Katrina may have killed 80 in Miss. county

HOLBROOK MOHR
Associated Press

GULFPORT, Miss. - Rescuers in boats and helicopters searched for survivors of Hurricane Katrina and brought victims, wet and bedraggled, to shelters Tuesday as the extent of the damage across the Gulf Coast became ever clearer. The governor said the death toll in one Mississippi county alone could be as high as 80.

"The devastation down there is just enormous," Gov. Haley Barbour said on NBC's "Today" show, the morning after Katrina howled ashore with winds of 145 mph and engulfed thousands of homes in one of the most punishing storms on record in the United States.

Barbour said there were unconfirmed reports of up to 80 deaths in Harrison County - which includes devastated Gulfport and Biloxi - and the number was likely to rise. At least five other deaths across the Gulf Coast were blamed on Katrina.

"We know that there is a lot of the coast that we have not been able to get to," the governor said. "I hate to say it, but it looks like it is a very bad disaster in terms of human life."

Tree trunks, downed power lines and trees, and chunks of broken concrete in the streets prevented rescuers from reaching victims. Swirling water in many areas contained hidden dangers. Crews worked to clear highways. Along one Mississippi highway, motorists themselves used chainsaws to remove trees blocking the road.

Officials said it could be a week or more before many of the evacuees are allowed back. They warned people against trying to return to their homes while the rescue and recovery are still going on.

"What we're doing is trying to make the best of a bad situation, and we need people to cooperate," New Orleans Police Chief Eddie Compass said.

More than 1,600 Mississippi National Guardsmen were activated to help with the recovery, and the Alabama Guard planned to send two battalions to Mississippi.

In New Orleans, residents who had ridden out the brunt of Katrina faced another, delayed threat: rising water. Failed pumps and levees sent water from Lake Pontchartrain coursing through the streets Tuesday in the Big Easy, which sits mostly below sea level.

Rising water forced one New Orleans hospital to move patients to the Louisiana Superdome, where some 10,000 people had taken shelter, authorities said.

In downtown New Orleans, streets that were relatively clear in the hours after the storm were filled with 1 to 1 1/2 feet of water Tuesday morning. Water was knee-deep around the Superdome. Canal Street was literally a canal. Water lapped at the edge of the French Quarter.

Little islands of red ants floated in the gasoline-fouled waters through downtown. The Hyatt Hotel and other high-rise around the Superdome had rows and rows of shattered windows.

"We know that last night we had over 300 folks that we could confirm were on tops of roofs and waiting for our assistance. We pushed hard all throughout the night. We hoisted over 100 folks last night just in the Mississippi area. Our crews over New Orleans probably did twice that," Capt. Dave Callahan of the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mississippi said on ABC.

National Guardsmen brought in people from outlying areas to the Superdome in the backs of big 2 1/2-ton Army trucks. Louisiana's wildlife enforcement department also brought people in on the backs of their pickups. Some were wet, some were in wheelchairs, some were holding babies and nothing else.

Read the rest here...

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/12508263.htm

www.sunherald.com is one of the local coast papers in MS.

We've heard from our LA/MS sisters from Ole Miss. They are all safe. So, my day has been made very happy.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images3/...uePJ01_580.jpg
Seems that these are the same people from Dvyne's post...being rescued. (Photo by: Eric Gay / Associated Press (8/30/2005))

http://www.post-gazette.com/images3/...uePJ02_580.jpg
Photo by: Eric Gay / Associated Press (8/30/2005)
http://www.post-gazette.com/images3/...acPJ34_580.jpg

Photo by: William Colgin, Mississippi Press-Register via / Associated Press (8/30/2005)
Residents of Moss Point, Miss., make their way to safety after Hurricane Katrina passed thorugh yesterday.

(ave maria...those poor people...the poor dog looks terrified too.)

Katrina is a slore.

In my parent's town of Pass Christian, MS if you didn't leave the police department made you sign a waiver that said you understood if something should happen that emergency teams might not be able to get to you. Some people just don't leave. I know some of my parents friends who went through Betsy in 65 and Camille in 69 didn't want to leave be/c they felt they could handle Katrina. They did leave though so that was good. They are in Starkville, MS.

Levy breaking?
 

A friend of mine from Auburn just told me that the news is reporting that some of the Levys in New Orleans are breaking/have broken = massive flooding...anyone confirm?

I was discussing this with my friend who lives in Florida last night. She said many people don't evacuate during hurricanes because often you can't get back to your house for several days (too much standing water, bridges being out, etc.). In that time, houses sometimes get looted by undesireables who have also stayed behind. Her dad didn't evacuate last fall during Ivan (?) for that very reason. Not always logical, but there you go...

Re: Levy breaking?
 

Yep. 80% of the city is flooded. There are also reports of bodies floating in the water.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/3...ina/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/3...ans/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/

I'm just sick to my stomach right now. Although my family is safe, there are tons of people, neightbors, etc. that aren't. :(

I have heard of unconfirmed reports that the Levee in midtown (near Lake Ponchatrain) is out. That is near my highschool, Mt. Carmel Academy.

Check out these websites:

www.nola.com

www.wwltv.com
they have information about the levees.

www.sunherald.com


ETA: Break in 17th Street Canal Levee is now 200 feet wide and slowly flooding the City of New Orleans. Huge sand bags are being airlifted to try to stem the rush of water in that area. The expectations are that the water will not stop until it reaches lake level.

Fuck the valueables. They can all be replaced. Lives cant.

People that stay behind for that shit are just greedy. Either insure the hell outta your stuff, or take what ya can if ya cant afford insurance. If ya cant afford insurance, ya probably dont have that much stuff to take. Either way a damn TV and computer and stereo arent worth a life. You can take my shit. I'll be with friends and family and have the important stuff with me.

Precident is a fools exercise. I cant believe people think that because their house survived a previous storm it will survive the next one. Each storm is different. Each hurricane that hit florida last summer was different. It always amazes me that people think they can one up nature. WHen the mayor of NOLA told the people who were staying to take an axe with them so they could chop their way out of their attics when trapped, that should have been enough to get them to leave. But I guess not.

All my friends got out and are chilling in Houston.

I think part of human nature is to think "It won't happen to me". We see it when members of our orgs haze or drink insane amounts of alcohol. We see it when there are hurricane evacuations. We see it when people choose to ride motorcycles without helmets or drive without their seat belts. We tend to take our chances, even if we've been warned. And, if we didn't take SOME chances, we'd be homebound and fearful all the time. There are times that we have tornado warnings that people all rush outside to "see what's going on" instead of heading back to the basement as we should. There are people who do extreme sports which are quite dangerous.

You wouldn't catch me staying in a situation like that though!

I hear ya lifesaver - there is NO AMOUNT of crap that would make me stay. We have tornados here all the time so I an emergency kit, but I wouldn't risk my life to go back and get that either!

My company has operations in all affected areas and right now, they are trying to account for all employees - everyone that left is accounted for . They made those that stayed (to take care of elderly/invalid family members) leave contact info and so far, they can't account for everyone.

Jefferson Parish President: Residents will probably be allowed back in town in a week, with identification only, but only to get essentials and clothing. You will then be asked to leave and not come back for one month.
from www.wwltv.com

I just recieved pictures in my .mil address showing (what used to be) Keesler AFB. It's devastating. My prayers are with everyone on the gulf coast.

PLEASE DONATE TO THE AMERICAN RED CROSS DISASTER RELIEF FUND...this is the biggest disaster relief operation the American Red Cross has ever attempted.

1-800-HELP-NOW
www.redcross.org

If you are in the affected areas and need help, call 1-866-GET-INFO

Right...the times we've had to evacuate, the photos and important papers come, and that's it. Everything else can be replaced.

Some pics are online on the eDodo Rumor Mill (it's an online community of Air Force Academy grads, former cadets and a small but vocal community of current and former AF enlisted)... http://www.edodo.org/rumormill/viewtopic.php?t=10211

Keesler sure got royally bitch-slapped by Katrina...

Has anyone ever gone and participated in a clean-up after a disaster like this? I'm assuming there are ways to volunteer to go down there and work, but I'm wondering how long it would take before they would start letting non-military and non-emergency personnel in to help.

I'm a Red Cross Disaster Volunteer and have helped after disasters before, though admittedly, on a much smaller scale (this is the largest disaster the American Red Cross has ever responded to - bigger than Huricanne Andrews, bigger than 9/11).

Truthfully, the best thing you can do is to donate money. The Red Cross has trained volunteers they are sending from all over the country to help out, whether it be to serve food, work in a shelter, or the thousands of other jobs and the countless logistics of it. You can also donate blood...thousands of units are needed that the Red Cross doesn't have, and you can save up to three lives with every donation.

Call your local Red Cross chapter and ask how you can help. The Red Cross has regional callcenters throughout the nation, one might be in your town, and you might be able to help by answering the phone when people call 866-GET-INFO. There are countless of other jobs you can do in your community that while not being directly in support of the disaster relief operations, frees someone else up that can.

From: www.wwltv.com

6:41 P.M. - Efforts to stop the levee break at the 17th Street Canal have ended unsuccessfully and the water is expected to soon overwhelm the pumps in that area, allowing water to pour into the east bank of Metairie and Orleans to an expected height of 12-15 feet.

7:59 P.M. - Mayor Nagin: Pumps at 17th street canal has failed and water will continue pouring into the city. Nine feet of water is expected on St. Charles Avenue that will be nine feet high. Water is expected to spread throughout the east bank of Orleans and possibly Jefferson Parish.

Good god....I feel SOOOO helpless and small reading this, and I don't live in NO, and I don't think I really know anyone in/from NO. Last time I was there was in 1998 or 99 I think.

I just keep thinking..."The city is filling up with water...there's nothing we can do...get out." I can fathom someone saying "Hey, the basement is flooding...we can't stop it...better run now..." but an entire city???

:( :( :( :(
PsychTau

My aunt lives in Metairie

I got so angry at people in my classes today who were bitching about the rain we've gotten in Ohio from the hurricane. I mean seriously, think of everyone who has died or lost family members and property.

I'm in OH too and I honestly didn't think the rain would reach as far north as it did. I'm in Porrtage county. They say the rain won't stop until around 5pm tomorrow. But it's better than having my entire city submerged and nowhere to go . :(

I have a friend who is from Gulfport. Although he and his family are safe (they packed themselves, the cat and the dog and got the heck outta Dodge), whatever they packed into their car may well be all they have left. :(

it's just gotten sadder and sadder as the day progressed. and it wasn't even a direct hit, so they say.
i was so hoping by afternoon one of the bar owners would be on camera saying -- OK time to get back to business. not happening right now.
sigh!

Now that the levee has broken and everything in the city will be flooded. They are saying they will have to evacuate everyone left there for the month it takes for them to get basic services restored. Who would have thought we'd be in a situation where one of Americas larger cities (1 million in the area or so) would have to be completely evacuated and not because of a terrorist attack.

I hope we learn from this because it will happen again because of a hurricane or somehwere on the west coast in an earthquake. Hopefully we'll learn how to evacuate a large city and keep everyone safe and comfortable.

It's tragic tho. Much like 9/11, I cant watch the news anymore.

I remember the devastation Iniki caused on Kauai in 1992 and how difficult it was to see pictures of the island, knowing that my uncle's house was no more.

This is nothing like it.

Watching CNN and seeing pictures of New Orleans, reminiscing about how I walked down those streets -- even seeing the Olive Garden Kalin and I ate at the day I flew in, torn to pieces.

I helped out on the res floor today, speaking with a woman trying to fly out of Seattle. When I asked where she was flying to, she said "HOME, but I don't know where. I have nothing left in New Orleans."

BROKE MY HEART.

Same here. I was bitching for a while, until I stopped and had a wakeup call to myself.

I think the one thing from the news that disgusts me is watching the disaster and seeing the human filth exploiting the disaster - ie. looters.

You'd think or hope that a disaster of this magnitude would bring people together, a community pulling together to help each other out in order to get through the disaster. But no, on the news I have seen numerous instances of looters brazenly taking from others, stealing what little some people have left.

I'm hoping that the National Guard and military get in there to not only rescue people, but to restore order...

>>> Anyone know what the US military's policy regarding looting in an Aid to Civil Authority deployment is? For example would the looters be given a warning shot after a verbal warning? Or do they have a no warning shot policy (well other than the shot that kills the first looter) when it comes to looting or mobs like the Canadian or the UK military?

I'm still waiting to hear word on family in Gulfport; I'm figuring (and hoping) they got out of town well ahead of things.

While I don't condone looting at all, there's a huge difference with ransacking the local Winn-Dixie versus the NikeTown down the street.

You know...if I was caught in a situation like what is going on in NO and mississippi...I can't say that I wouldn't think about looting for food. Most of the people who are looting had very little to nothing to begin with, now theyre saying it will be a month to repair everything, there's no water, no power, and the police are busy doing other things... I saw on CNN last night that the police held off some looters at a Walgreens so that they could take stuff out of the store to a shelter...and then they let the looters have at it. If I was a mother, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Take what the kids and I need, and go.

let the flaming commence.

That could have some merit if they were just taking food and water - or other food stuffs that would perish anyway. It's the looting of electronics and the Athlete's Foot store that seems ridiculous. Besides the criminality fo it, what do these people think they are going to do with 50 pairs of Nikes and a new tv? It can't go up with them in the helicopter basket.

Yeah, as someone said, there is a difference between looting for food, water, medical supplies vs Polo shirts.

The sad part is that these people are are looting luxury items, don't even realize that there is no place for them to wear, much less store that mess - not to mention the fact that they are going to die because they are focused on getting crap (electronics, washer n dryer, etc.) versus trying leaving the city.

I still can't believe that NO is basically underwater.

As they area already talking about how they will rebuild and New Orleans will rise again, part of me wonders whether that's a smart idea. Unless they can come up with a levee that can handle a Cat 5, then they are just setting themselves up to go through this again. Maybe that's doomsday thinking on my part, but the last couple years have seen so many records when it comes to hurricanes, and NO is so particularly vulnerable, that I worry that as soon as they get things resembling some sense of normalcy, they will face another storm like this.

I was feeling that way about the news too, especially when I woke up at 4 am to use the restroom and ended up watching CNN for another hour. Then the thought crossed my mind... At least I can just turn off the TV. These people are living this. They can't just change the channel and have it all go away. What an incredible tragedy.

Dee

Hi Everyone:

Some bad news. My parents house is gone in Pass Christian. My parents have filed the insurance claim. We are safe and so is everyone in my family so that's all that matters. For now they will stay with me in Oxford, MS until they can go back to see where the house use to be. We have lots of support from friends around the country and of course, my lovely AOII sisters, so I know we can get through this.

-OleMissGlitter

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