8/31 Katrina updates at a glance

[Clio]

Today's updates from local broadcast news in reverse chronological order...

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3:52 P.M. - Chalmette man. I spent 40 hours on a roof then God sent a boat from a neighbor´s house floating by and we took it to safety.

3:52 P.M. - (AP) Gov. Kathleen Blanco has said that she wants the Superdome evacuated within two days because the situation has been worsening there. The water has been rising, the air conditioning was out and toilets were broken.

3:50 P.M. - Crying woman: "I´ll never stay for a hurricane again."

3:49 P.M. - Survivor from Chalmette: We spent two days on a roof, swam to a storefront, food was pouring out, we ate it, we drank the water. We had to do something. There´s no help.

3:48 P.M. - WASHINGTON (AP) -- From Navy ships and Army helicopters to the USNS Comfort hospital ship, the Pentagon is mobilizing possibly an unprecedented U.S. rescue-and-relief mission for areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

3:47 P.M. - Man rescued after spending night on Chalmette High School roof for two days: "It´s all gone."

3:46 P.M. - Tugboat captain: We have so little help. Send us some food and water immediately!

3:45 P.M. (AP) - Hurricane Katrina probably killed thousands of people in New Orleans, the mayor said Wednesday -- an estimate that, if accurate, would make the storm the nation´s deadliest natural disaster since at least the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

"We know there is a significant number of dead bodies in the water," and other people dead in attics, Mayor Ray Nagin said. Asked how many, he said: "Minimum, hundreds. Most likely, thousands."

The frightening estimate came as Army engineers struggled to plug New Orleans´ breached levees with giant sandbags and concrete barriers, while authorities drew up plans to clear out the tens of thousands of people left in the Big Easy and all but abandon the flooded-out city. Many of the evacuees -- including thousands now staying in the Superdome -- will be moved to the Astrodome in Houston, 350 miles away.

3:44 P.M. - Tugboat captain who rescued those in Chalmette. "Without more help, many people will die."

3:43 P.M. - Photographer Willie Wilson: Those rescued from Chalmette homes are dazed, don´t know where they are going and just asking for water and to find family members.

3:42 P.M. - Wilson: You can´t fathom it. I´ve covered tragedies around the world, never thought it would be here.

3:41 P.M. - (AP) -- With law officers and National Guardsmen focused on saving lives, looters around the city spent another day Wednesday brazenly ransacking stores for food, beer, clothing, appliances -- and guns.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco said she has asked the White House to send more people to help with evacuations and rescues, thereby freeing up National Guardsmen to stop looters.

"Once we get the 3,000 National Guardsmen here, we´re locking this place down," Mayor Ray Nagin said. "It´s really difficult because my opinion of the looting is it started with people running out of food, and you can´t really argue with that too much. Then it escalated to this kind of mass chaos where people are taking electronic stuff and all that."

Amid the chaos Wednesday, thieves commandeered a forklift and used it to push up the storm shutters and break the glass of a pharmacy. The crowd stormed the store, carrying out so much ice, water and food that it dropped from their arms as they ran. The street was littered with packages of ramen noodles and other items.

Looters also chased down a state police truck full of food. The New Orleans police chief ran off looters while city officials themselves were commandeering equipment from a looted Office Depot. During a state of emergency, authorities have broad powers to take private supplies and buildings for their use.

3:40 P.M. - WWL photographer Willie Wilson: People being rescued from Chalmette were begging for water, wanted to talk to family members. People rescued in Chalmette were ferried across to Algiers. People hot and parched from days on roof tops.

3:38 P.M. - HOUSTON (AP) -- Red Cross workers today began transforming what was once known as the Eighth Wonder of the World -- into temporary housing.

Buses will shuttle thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees from the Superdome in New Orleans to the vacant Astrodome in Houston.

Cots and blankets for up to 25-thousand people are being set up on the Astrodome floor.

Other areas of the stadium are being configured to accommodate refugees with varying needs, including a nursery. Stadium managers are working to get T-V´s and find programming to allow people to keep up with the latest news about flooded New Orleans.

The Astrodome agreement was worked out by Texas Governor Rick Perry and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco.

3:35 P.M. - Truong - Large parts of oak trees down on St. Charles Avenue near Audubon Park.

3:33 P.M. - (AP) -- The latest video from New Orleans shows apartment buildings with people crowded on balconies and roofs. Below, flood waters lap at the second floor. Two children standing on one roof held up a sign that read: "Help us."

A Blackhawk helicopter crew rescued at least eight people from a roof where, in red spray paint, was written the words "Diabetic, Heart Transplant, Need transportation."

Two-by-two, the chopper hoisted the people off the roof as the wash from its rotors blew shingles off another section of the building and caused small waves in the water below.

Other shots show people standing at windows and on balconies, some waving white towels to attract the attention of possible rescuers.

The flood waters cover everything as far as the eye can see.

In the bright sunlight, there´s a sheen caused by gasoline seeping from the underground tanks of a gas station. Three people who were standing in the bed of a flooded pickup truck later waded and swam through those waters, trying to reach safety.

3:25 P.M. - Truong: A man said he was carjacked at gunpoint. Other residents of the Uptown-area say they are afraid to leave their homes because of the lack of security.

3:18 P.M. - WWL-TV´s Thanh Truong reports the water from the Lake is rising to meet with the River in Uptown.

3:10 P.M. - (AP) President Bush flew overhead in Air Force One to assess the damage in Southeast Louisana and the Gulfport-area of Mississippi. Click here.

3:04 P.M. - Congressman William Jefferson said BET will host a telethon to raise money for the flood victims. The telethon will be Friday, September 9.

3:01 P.M. - The latest video from New Orleans shows apartment buildings with people crowded on balconies and roofs. Below, flood waters lap at the second floor. Two children standing on one roof held up a sign that read: "Help us." Click here.

2:45 P.M. - WWL-TV´s Bill Capo reports traffic moving west out of New Orleans is moving slowly but steadily. He said the Baton Rouge Airport is being used as a launchpad for Black Hawk army helicopters and Coast Guard helicopters. At one point during the trip, Capo said the helicopter pilot had to execute an emergency landing at a truck stop parking lot in order to check for mechanical problems.

2:20 P.M. - From Weezie Porter: WWL-TV Sales account executive. I evacuated with my family to Nashville. The people we are staying with have a relative in the Chateau Living Center in Kenner 716 Village Road. Their phone is working from time to time 504-464=0604. They report that all of the nurses have left, Only a few aides left there that have been working since Friday. They were supposed to be evacuated by bus but they did not show up. No medications have been given since Sunday,. 4 patients have died.

2:19 P.M. - (AP) More than 100 Tulane University students displaced by Hurricane Katrina arrived at Southern Methodist University Wednesday, including the entire football team.

2:04 P.M. - WAFB-TV video shows hundreds of people in the Uptown area near Claiborne and Napoleon, stuck in apartments and other buildings and waving for help. Helicopters are rescuing one or two at a time.

1:45 P.M. - WWL-TV´s Mike Ross says "do not come back (to Slidell and Grand Isle)."

1:39 P.M. - Hoss: Wind damage seen at the Target store on Clearview Pkwy.

1:28 P.M. - WWL-TV´s Mike Hoss said the I-10/Causeway interchange has turned into a massive first aid station. 50 ambulances are stationed there, and those who need immediate medical attention are being kept there in tents. Black Hawk helicopters and other rescue copters are constantly ferrying evacuees in to the area.

1:19 P.M. - (AP) Mayor Ray Nagin says at least hundreds of people are dead -- maybe thousands -- in New Orleans.

1:12 P.M. - WWL-TV´s Josh McElveen describes the stench coming from the bathrooms in the Superdome as horrific.

1:03 P.M. - Mayor Nagin: Medical ship on the way to New Orleans.

12:56 P.M. - Governor Blanco - Time is not on our side for stopping the levee break. There were two breaches, when we thought there was only one. Communicatiion, or lack of same caused the problem.

12:55 P.M. - MIAMI (AP) -- Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines says it is considering a federal request that the company use some of its cruise ships as emergency shelters or help in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in some other way.

12:53 P.M. - Governor Blanco - thousands still need to be rescued.

12:52 P.M. - Governor Blanco: We will rebuild.

12:51 P.M. - Governor Blanco: The magnitude of this is overwhelming.

12:15 P.M. - Army Corps: 1,200 sandbags that are 20,000 pounds each are being brought in to bridge gap...water level is no longer rising.

12:11 P.M. - Army Corps: Water has become level with the Lake in the city so no more water should flow into the city, except at high tide.

12:10 P.M. - Engineers and construction experts are at the 17th Street Canal. They´ve filled 100, 3,000 pound sandbags and are trying to drop the bags and concrete barriers into the area.

11:49 A.M. - (AP) AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas is opening its doors to hurricane refugees from neighboring Louisiana.

Texas Governor Rick Perry says he expects evacuees to start arriving within the next 24 hours at the Houston Astrodome. He says Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco asked him this morning if the Astrodome could house the 23-thousand people currently being sheltered at the Superdome in Louisiana, and he quickly agreed. He says even before the request, Texas officials had been talking about using the Astrodome as a long-term shelter for people already stranded in Texas because of the storm.

Perry says the hurricane survivors are welcome in Texas for "as long as they want to stay." Children who are sheltered at the Astrodome will be able to attend public schools in Houston. Perry says the Astrodome schedule has been cleared through December.

11:46 A.M. - WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal emergency officials are looking for two-thousand Homeland Security Department workers to volunteer for hurricane relief efforts. The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has told Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff a-thousand people are needed within 48 hours and two-thousand within a week.

11:40 - (AP) Roving bands of looters are breaking into stores in Carrollton area to get food and supplies. They´ve also stolen guns and armed themselves.

11:33 A.M. - Director Walter Maestri: We have no food or water for the evacuees. Says emergency workers have seized the food and water and drinks from Sam´s Club, Wal-Mart and other groceries for evacuees, but he said that is all gone. Says water supply is gone. More water expected, but its not there right now. Says evacuees are getting upset and harried.

11:32 A.M. - Director Walter Maestri: FEMA and national agencies not delivering the help nearly as fast as it is needed.

[Gail]

Clio, thanks for keeping us so well informed. I appreciate it!

[Amelia]

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Governor Blanco: We will rebuild.

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Seems to me (trying to remember) years ago when the mississippi was flooding terribly; that the government refused to give monies for rebuilding a town (flooded out over and over again) unless the town was moved out of the flood area. New New Orleans should also be rebuilt on high solid ground. Not in that bathtub. IMHO

[Barbara]

I have the same opinion. Amelia. My mom also said something about that too.

[Naomi]

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Amelia said:

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Governor Blanco: We will rebuild.

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New New Orleans should also be rebuilt on high solid ground. Not in that bathtub. IMHO

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The original New Orleans (French Quarter) and other areas are on higher ground. The "reclaimed swamp" surrounding areas are much lower. However, the bricks, stones, etc from the older, higher areas are very old and so much moisture will certainly leave much distruction. One thing is certain, New Orleans, Bolixie, Slidel, Kenner and other towns will never be the same.

I have now spoken with several personal friends from the area. Needless to say, their homes and business in NO & surrounding towns have been lost. Thankfully everyone and all of their families managed to evacuate the area are safe. People first, things second!

One questions that everyone is asking, where were the city busses? There are/were many very poor people living in the area. People who do not have personal transportation. Perhaps many could have been saved if they had transportation available.

[Dr. Shane]

I was warching FOXNews on Sunday and they said that many in the Superdome had been brought to the dome by City buses but the buses quit running at 6:00pm. Yes, I think the mayor will have a lot of explaining to do.

Here in the Rio Grande Valley we have an agreement with San Antonio to evacuate people to the Alamo dome. The local school districts have agreed to provide their school buses for such an evacuation. The two south-bound lanes of Hwy 281 would be made northbound lanes, allowing more people to evacuate.

The mayor has a lot of questions to answer. Why are there school and city buses still in New Orleans? Why did the buses stop running at 6:00 pm? Why weren't the inbound lanes on the interstate made outbound lanes to allow more people to leave?

And there has been talk about the funding for the levies being decreased over the past couple of years... Lack of federal funding is almost always due to poor Congressional represenation and lack of activity on the local level. The President of the US doesn't normally say, "Let's cheat this local area out of some needed funding." Congressmen and women compete with each other for their piece of the federal pie. If New Orleans lost funding it was because their representatives failed to make the case in order to keep it. It means some representative got money for a paper factory in Idaho or an airport in Iowa instead of the levies in New Orleans being improved.

[aldona]

It is good that at a time of national emergency, political differences can be put aside...

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[Naomi]

Shane,

This is one subject we on which we can all agree. There were a lot of people who did not take proper steps to prevent so much pain, destruction and such loss of life. Of you spent any time there you heard people speak of "When the Big One Hits" everyone knew nothing could stop it from happening, at sometime in the future. That was a given. Now we know ... when .

I remember when I lived on South Padre and in Rancho Vejo the emergency precautions and evaculation routes were clearly identified and well marked.

Perhaps I recall it more clearly because there were fewer people and less traffic, but I do recall signs and public service messages in Corpus and in on Galvaston. However, for the life of me, I simply can't remember noticing simular signs in New Orleans. Or, perhaps we should just say three cheers for Texas!

Naomi

[aldona]

Two Australian couples stranded in New Orleans have been rescued by an Australian TV crew.

Read the story here

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Ms Smith said it was abominable that a journalist could track down her stranded parents but the Australian and US Governments had been unable to rescue them.

"How can a news reporter get in and get someone out when the Australian embassy isn't even allowed in? It does not compute when there are lives at stake," she said.

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I think that's a good question.

aldona

[Naomi]

President Bush just came on and said "The results are unacceptable." <img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/Nixe_nixe02b.gif" alt="" />

It is obvious that the US is not prepared to handle a National emergency ... could we have delt with a national attack much different. Perhaps we should create another department to oversee the ones we created after 9/11. Now they are telling us that there are NO Confirmed reports of helicopters being shot at.

There are thugs everyplace who will take any opportunity to take advantage of a bad situation.

Is the news media playing up the dangers of the area and slowing down the process of search and rescue? If reporters can get in, why can't emergency units and personnel?

The couples from Australia will never forget New Orleans.

There was a couple from Scotland who had just arrived Sunday and last night were found trapped with some other people in a towne house they had broken into.

[Stan]

Now the question...

How soon before the lawyers come with class action suits....

[Naomi]

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Stan Jensen said:

Now the question...

How soon before the lawyers come with class action suits....

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<img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Hopefully, after the bodies are at least located. <img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/seenoevil.gif" alt="" />

[Paul Beach]

Dear person,

How about "how long until the criminal indictment of inept and probably treasonous governmental officials who neglected the people who trusted them"?

Sincerely,

Mrs. Gray

[Naomi]

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Margaret Gray said:

Dear person,

How about "how long until the criminal indictment of inept and probably treasonous governmental officials who neglected the people who trusted them"?

Sincerely,

Mrs. Gray

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Dear Mrs. Gray,

Exactly!

naomi