I will be updating this post throughout the day. As you will see below, conditions are rapidly deteriorating in New Orleans.
(8/30/05, 12:30pm)
It looks like I breathed my sigh of relief way too soon.
Reader Kate demands a take-back, and she’s right:
Kate herself has been doing an excellent job covering the catastrophe. This post, in which she explains why New Orleans is so vulnerable, is especially instructive.
Elsewhere, she points to this Times-Picayune forum, which contains heart-wrenching messages like this:
In the comments to my post on Katrina resources, Kate made an important point:
The Washington Post is doing an excellent job of covering the aftermath of the hurricane. These photos come from its gallery of images:
This article contains sobering news:
[snip]
The damage to the 17th Street Canal and its levee means that the water from Lake Pontchartrain is now free to flow down to inundate hundreds of thousands of homes and other buildings here.
Once it flows in, the water will not drain from New Orleans because of the very levees that protect the city and that largely held during the hurricane. Those levees, built to keep water out, are now keeping the water in, and reports from across the city indicate that water levels are rising.
Conditions in the Superdome also seem to be worsening:
As many as 10,000 people took shelter in the Superdome starting Sunday when Nagin ordered the mandatory evacuation of the city. As the hurricane struck Monday morning, the high winds tore off much of the outer skin covering the Superdome’s 9.7-acre roof and punched two holes clear through it, allowing rainwater to leak in.
By Tuesday, bathrooms were filthy, trash barrels were overflowing and stadium aisles and steps were slick with humidity because of the lack of air conditioning since the power failed during Katrina’s onslaught. Under those conditions, some of the refugees were allowed to take their bedding out onto the concourse to cool off and breathe some fresh air.
More to come as I find it. If you know of other resources, please post them in the comments.
Updates:
1:55 pm: Where to Donate
Metroblogging New Orleans continues to provide coverage.
Hurricane Katrina Help Wiki has a great list of links. It also has this insane shot of the hurricane from space:
2pm: Idyllopus has a set of links to sites providing live coverage from Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. I know I’ve been concentrating on New Orleans to the exclusion of other areas affected by Katrina. . .
Idyllopus points out that the situation we worried about — the toxic gumbo — is coming to pass:
“The water is not just trouble, it is toxic.”
2:56pm: Daily Kos post:
IT’S OVER FOR NEW ORLEANS. Please donate.
Smith said martial law has been declared, and all journalists have been ordered out of the city. The situation is getting exponentially worse, there are no resources, it is only going to become more and more “impossible to sustain life” in New Orleans. There are people dying there right now, trapped by the rising floodwaters — up to approximately 87,000 people, according to the mayor’s own (obviously rough) estimate. The worst-case scenario is unfolding, and New Orleans will be uninhabitable for the foreseeable future.
UPDATE: As posted in comments, WWLTV is reporting that Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish are under martial law and the floodwaters are expected to rise to lake level.
UPDATE 2: The mayor has now ordered an emergency evacuation of the entire city. Important to note: Mayor Nagin estimated that about 80% of the city’s 485,000 people evacuated before the storm. That has to be a very rough estimate and HOPEFULLY VERY LOW. If about 20% of the residents are still in the city, that’s approximately 97,000 people. Only 9,000 or so are at the Superdome, and only several hundred have been rescued from their homes. That leaves about 87,000+ trapped in homes rapidly flooding with toxic water, with no food or water or way to get out.
UPDATE 3: Bush is finally canceling his vacation and speeches in front of hand-picked audiences and returning to Washington as the enormity of this disaster becomes clear. Somebody apparently told him it’s time to look like he’s in charge again.
UPDATE 4: Conditions at the Superdome are drastically deteriorating. Local reporter on scene tells CNN a man intentionally jumped to his death from the second level balcony in the dome. Water is rising around the dome, as victims with serious injuries are brought to the dome where they could soon be trapped.
UPDATE 5: There are numerous reports of rampant “looting” in the city, but given the extreme life-or-death nature of these conditions, the vast majority of the thousands still in New Orleans are certainly just desperately grabbing any food, water and supplies they can get to stay alive.
UPDATE 6: Jeanne Meserve on CNN reports it is now estimated 15,000-20,000 people are at the Superdome. Rescuers are bringing victims to the dome, which is still above but surrounded by rising water. Hopefully the mayor was way off on his guess that nearly 97,000 people were in New Orleans when the storm hit yesterday.
3:15: New Orleans television station WWLTV is providing updates as they come in:
2:00 P.M. - Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi says “this is going to be the most expensive natural disaster that’s hit the United States in history.”
4pm:: From the Times-Picayune forum:
by JenNZach, 8/30/05 15:28 ET
Received a message that there are 500 people stranded in the Park Plaza hotel at 1500 Canal Street. Please send this to someone who can help!
2395. I have news from Lakeview
by jimboIII, 8/30/05 15:58 ET
Just talked to a friend of mine at West End Blvd and Harrison Avenue. 10 foot of water in street, 7 foot at doorsteps. He is in a canoe trying to make it to his home on Lakefront. Many boats in area performing rescues.
2396. 4002 Dale St & Chef Menteur (Entire family in New Orleans)
by mzdiva2u, 8/30/05 15:58 ET
Hello, I am very worried about my mother who was in her home during the hurricane. She has a neighbor who is unable to work and I am very concerned. If anyone can provide any information I would be greatly appreciative. I am aware that this location was one of the heaviest hit…but many residents have been rescued??? Any info..Please HELP…My entire family is in NEw Orleans!!!
This is bringing back memories of being in New York on September 11th.
4:20pm: More from Kate:
There is little news coming out of the city because everyone is being asked to evacuate, including journalists. WWL is broadcasting on all bands of FM now according to Fox News (which, surprisingly, is the only cable station talking about the true devastation of this). The mayor is sending messages to the press who then try to get the word out to residents. There are many residents who no doubt have no idea what is happening around them, because they do not have electricity and no battery-operated radios. They only know what they can see around them. Looting is taking place, which is probably good. If residents can get food and drink to sustain them for a while, that is better than going without.
This is a disaster of epic proportions.
4:30pm: American Progress Action Fund has a long page detailing the political decisions that put New Orleans in the position it’s in right now. It’s very detailed and informed, but I think it’s also ill-advised, from a political standpoint.
At the same time, with every news organization trumpeting the fact that Bush is ending his five-week vacation two-days early, maybe some analysis of the decisions he has made is warranted.
4:50pm: I don’t have cable, so I’ve been spared the cable networks’ coverage of this catastrophe. I’m happy to have avoided some of the low lights (hat tips: Rowhouse Logic, Blinq). But I’m tired of the local coverage about what Tropical Depression Katrina will do to Philly weather this weekend.
I’m also trying to get my head and heart around the CNN interview with a man who had just lost his wife, which can be found halfway down this page.
5:15pm: More from WWLTV
3:53 P.M. - N.O. Mayor Nagin: Priorities - 1. Rescuing people. 2. Fixing levee breaks. 3. Taking care of refugees in Superdome and hospitals.
3:43 P.M. - Senator Vitter: New Orleans will “absolutely” be rebuilt.
3:25 P.M. - With conditions in the hurricane-ravaged city of New Orleans rapidly deteriorating, Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Tuesday that people now huddled in the Superdome and other rescue centers need to be evacuated.
“The situation is untenable,” Blanco said during a news conference. “It’s just heartbreaking.”
10:45pm: From WWLTV:
11:21pm: Just found this: Live streaming coverage from New Orleans.
11:25pm: Idyllopus has provided continued coverage throughout the night.
12:43am: Hurricane Katrina Wiki
1:10:am From The Heretik:
There are well over a 1200 people still in the Tenet Memorial Hospital on Napoleon in New Orleans. Predictions are that flood waters will continue to rise to another 9 feet tonight. Latest info is that they have started helicoptering out people, but verY small numbers, less than 100 since 1 pm. Giving you this update because we may have no electricity before long. Our phone numbers are 504.897.4531 and 504.897.4530, we cannot call out. Feel free to call us or give numbers to media to call us. They are estimating that it may take several days to evacuate these people - water electricity food security all will be gone by then.
Please help by notifying the press and the government. People are hoping that friends around the country can help out. Thanks for giving people hope.
Peace, Bill Quigley
1:12am: The live streaming coverage from Local 6 is incredible. It presents voices from the area rather than talking heads on a national network.
1:15am: Jesus:
Children’s Hospital under seige
Tuesday, 11:45 p.m.
Late Tuesday, Gov. Blanco spokeswoman Denise Bottcher described a disturbing scene unfolding in uptown New Orleans, where looters were trying to break into Children’s Hospital.
Bottcher said the director of the hospital fears for the safety of the staff and the 100 kids inside the hospital. The director said the hospital is locked, but that the looters were trying to break in and had gathered outside the facility.
The director has sought help from the police, but, due to rising flood waters, police have not been able to respond.
Bottcher said Blanco has been told of the situation and has informed the National Guard. However, Bottcher said, the National Guard has also been unable to respond.
8/31/05
1:35pm: Vaughn of The Liberal Revolt tells his story:
We don’t know when we will be able to go back home. We don’t know if we have a home.
I will keep you posted.
23 Comments on "Atlantis"
albert:
that first image is absolutely shocking
Kate:
It actually could not have been worse, frankly. I don’t know how they are going to get all of these people out of the city. They have to be evacuated. Things will get worse. Now the mayor estimates the best case would have the city flooded for two weeks. No electricity for months, let alone other infrastructure. How will those who did leave earn a living? Where will they live? How will they survive? And all these questions on top of the most pressing, which is how do they help those who are still in the city right now? I heard a report from the Superdome that over 30,000 people are there now, with no running water and blocked up sewers. There are countless people requiring medical attention. It’s a tragedy of epic proportions.
Matt:
I think you’re right, Kate. The initial relief that New Orleans escaped a direct hit might have slowed relief efforts. The situation is getting worse by the minute. But all of the broadcast television stations here are still showing soap operas (I don’t have cable).
Suzy Shedd:
Matt, I appreciate the way you’ve brought all this coverage together even thought the cumulative effect is horrifying beyond belief. No matter what we figure out to do (and I can’t believe New Orleans will be rebuildable when we know the full scope of the devastation), we’re talking major displacement for people, perhaps for years. I am hoping that relatively soon there will be some thoughtful and creative ideas we could rally behind — ideas that won’t leave the poorest people out of the loop again. Massive as the immediate relief effort is, it’s just a tiny fraction of what will need to be done.
The BM Rant » New Orleans:
[…] Tattered Coat has some good info, including blogger reactions. […]
Jacquelyn:
The toxic soup that is brewing in New Orleans is quite alarming, and hopefully the authorities will be able to evacute everyone from the city. There are natural gas leaks and fires… what is to keep the city from becoming a gigantic blazing fire? I am worried about the threat to the refugees’ health, sickness and disease will spread like wildfire under these horrid conditions.
The survivor stories, especially coming from Biloxi, Mississippi, are terrifying. One man, Mr. Jackson, and his family fled as the waters flooded their home to the roof. Their home spilt open, and he was holding on to his wife. She said: “You cannot hold me. Take care of the kids and grandkids,” and then she let go. Now he is wandering around the ruins of his neighborhood with two young children (his kids or grandkids) not knowing what to do. That was just one of many stories.
Your blog is a wonderful source of news. Thank you for all of your hard work.
Matt:
I have to agree with you, Jacquelyn — it seems like this is only getting worse.
The survivor story you mention, by the way, is the one I linked to in the CNN story above.
Thanks for the kind words. I’m going to take some time off right now, but I’ll be back later with more updates.
jillian:
I’m just heartbroken after reading this blog from Underground Weather…
MSY -
40,000-50,000 people in the superdome, including seriously injured people, and evacuees from the Hospitals.
There are no running water or sewage facilities — and no power. Temperatures are in he 90’s
within the building
One man just committed suicide by jumping. ‘Unrest’ is growing within the superdome - and their
are there are now military as well civilian police on the scene.
There are now several; major fires in view of city. There is evidently a fair amount of oil and gas floating
on the flood waters.
Water is still rising and the Mayor is just now being evacuated by helicopter as City hall is now surrounded by water that can only be reached by small boat, water is about 3 feet deep at the steps of City Hall.
80% of New Orleans is totally submerged now, and will likely become 100% submerged tonight
The depth of the water in the BIZ district is around 6-10 inches at this time.
This is a result of 2 MAJOR BREACHES OF THE LEVEE. The first one ,is about 400 feet long, and appears to have given
way around 9PM last night. The Corp of Engineers have now said there is also a second breach as well. Within the hour
the Pentagon will be taking over the coordination and manpower / machinery to assist in closing the 2 breaches.
The COE indicates there is no other way to resolve the problem, and they will be using huge cranes, barges of sand and intend
to ‘plug’ the breached area. Until that is accomplished, News Orleans will continue to fill up with water
No time table is known on how long it will take. The COE indicated they have ‘great concern’ for the a specific
pumping station - the largest in the world — and it will be eventually used to drain the water out of the
city after the levee has been repaired.
This is turning into a ’slow motion version’ of the worst case scenario for New Orleans.
Over 1,200 people have been rescued by 40 coast guard recovery helicopters where people are standing on
roofs - since yesterday. Untold numbers of dead - likely in the hundreds and possibly near 1,000 or more
Disease is expected to take a heavy toll within days. This could claim thousands of lives. The key seemingly
is to somehow to evacuate everyone from the city. Whether this can be done I have no clue.
ELSEWHERE:
Video from the air just now showed the complete devastation of the coastal area from Mobile west to Gulfport.
An oil platform (LARGE) was brought across D auphin island and dumped to the north of the island just south
of that mouth of Mobile Bay.
TROPICS
A strong wave -0 that briefly was classified as a Tropical depression, is drifting WNW, and showing no sign
or organizing. However, the global models are indicating that conditions will become more conducive for development of this system, located about 1500 miles east of the Lesser Antilles.
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/SteveGregory/show.html
Kate:
I just saw a guy being arrested in New Orleans for trying to steal a television. It begs the question, Who gives a damn about a stupid TV?!!! I can’t believe they are arresting looters when the entire city is under seige by water.
Sorry for the rant, Matt. It makes me so sick that some of us care more about stuff than people. I mean, every law enforcement officer should be out rescuing people or preventing unrest in the dome. Who cares about stores. Things don’t matter and the store owners have lost everythiing anyway. The only thing that should matter is getting people out of there. The threat of disease is real, not to mention the waters that continue to rise. No one should be in New Orleans right now. That should be the one and only priority.
Suzy Shedd:
Kate, ITA with everything you’ve said. In view of the fact that they have to use the state police to keep people OUT, though, I wonder if the anti-”looting” emphasis is designed to give some reassurance to those who are still holding onto a shred of belief that they’ll have a home to go back to. Conditions in the superdome are already terrible (emotionally as well as physically). I can only imagine the effect if news reports started saying police weren’t bothering with looters because it really wasn’t going to be important. *sigh* At least, I’d like to THINK that was behind the arrests — it would be awful to think that they’re just numbly arresting people for property crimes out of habit. More to the point, every person who is arrested is one more person rescued. Right now, arrests ARE rescues.
Suzy Shedd:
Addendum to previous post: My turn for a take back. In my ignorance of conditions this horrific, I forgot that looting may not be merely a crime against property, but an expression of a deeper, more violent response to danger and chaos. The shootings show why looting has to be checked. What’s especially sad is the spectacle of people commiting acts of violence and grabbing stuff when they, and the stuff, may well be underwater by morning.
Matt:
Just got back now. I’m going to try to catch up on the insanity that has occured since I left. thanks for providing updates, Suzy, Kate, and Jill.
jillian:
wonder if they opened up the sky boxes for the hurricane victims.
JLo:
Matt, despite your self-deprecating comments on my site, this is still one of the best sources for information on this disaster. Thanks for doing this.
Kate:
Stealing water and food and supplies is one thing, but trying to break into the children’s hospital?! What the hell do they hope to find in there? What are they looking for?
Maybe they are looking for shelter and food and water, too. It’s not like hospitals are known for their flat-screen tvs or their cool clothes! But who the hell knows. They might be looking for drugs. In fact, that is probably it.
The govenment has got to figure out how to get everyone out of there. That’s the only way they will regain control. Right now people are desperate, and desperation spawns all kinds of bad behavior.
It’s so frightening, especially because everything is part of the “unknown”. It’s all x-factor. There are no journalists out in the city because it’s impossible to go out in the city. We have no idea what’s really going on. I hope they’re able to plug up the levee. The good news is it seems the water is no longer flowing into St. Bernard. Eventually the water in the bowl will even out with the water in the lake. The waters will only rise so high.
The people have to be evacuated out and the flow of water has to be stopped. There’s no other choice.
JLo:
Somewhat reminiscent of the gut-wrenching decline in Saramago’s “Blindness”. The only comfort I had taken from that book is that it was fiction. Simply stunning.
ol cranky:
Matt:
Do you know if Bill Quigley’s message has made it to local media here yet or do we need to shoot some emails?
Maidink:
Children’s Hospital?? What the hell is wrong with people??
Looting is an unfortunate thing that is expected at times like this. People have this inert proneness to become opportunists at any cost. Natural disasters (as well as riots) have the tendency to bring out that ugliness.
But to go after a hospital for children? That’s just morally wrong.
dave:
Sounds like mob mentality is taking over in some places…
WhirledView:
Hurricane Katrina
The Tattered Coat is providing excellent coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. via Public Org Theory.
The Heretik:
AS THE SHIP OF STATE SINKS BELOW THE FLOOD
GREAT LINKS AND THOUGHTS FROM RJ ESKOW, WATERTIGER, AGITPROP, FEMINISTE, ROGER MORRIS and the rest of the best of the blogs. Somebody should tell Bush about the history of musical instruments and disaster. Um, Nero, dude. And the band
mark dupaquier:
I am desperate for information. CNN and Fox are focussing on a small section of New Orleans. How is the neighborhood behind the Sheraton near the Causeway entrance in Metairie? What about the neighborhood near Robert E. Lee and Paris avenue? I’ve heard from someone still in Mandeville that the Tanglewood subdivision is not flooded but many trees are down and have fallen on some houses. No gas,electricity, phone or any place to buy anything. I know someone trapped in the Methodist hospital in New Orleans East near the Plaza. Any info? I’m sure information about any neighborhoods would be appreciated.
SkaroffBlog » Blog Archive » Where is the leadership?:
[…] I don’t really know what to say about Hurricane Katrina and it’s devastating aftermath throughout the Gulf Region. It seems like every day things just get continuously worst. For an informational update I’ll point you towards a long post that Matt is continously updating. Meanwhile, if you haven’t already watched Bush’s “speech” from yesterday, head over to C&L and see how our commander-in-chief is handling this crisis. Very good Georgie, 13.4 million liters of water is a lot. The New York Times editorializes that we are waiting for a leader: George W. Bush gave one of the worst speeches of his life yesterday, especially given the level of national distress and the need for words of consolation and wisdom. In what seems to be a ritual in this administration, the president appeared a day later than he was needed. He then read an address of a quality more appropriate for an Arbor Day celebration: a long laundry list of pounds of ice, generators and blankets delivered to the stricken Gulf Coast. He advised the public that anybody who wanted to help should send cash, grinned, and promised that everything would work out in the end […]
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