Hurricane Katrina

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

Hurricane Katrina was a powerful hurricane that caused extensive and severe damage over 180,000 square miles (290,000 km²) of the southeastern United States (an area larger than the United Kingdom), 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 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 region, and it may be two months before all power is restored [2].

The aftermath of the storm compounded problems. In particular, the breaching of some levees protecting New Orleans caused water to flow unabated into the city. There remains a humanitarian disaster, with many people stranded due to flooding [3]. Thirst, hunger, and lack of facilities are leading to lawlessness. [4] The federal disaster area has been placed under the control of FEMA (under Michael Chertoff) and the National Guard; despite numerous reports in the media, there is no declaration of martial law [5], because no such term exists in Louisiana state law^[6]. Rather, a state of emergency has been declared, which does give some powers similar to that of martial law. On the evening of August 31, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin did declare "martial law" (in name at least) in the city and said that "officers don't have to worry about civil rights and Miranda rights in stopping the looters." ^[7] . The disruption of petroleum supplies, exports, and imports caused by the storm will likely have major global economic consequences. There are many people going to Texas from the most affected area of New Orleans. The Superdome has been filled with refugees. They are busing people to many major cities in the U.S.

Katrina may be the deadliest hurricane in the United States since the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which killed around 8,000 (possibly up to 12,000) people. It may even surpass the deadliness of the Galveston hurricane: as of 7 PM CDT September 1, 2005, more than 20,000 are still reported missing. New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin stated on August 31 that the death toll of Katrina may be "in the thousands", which was confirmed by emergency responders through a statement by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco on September 1. It will take weeks before accurate numbers are known, but Katrina is also expected to be the costliest natural disaster in United States history, exceeding Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Effects of Katrina are seen around the U.S. For one gas prices have raised over 40 cents per US gallon (11 cent/L) during the week of this hurricane.

Storm history

Katrina was the eleventh named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Its central pressure of 915 mbar (27.02 inches Hg) at the time of its Louisiana landfall makes it the third most intense system to strike the United States in recorded history behind Camille of 1969 and the "Labor Day" hurricane of 1935.

Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 24, 2005 (at that time it was designated as "Tropical Depression Twelve") and made its first landfall near North Miami, Florida, United States the next day, 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 lowest barometric reading ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere—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, at Buras-Triumph, Louisiana, as a strong Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph (235 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/h).

Storm development

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[8].)

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.

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 [9].

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 10 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	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

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. 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. Katrina is likely to be the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. in many decades, once total casualty figures are finalized. News reports note this as being the deadliest hurricane since Hurricane Camille (which killed 256) in 1969 [10], 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 Sept. 1, 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 hurricane to have hit the United States).

Preparations and expectations before landfall

Predictions

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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 [11]. 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).

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 when Katrina came ashore [12]. 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 [13], [14], [15].

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.

Transportation and infrastructure

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 [16]. 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 [17].

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.

Effects

Main articles: Hurricane Katrina effects by region and Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans.

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 [18].

Those most affected, stranded or dead are predominately poor people of color, the sick and the elderly as those groups didn’t have the means or ability to evacuate before the storm hit.[19]

By September 2nd, NOAA had published satellite photography[20] of many of the effected regions.

Survival, looting, civil disobedience, living conditions, aftermath

These topics are covered separately in the article Effect of Hurricane Katrina on 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	7	7
	Harrison	110	110
	Hancock	85	85
	Hinds	1	1
	Jackson	14	14
	Lauderdale	1	1
	Leake	1	1
	Warren	1	1
Alabama	Washington	2	0
Georgia	Carroll	2	1
Kentucky	Christian	1	1
Ohio	Jefferson	2	0
Total		535	365

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 [21].

This view was confirmed on September 1 by U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu who said "We understand there are thousands of dead people" [22].

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.

Price gouging

File:Oilgouge2.jpg

A BP gas station in Atlanta shortly after Katrina hit.

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 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).

See Hurricane Katrina effects by region and Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans for on-going reports of rescue efforts from the storm.

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 [23]. 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" [24].

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 [25].

Internet

DirectNIC, 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 [26] 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 [27] is reporting code green for Internet attacks. Keynote Internet Health Report [28] is reporting code green for select Internet networks. The Internet Traffic Report [29] was reporting code yellow for North America. Earthlink network status [30] 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.

Humor website Fark is creating several new discussion threads every day.

Disaster relief 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. 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.

At President Bush's urging, the U.S. Senate quickly approved $10.5 billion in aid for victims. The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on the measure Friday, September 2,2005 without any debate.

Governments of many countries have offered help to the U.S. for disaster relief, inter alia the governments of France and of Germany [31].

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 aircrewman 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, calling in aircraft 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.

Navy

The United States Navy was also quick to begin Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Several ships have been dispatched to the area [32]:

Aircraft carriers
- USS Harry S. Truman (preparing to ship out)
Amphibious assault ships
- USS Bataan (arrived August 30)
- USS Iwo Jima (shipped out August 31, expected September 4)
Amphibious transport docks
- USS Shreveport (shipped out August 31, expected September 4)
Dock landing ships
- USS Tortuga (shipped out August 31, expected September 4)
- USS Whidbey Island (preparing to ship out)
Fast combat support ships
- USNS Arctic (arrived August 31)
Hospital ships
- USNS Comfort (expected September 8)
Rescue and salvage
- USS Grapple (shipped out August 31, expected September 4)

The amphibious assault ships carry CH-53 Sea Stallion and SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters which are already being used in search and rescue operations. The Harry S. Truman is planned to be used as the command center for Naval operations in the area.

The Navy has also arranged to send eight civilian 14-person Swift boat rescue teams to the disaster zone using C-5 Galaxy cargo planes.

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.

FEMA has asked the Pentagon to have the U.S. Northern Command stand ready for assistance [33].

The Canadian government has offered the full resources of the Canadian Forces to help if requested by President Bush.

The British Royal Navy has a Type 22 Frigate heading in that direction; HMS Cumberland.

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. FEMA also partnered with the Department of Transportation to send 1700 trucks of water, ice, and ready-to-eat meals. The Department of Transportation was also 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.

Local governments across the U.S. sent aid in the form of ambulances, search teams and disaster supplies. Shelters to house those displaced were established as far away as Utah.

The Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism has contacted travelers having reservations at state parks to see if the travelers will voluntarily give up their reservations to persons fleeing Katrina, primarily in the southern part of the state where refugees have already taken shelter (at Lake Chicot State Park, a 26 member family from New Orleans, including a grandmother on oxygen, have taken up seven of the park's cabins). In any event, refugees at state parks will not be evicted for prior reservations, and those with reservations but no room will either get space at another state park or a gift certificate. The state has reduced cabin fees by 20 percent, RV camping site fees by 50 %, and tent sites will be free, and has also waived the pet prohibition rules.

Arkansas Visitors Information Centers in Texarkana, El Dorado, Helena, and Lake Village are directing refugees to shelters and hotels/motels with available space.

Governor Mike Huckabee issued a proclamation releasing $75,000 of state funds to assist shelters in 14 southern and delta counties in Arkansas. At least 850 members of the Arkansas National Guard have been activated and sent to Louisiana and Mississippi. Governor Huckabee also announced that the state Departments of Health and Human Services and Emergency Management as well as the Arkansas Pharmacists Association will provide free emergency prescriptions and access to dialysis machines.

Schools and colleges in Texas, Louisiana, and even Arizona (ASU [34]) are enrolling displaced students, even out-of-state ones [35].

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross is mobilizing the largest relief effort in its 124-year history to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Local Chapters across the nation are actively mobilising thousands of volunteers for immediate deployment to the disaster region. More than 250 Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) are sent to provide food and water to victims [36].

Red Cross has also set up more than 200 shelters in the states of Texas, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, and these have already received more than 75,000 people [37]. A number of shelters have already reached capacity, and the number of refugees is expected to increase further [38].

The American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund is collecting donations from the public for the relief effort. By September 1, they had raised $24 million dollars including $15 million from private donations.

Amateur radio operators

The president of the Amateur Radio Relay League, Jim Haynie, sent a message to all amateur radio operators noting that the situation in New Orleans and other affected areas is "simply too dangerous and no one is being allowed in"[39]. Many media outlets say communications infrastructure is overloaded and destroyed in many places in the disaster area. During the storm, amateur operators gave weather reports to the National Hurricane Center in Florida using HF radio. Operators are also handling Health & Welfare messages for organizations such as the Salvation Army and Red Cross. Many amateur radio organizations are staging outside the affected area getting ready to deploy into the city and suburbs.

International response

Main article: International response to the 2005 Hurricane Katrina

Initially, the United States had been reluctant to accept donations and aid from foreign countries, particularly from those countries much poorer than itself. However, this policy was reversed, and as the reports of damage grew more grim, the United States is now on the receiving end of foreign aid. Currently, countries offering to send aid include Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, other members in NATO, Norway, the OAS, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, the UAE, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela. Sweden has also been reported to offer help, and is awaiting a reply to which forms of requested help there is from their Washington embassy.

As of September 2, the Canadian Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team is operating in the Louisiana area, co-ordinating search and rescue efforts with the state police and the National Guard [40]. Three Singaporean CH-47 Chinook helicopters and thirty-eight RSAF personnel from a training detachment based in Grand Prairie, Texas are also assisting in relief operations, operating out of Fort Polk in cooperation with the Texas Army National Guard [41].

Non-governmental organizations

Many charities immediately began fund-raising efforts on behalf of Katrina victims and survivors.

In addition to the Red Cross, numerous charity and relief organizations stepped up their activities to aid hurricane victims. The Catholic Charities activated a disaster response plan; areas outside of the disaster are providing refugee relief, and agencies located in or nearby are mobilizing to assist the needy. Operation Blessing began organizing to ship food and relief supplies into the affected areas, as it has done in disaster zones around the world before. America's Second Harvest, a food bank that operates in many communities, began coordinating efforts to ship food donations to coastal areas. The Salvation Army immediately turned its efforts to providing food and shelter where it could. Habitat for Humanity announced plans to check on all Habitat-built homes and their residents, and then turn to providing assistance to Habitat families, partners, and volunteers in need of help.

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.

Early questions were raised about proper funding for the Army Corps of Engineers, which is in charge of many hurricane-protection programs across the United States. Some early claims blamed President Bush for cutbacks in funding, but 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." Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, chief of engineers of the corps was quoted as saying, "I don't see that the level of funding was really a contributing factor in this case. Had this project been fully complete, it is my opinion that based on the intensity of this storm that the flooding of the business district and the French Quarter would have still taken place." [42]

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 were without any means of privately-owned transportation.

There are also major concerns about the Government suspending search and rescue efforts to focus on protecting businesses from looting.

External links and sources

References

Government

Federal Emergency Management Agency
Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
Mississippi Emergency Management Agency
"Unwatering New Orleans", Frequently Asked Questions from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The White House - Hurricane Katrina

Survivor contact databases

Photos/video

Donations

Katrina Relief Page - comprehensive site permitting donations to over 100 charities
Amazon.com Red Cross donation page
Network for Good's donation page

Special reports

Other

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

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	unknown	2005/09/01T2110EDT
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	2005/09/01T2123EDT
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	2005/09/01T1742EDT
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.)Free room search for Katrina victims