Archive for August, 2005
87 items.
Gas. Exxon at Piedmont and Ponce de Leon was totally sold out of gas today because of the run on it caused by rumors that Atlanta’s gas would be cut off because of Katrina. There were probably 30 cars still at the gas station across the street (at 10 PM) and officers still out trying to keep order at the gas station. A neighbor paid $4 a gallon at the Buddy’s station at North Ave. and Highland. The Governor says gougers will be prosecuted and set up an 800 number. The number was busy despite repeated attempts to get through, we’re told. The news was reporting $6 a gallon in Macon.
”Comment
On the 29th the Baltimore Sun published the following:
Forman, president and chief executive of the Audubon Nature Institute, was happy his charges stayed inside. He oversees the Audubon Zoo, the aquarium and other facilities, which he said fared well in the storm.
A few flamingos died, but he said there was little other loss of animal life. The aquarium was running on a diesel gas generator, with enough fuel to keep the 1,000 species alive for three more days, he said.
The WWLTV news anchors are saying they’ve had to search and search for buses to get people out of the Superdome. They are showing footage of all the people who have been saved from rooftops and deposited on the highway who have nowhere to go. Dropped on the highway, theyare told to walk. They must walk to…where…they don’t know where…just away…and must walk because they are so short on resources that they don’t have any buses available to help with these people only recently rescued from rooftops.
“People continue to come in. To come and come and come.”
The desperation today of people out in the field, in some of the worst hit areas. Walter Maestri again said relief wasn’t fast enough for refugees.
The Children’s Hospital “seige” in the NOLA News last night turns out to have been a rumor, but it’s a rumor that yielded some good results, help for kids in the hospital:
No Children’s Hospital Looting
4:35 p.m.Doug Mittelstaedt, vice-president of Human Resources for Children’s Hospital in New Orleans, said one of the biggest issues at the hospital on Wednesday was debunking the prevalent rumor that looters had stormed the hospital.
Mittelstaedt said things actually were operating smoothly at the hospital – the generator was running efficiently and efforts to relocate patients were going well – but fighting the rumor was a major issue.
Officials had to lock the doors of the hospital because people had arrived, apparently thinking there was a mob scene and they could get in on looting.
He said the hospital has been flooded with calls offering assistance from other Children’s Hospitals in Louisiana and Texas. “The amount of calls we have gotten for support have been overwhelming,” Mittelstaedt said. “The phones literally have been ringing off the hook.”
With so many calls, Mittelstaedt said officials have been able to match up the 100 patients with hospitals that specialize in the particular treatments for each.
Photographer interviewing I think the captain of a ferry tugboat (paraphrased):
St. Bernard is running out of food and water and are desperate for help. People are on the levees and houses are going to die without help. Commandeering ships and barges, must have help. Send food and water and help, whoever, governor, whoever. They’ve seen so little help. They’ve raided every grocery store. There’s nothing like this. Only a war zone would be like this. They have thousands, they don’t know how many are dead. They have people like these ready to die, they have no help. They’re getting so little support, food water, we’re almost out. Please congressmen, governor, senators, whoever, send us some help.
The veteran 40-year photographer, Willie Nelson Wilson (sorry), began periodically to cry during the viewing of his video footage of people rescued from Chalmette, which included the above.
One of the refugees saying that they saw helicopters going over but no boats except for two citizen boats, one that gave them a bottle of water and another that gave them a bag of cheerios.
The AJC reports that “the possibility of shortages of gasoline at area stations had metro drivers waiting at pumps to fill up this morning. And prices rose accordingly.”
My husband just called from the gas station (where our water pump was apparently, mistakenly replaced when only some hoses needed replacing) and he was told by the guys at the station that the rumors are that gas is going to be cut off to Atlanta. So the prospect of shortages have turned into these rumors that Atlanta will be getting no gas. He’s seeing Midtown gas station after gas station with 50 cars waiting for gas, traffic jams near the stations, cars lined up out into the street.
LSU hospital system operates 9 institutions across the street, has suffered a severe blow in health care delivery system.
Homa LA no power water or sewerage, 100 sick.
Bogalusa – 60 very sick people and facilities are compromised, no power, water or sewerage
New Orleans – 1500 to 2000 people in windowless buildings. 150 patients. Rest are staff, personnel, family members, refugees. Desperately short of raw materials. No power, no water, no toilets. Don’t have fuel for generators which are the lifeline for patients on generators. Informed this morning that are out of fuel. Big generators went under water yesterday and using portables and out of juice. Need to transport fuel to buy another day of life.
Exhausted local resources. Looking for interstate cooperation to help handle the tremendous surge exhausting the resources.
Are in evacuation process with hospitals in central part NO. By boat. Charity, University, Tulane (by helicopter, had heliopad). Hospitals tagged for evacuation have 1600 patients and 7000 guests. About 10,000 people out of 9 different facilities. Haven’t been able to contact a couple of facilities including Chalmette in St. Bernard (also mentioned a Methodist hospital).
State resources to get patients out by boat have been taxed.
Requesting air evacuation from Chalmette in St. Bernard. They have the facilities for this.
Need to shore up the hospitals in NOLA. Back-up generators. Imperative that they know we’re there to support. Need water, food, ice, medicine. Need fuel. If they lose fuel they are moved up to evacuation status.
Moving to federal help with evacuation and speed will increase.
Hospitals around rest of state staged and prepared to accept patients.
Baton Rouge and Lafayette have gotten most.
With the EMDS system patients are sometimes taken out-of-state and families have a hard time understanding this.
Hasn’t been an evacuation yet from big Charity. A handful of ventilator-dependent patients were evacuated last night but rest remain.
How have looters complicated the matters? Heard of run for narcotics and drugs? “Security is an issue.” Some is looting. But some is just people seeking refuge and shelter and becoming concerned about their own health and safety. Requested security for all facillities but National Guard tapped out, so requesting security from Feds.
9 hospitals have no power at all and are Priority 1. (They listed the 9 twice but I wasn’t able to catch them)
The WWLTV archive gives:
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.
How many fatalities?
Mayor Nagin replies: “”Minimum, hundreds. Most likely, thousands.”
Now the search and rescue helicopters are coming in regularly, lifting in peolpe who had been on their roofs since Monday. The reporter is relieved that while he was there just 15 minutes probably, there were 15 helicopters. Tents set up for people. Evident relief. “I had one of the good jobs today. The good assignment.”
There’s no water in Kenner.
Footage of people brought in by rescue shoppers. A baby that had been in diapers on a roof since Monday morning. People are tired, hungry, dehydrated. I-10/Causeway interchange a large first-aid station. 50 ambulances waiting to take them. Pictures of the people who had been rescued. People in line to get water, sandwiches. People needing medical attention on the westbound lane I-10 being tended to, getting IVs. (Healthy people on the eastbound.)
They are saying that there are 23,000 at the Superdome and that the decision has been made they must be out by tonight.
The priorities are to empty the hospitals, the Superdome and then the people on the interstate.
(Interview with Mayor)
The Mayor is encouraged this morning. A hospital ship is coming in. Coast Guard operations are coming in. Search and rescue is still a priority. Have a wonderful plan for moving people out of the hospitals in several hours. The plan for the Superdome is, after getting the medical patients out. After that 350 buses will be staged and test to see if they can get them close to the Superdome. Will bring in 10 at a time. They want to get them out before nightfall. Will be sent to arenas around the state.
(Streaming lost.)
There are issues at the Prison. “So far it’s been fairly contained.” It’s stabalized inside the New Orleans State Prison for now.
(End of interview. Back to the news anchors.)
There were hostage situations earlier. The Mayor said he didn’t learn of them until early today. There are people stranded in the water and on rooftops.
People are holding up signs in the Superdome that say “Help”. The National Guard escorted the reporters in, concerned for their safety. The people have no idea what’s going on. The smell was horrific. Unsanitary. Untenable. They give it until the end of the day before it becomes life-threatening for a lot of people. They’re concerned about the generator going down. The heat and the stench. “That’s why Mayor Nagin wants to get the people out of there now.”
How deep is the water around the dome? The highways were dry. Parked on the interstate and walked in. The water came up to the waist.
The flood of people coming in doesn’t stop.
What’s the morale of the National Guardsmen? It seemed fine. They are participating more actively in the security at the Superdome. It’s a bad situation for everyone.
One of the news anchors hadn’t heard from her husband since Saturday and he was found by the reporter.
There’s no number to call right now. No roll call of names of who is or was where.
The buses will have to go through water to get to these people at the Superdome. They’re going to try to get half out tonight and the rest tomorrow.
Power lines have begun to be repaired. 8000 people coming in from out of state. Since Katrina hit Florida and Mississippi and Alabama they’re having to share reinforcements. They’re having to rebuild the whole system. Power on the North Shore may be 6 to 12 weeks instead of 4 to 6 weeks. So many businesses are going to have to move out of the area.
The big transmission lines are down. How to replace them and the power lines in the neighborhoods.
Now they’re showing video of many many people walking the interstate with “nowhere to go”. Some are going over the bridge to Jefferson Parish and looking for shelter and they can’t help them. Food and water are scarce. Jefferson Parish used up all their food and water including food and water seized from stores.
The Navy ships can’t arrive too quickly. They will supply food and water and much needed medical support and serve as temporary housing.
