and Cumberland counties, Pennsylvania also in Fauquier, Virginia and in Atlanta, Georgia; in White County, Georgia; at Helen, Georgia; and Mobile, Alabama.

No deaths were reported from the tornadoes, but several injuries were reported in Georgia. 500,000 chickens were killed or set free after dozens of poultry houses were damaged in Georgia.

Historical analysis

Ranking Katrina's place in the history of hurricanes depends on the measurement used. 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.

Top four most intense hurricanes since measurements began 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	918 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

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

Many estimates predict that Katrina was the costliest storm in history to strike the United States. In terms of fatalities it was the second deadliest named storm to hit the US, and may be declaired the deadliest after more casualties are discovered. Katrina also caused the first total devastation of a major American city since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fires.

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, because New Orleans is still under water and may continue to be for several months. News reports note this as being the deadliest hurricane since Hurricane Camille (which killed 256) in 1969 [3], although the total death toll from Katrina is likely to exceed Camille. The deadliest named storm in the United States was Hurricane Audrey in 1957 which officially killed 390, although up to 160 more were never accounted for. Roughly 20,000 people are still believed to be missing as of 1 September, so it is possible that this will be the most profound disaster of any kind in U.S. history. The deadliest named Atlantic storm was Hurricane Mitch, which killed over 18,000 people in Central America in 1998. The deadliest tropical cyclone on record is the 1970 Bhola cyclone, which killed at least 150,000 (some figures are closer to 500,000) people in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

Katrina has been compared with Hurricane Camille in that the 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 natural disaster to have hit the United States).

Preparations and expectations before landfall

Predictions

Template:Wikinewshas

Florida had little advance warning when Katrina strengthened from a tropical storm to a hurricane in one day, and struck southern Florida later that same day, 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 [4]. 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 "devastating" 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. (see Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans (Predictions section) and Predictions of hurricane risk for New Orleans).

Evacuation

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. Thousands of poor city residents were unable to leave the area because they lacked transportation or the means to pay for it. Nagin 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 when Katrina came ashore [5]. A National Guard official said on Thursday, September 1 that as many as 60,000 people had gathered at the Superdome for evacuation, having remained there in increasingly difficult circumstances [6], [7], [8].

Mandatory evacuations were also ordered for Assumption, Jefferson (Grand Isle and other low lying areas), 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.

Second Evacuation

After the hurricane, a second evacuation of affected areas was ordered.

There are many people going to Texas from the most affected areas of New Orleans. Most of these people are being transported, primarily by buses, to Houston (mostly to the Astrodome), as well as to San Antonio and Dallas. Others are finding their own way to Texas, only to be refused entry into the designated relief facilities, since they weren't bussed to them by authorities. The Superdome has been filled with refugees, who keep streaming to that facility from many areas of New Orleans faster than the buses can move them out of the city. The New Orleans convention center has also been filled with refugees.

Transportation and infrastructure

Hurricane Katrina on August 28.

On Sunday, August 28, Canadian National Railway (CN) suspended all rail traffic on its lines south of McComb, Mississippi (lines owned by its subsidiary 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 [9]. 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 through September 3 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 [10].

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.

Local effects

Flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans area. Image taken on August 31,2005, aboard Air Force One.

Areas affected include southern Florida, Louisiana (especially the Greater New Orleans area), Mississippi, Alabama, the western Florida Panhandle, western Georgia, the Tennessee Valley and Ohio Valley regions, the eastern Great Lakes region and the length of the western Appalachians. Over 300 deaths have been reported in seven states, a number which is expected to rise as casualty reports come in from areas currently inaccessible. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin estimates hundreds, and as many as thousands, are 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].

Those most affected, stranded or dead are predominantly poor people, the sick and the elderly as those groups didn't have the means or ability to evacuate before the storm hit.[12]

By September 2nd, NOAA had published satellite photography[13] of many of the affected regions.

Survival, looting, civil unrest, living conditions, aftermath

These topics are covered separately in the articles Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina effects by region for areas outside New Orleans.

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	50	5
	Livingston	1	1
	Orleans	100+	100
	St. Bernard	130	30
	St. Tammany	4	1
	Tangipahoa	8	0?
Mississippi	Forrest	10	10
	Harrison	126	126
	Hancock	85	85
	Hinds	1	1
	Jackson	14	14
	Lauderdale	1	1
	Leake	1	1
	Pearl River	17	17
	Warren	1	1
Alabama	Washington	2	0
Georgia	Carroll	2	1
Kentucky	Christian	1	1
Ohio	Jefferson	2	0
Total		571+	401+
Number Missing		20,000+

The confirmed death toll reported in various regions is given in the chart on the right. These are confirmed deaths from local news agencies.

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 and restoring order, 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 [14].

This view was confirmed on September 1 by U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu who said "We understand there are thousands of dead people" [15].

In a press conference broadcast live on 4WWL at 1915 UTC on September 1 Governor Kathleen Blanco said that thousands of deaths were believed to have occurred in New Orleans. The FEMA representative said that they have brought in a deployable morgue.

Health concerns

Aside from the lack of water, food, shelter, and sanitation facilities, 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 West Nile virus, St. Louis Encephalitis, tuberculosis, hepatitis A, cholera and typhoid fever, all related to the growing contamination of food and drinking water supplies in the area. The longer these people are stranded in the searing heat the more will perish from the aforementioned causes. 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. There is concern the chemical plants and refineries in the area could have released their contents into the flood waters. People who suffer from allergies or lung disorders, such as asthma, will have health complications due to toxic mold and airborne irritants. In Gulfport, Mississippi, several hundred tons of chicken and uncooked shrimp were washed out of their containers at the nearby harbor and could have contaminated the water table.

Price hiking

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. The three major networks' nightly news programs have shown images of a BP gas station selling gasoline for over $6.00 per US gallon ($1.59/L), close to British fuel prices. Another BP station in Stockbridge, Georgia, south of Atlanta, was selling gas at $5.87 per US gallon ($1.55/L) within a day after Katrina hit. Gas prices in the U.S. just prior to Katrina were in the range of $2.50 per US gallon ($0.66/L).

Effects outside the affected region

Economic effects

Most experts anticipated Katrina to be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Some early predictions in damages exceeded $100 billion, not accounting for potential catastrophic damage inland due to flooding (which would increase the total even more), or damage to the economy caused by potential interruption of oil supply, and exports of commodities such as grain. Other predictions placed the minimum insured damage at around $12.5 billion (the insured figure is normally doubled to account for uninsured damages in the final cost). There are also effects on ocean shipping, the casino industry and tourism.

Space Shuttle program

The hurricane has passed over the Michoud Assembly Facility and materially interrupted the production of external tanks for the Space Shuttle, leading to a further interruption of the shuttle flights [16]. 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" [17].

The Michoud Assembly Facility will remain closed until at least September 6, but it might take several weeks to restore power, communications and other utilities. It's also uncertain how soon workers will be able to return. Plans to ship three tanks -- including the one for NASA's next mission -- back to Michoud for retrofitting are on indefinite hold. The next Shuttle flight, STS-121, could be postponed to May or later during the second half of 2006 [18].

Internet

Technology for All [19] is setting up technology centers for Internet access in the Astrodome. There are also reports that SBC and TMobile are installing and providing free wifi access in the Astrodome. [20]

DirectNIC [21], run by Intercosmos Media Group, is one of the largest ___domain name registrars and is based out of New Orleans. They are still up and running through the use of diesel power generators and have made several arrangements to resupply fuel to their generator. They are currently running a very popular blog that is documenting things that are happening around them, including pictures of the New Orleans aftermath, with a link to a webcam showing part of the Central Business District on Poydras St.

The effects of the storm disrupted the OC-12 Abilene Network [22] Internet2 link between Houston and Atlanta, as well as some of DirectNIC's many high-speed connections. The staff on site are working to restore more upstream connectivity, as well as internet access to local municipal organizations.

As of September 1 2005, Sans Infocon [23] is reporting code green for Internet attacks. Keynote Internet Health Report [24] is reporting code green for select Internet networks. The Internet Traffic Report [25] was reporting code yellow for North America. Earthlink network status [26] reports that DSL is unavailable in New Orleans. Perhaps one of the more interesting sets of status information is Googling New Orleans and checking the reachability of the top 20 websites. On September 1, 25% were unreachable, 20% were impaired, and 55% remained reachable.[27] The NO Visitor's Bureau [28] reports "There is virtually total internet disruption as well, as locally hosted servers and routers have gone down with the loss of primary and backup power. Only those hotels with corporate housed servers in other cities have any internet possibility."

Cybertelecom.org has established a webpage to collect data on the status of and impact on the Internet. [29].

Disaster relief response

A National Guard truck brings relief supplies to the Superdome.

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. More than 11,000 Army and Air National Guardsmen and 7,200 active-duty troops are currently stationed in the Gulf Coast region to assist with hurricane relief operations. An additional 10,000 USNG troops are currently in the process of being called up and are expected to join the relief efforts shortly.

The military relief effort, known as Joint Task Force Katrina, is being commanded by LTG Russel L. Honore of the US First Army.

At President Bush's urging, the U.S. Senate quickly approved $10.5 billion in aid for victims September 1, 2005. The U.S. House of Representatives voted and approved on the measure Friday, September 2 2005 without any debate. This is said to be only the intial aid package.

Governments of many countries have offered help to the U.S. for disaster relief, inter alia the governments of France and of Germany [30].

In addition to asking for federal funds, President Bush has enlisted the help of former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush to raise additional voluntary contributions, much as they did after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

Criticism

Criticism of governmental response has grown as the media reports continued to show hunger and lack of aid. More than two and a half days after the hurricane struck, police, health care and other emergency workers began to voice concerns in the media about the absence of National Guard troops in the city for search and rescue missions and control of widespread looting (3,000 members of the Louisiana National Guard's 256th Brigade are currently on a tour of duty in Iraq), the failure to immediately evacuate or resupply New Orleans area hospitals, and the lack of a visible FEMA presence in the city and surrounding area. President Bush made an observational flyover in Air Force One on August 31.

Many critics have noted that while the local government gave the order to evacuate the city before the storm hit, they did not provide the means for people to get out. The Evacuation was mainly left up to individual citizens to find their own way out of the city. Officials did not take into account that New Orleans has the lowest percentage of people with cars of any major city in the United States (lower than even (New York City), nor did they take into account the fact that New Orleans has one of the highest poverty rates in the United States (at about 38%). These factors prevented many people from being able to evacuate on their own. Consequentially most of those stranded in the city are the poor, the elderly, and the sick. [31][32]

Questions have been raised about proper funding for the Army Corps of Engineers, which is in charge of many hurricane-protection programs across the United States. In February 2005 U.S. President George W. Bush proposed cutting the Corps budget by 7%, in 2004 he proposed a 13% cut.[33]However corps officials stated that a decrease in funding was not to blame. The levees themselves were only designed to protect New Orleans from a Category 3 hurricane and that this decision was made by the corps decades ago "based on a cost-benefit analysis" said Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, chief of engineers of the corps.[34]Though the levee system as a whole had yet to be completed, those that failed, most notably the 17th Street Canal, had already been completed.

The 2004 hurricane season was the worst in decades. In spite of that, the federal government came back in the spring of 2005 with the steepest reduction in hurricane and flood-control funding for New Orleans in history. Because of the proposed cuts, the Corps office there imposed a hiring freeze. Officials said that money targeted for the SELA project was reduced to $10.4 million, down from $36.5 million. [35] The money would have gone into funding studies about the feasibility of upgrading the current levees to withstand Category 4 and 5 Hurricanes instead of just Category 3.

Another major criticism is that the mandatory evacuation called on August 28 made no provisions to evacute homeless or low-income and carless households, as well as large numbers of elderly and the infirm. In 2000, a census revealed that 27% of New Orleans households, amounting to approximately 120,000 people, were without privately-owned transportation.

There are also major concerns about the Government suspending search and rescue efforts to focus on protecting businesses from looters. U.S. President George W. Bush has said that saving lives should come first but he and the local New Orleans Government have also stated that they will have "zero tolerance for looter". White House press secretary Scott McClellan said on Wednesday September 1st that looters should not even be allowed to take anything even food, water or shoes. [36]

On Friday September 2 the Mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin was livid about the response thus far given the seriously deteriorating conditions there and said that State and federal agencies were "thinking small" in the face of a massive crisis [37]. A New Orleans police officer described the conditions to be like Somalia saying "It's a war zone, and they're not treating it like one". Officers have been giving up after working days straight with little or no support. The convention center conditions were described as appalling an has become surrounded by refuse, human feces and even corpses. The downtown Charity hospital has had a number of critically ill patients die as a result of delays in evacuations. Federal officials were apparently unaware of the conditions in central New Orleans until late Thursday (1 September). The flooding of New Orleans occurred after the worst of Hurricane Katrina's fury had been spent and the storm itself moved further North, which caught officials off guard. The destruction wrought by Katrina, and the flooding thereafter, severely damaged the roads and other infrastructure needed to deliver relief.

Once officials became aware of the conditions at the convention center a small amount of basic food supplies were diverted there by helicopter, but there were no large-scale deliveries until a truck convoy arrived at midday on Friday, September 2, due to the damage incurred by the still present flood and the attacks on those who have attempted to deliver aid. Federal officials have also underestimated the number of people converging on the convention center. Even as refugees are evacuated, more are arriving every hour. [38]

External links and sources

References
- NOAA Katrina Archive
  - The Most Intense Hurricanes in the United States 1851-2004
- Weather Channel

Government

Disaster recovery

Other

Live streaming local coverage

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

WWL 850 AM
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 - (link repaired)

Station	Ntwk	Home City	Broadcast from	HTTP link	Status	as of
Direct (mms:) Windows Media URL
Comments
WDSU-6	NBC	N.O.	Jackson MS (WAPT), Orlando FL (WESH)	WMV	working	2005/09/02T1634EDT
mms://a845.l1291238844.c12912.g.lm.akamaistream.net/D/845/12912/v0001/reflector:38844
WDSU anchors at WAPT and WESH; alternating orig; local simulcast on WPXL-49
WWL-4	CBS	N.O.	Baton Rouge LA (KLPB-PBS)	WMV	working	2005/09/01T2100EDT
mms://beloint.wm.llnwd.net/beloint_wwltv -- Backup WMV
broadcasting from transmitter; newsgathering at KLPB
WKRG-5	CBS	Mobile AL	own studio	(none)	working	2005/09/02T1637EDT
mms://wmbcast.mgeneral.speedera.net/wmbcast.mgeneral/wmbcast_mgeneral_aug262005_1435_95518
on-air from own studio, apparently
WLOX-13	ABC	Biloxi MS	Off-air	(none)	down	2005/09/02T1636EDT
mms://a432.l1243132943.c12431.n.lm.akamaistream.net/D/432/12431/v0001/reflector:32943
major damage to station; off-air completely

(The mms: URLs 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.)