6:30am Eastern Time: Katrina is a Cat 4 Hurricane with sustained winds of 150mph and has just made LANDFALL just east of Grand Isle, Louisiana, (South of New Orleans.) Power out at Superdome- backup generators might be working but I’m not sure at this moment. Be another hour or two before the worse hits New Orleans. Hopefully not as bad as once was thought… We will know soon and now’s a good time to pray for these people in harms way.AubreyJ…………
Monday, August 29, 2005- 6:30am Eastern Time
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>> National Weather Service- New Orleans, LA
>> Loop of Gulf of Mexico- (Satellite view of Hurricane by LSU- ESL)
>> American Red Cross
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>> Crude Oil (up 3.37) at 69.50 a barrel as of 7:20am eastern, Monday.
>> Gas could go up as much as .25 cents in the next few days… (Fill 'Er Up NOW!)
Note: Cross your fingers for the Oil Refineries on the Gulf- Next few hours are going to be critical as to what kind of damage these Refineries receive and for what kind of prices we will have to pay at the gas pumps in the months to come…
>> Power out at Superdome- backup generators are working but I believe AC is not.
>> 9:45am Eastern Time: Big leaks in roof of Superdome have been reported. Structure seems to be in good shape though. Some reports of major house flooding in parts of New Orleans along with lots of structural damage. Wind gust of 130mph and better likely in parts of New Orleans right now. Pumps Failing and that’s surely not going to help out flooding problems. Electricity is out in many parts of town.
>> 11:00am ET- info from NOAA: Katrina is now a Cat 3 Hurricane with sustained winds of 125mph. A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MUCH OF SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND COASTAL MISSISSIPPI DUE TO THE THREAT OF TORNADOES. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 8 TO 10 INCHES- WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 15 INCHES.- ARE POSSIBLE…
>> 12:30am ET- Still Cat 3 storm with 125mph winds… Lets not forget Mississippi- Alabama and Florida… What can one say… Floods- high winds- Tornados still ongoing. I think I’ll wait until I can get some good pictures and on ground reports of damage and such before reporting much more on these places.
>> 1:15pm ET- Katrina is now a Cat 2 Hurricane with sustained winds of 105mph.
I just wanted to say that prayers do get answered. Watching the satellite loop a few minutes ago, I saw something that truly amazed me. (You can make note to look at the next satellite view you see of this Hurricane coming on shore.) As the Eye Wall hit land for the first time in Louisiana, it jumped to the east, (right) then came back on its normal track. That is until it made its 2nd landfall and I’ll be danged if it didn’t do it again. Now I could be wrong on this- but both times this storm took that major jog to the right, (east) was during crucial times for the eye to dodge New Orleans… That’s why I say- Prayers Do Sometimes Get Answered!!! Check it out and tell me what you think…
(I would have given you a link to a satellite loop… but I didn’t want you to think I rigged it or something…)
AubreyJ...............................................................................
>> Hurricane Response Demonstrates Guard's State, Federal Capabilities
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2005
The National Guard's solid response to Hurricane Katrina demonstrates that the Guard is still fully capable of responding to stateside emergencies while supporting the war in terror overseas, the chief of the National Guard Bureau told the American Forces Press Service today.
Army Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum described the thousands of Army and Air National Guard troops called to active duty in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and other states to support hurricane operations as a testament to the Guard's ability to carry out its federal and state missions simultaneously.
Guard members along the Gulf Coast are performing a variety of missions, from providing security at the emergency shelter at the New Orleans Superdome, where thousands of local residents are seeing refuge from Hurricane Katrina, to assisting with emergency evacuations.
As the storm's fury begins to wane, the Guard will begin providing a wide range of other support: helping law enforcement agencies with security and traffic control; transporting and distributing food, water and ice; conducting searches and rescues; providing generator support; and carrying out other missions to support live and property.
Meanwhile, as they support one of the largest hurricanes on record to hit the United States, Guard units are fighting wildfires in the Northwest and guarding critical infrastructure nationwide against terrorists, Blum noted.
And at the same time, an estimated 75,000 National Guard members are deployed to some 40 countries around the world, including Iraq, where they make up almost one-half the U. S. force, he said.
"All of this is happening at the same time, yet we are not putting the overseas mission at risk, nor are we putting the homeland defense mission at risk," the general said. "We are able to do what the nation needs us to do, and whenever we are needed, we are there, with the right skills and the right equipment and the right personnel. "
Blum called this capability "a huge success story for the Army and Air National Guard" that provides "probably the best demonstration yet" that the Guard can continue to respond to stateside crises while supporting a federal, overseas mission.
Under a plan he instituted when taking over the National Guard Bureau's reins, Blum initiated a policy to ensure every state has at least 50 percent of its Guard assets available to support state missions.
As of today, Louisiana has 65 percent of its troops available for state missions; Mississippi, 60 percent; Alabama, 77 percent; and Florida, 74 percent, Guard officials said.
The National Guard's presence in states being battered by Hurricane Katrina provides reassurance to the American public, which recognizes the security, medical, communications, logistics and law-and-order support Guard members provide local, state and federal first responders, the general said.
"It's a calming and reassuring effect on the American public when they see their National Guard," Blum said. "When you call out the Guard, you know that you've got committed citizen-soldiers with considerable skills and a great commitment to the mission at hand. "
At the same time, Guard members "have great compassion because they come from the people they are supporting," the general said. "So when you call out the Guard, you basically call out America. "
The National Guard is braced to continue that support for the long term until the affected regions get back on their feet, he said.
"We learned from hurricanes in Florida that recovery takes weeks and months, and not days," Blum said. "So we are looking at this recovery operation with the long haul in mind, and we are setting ourselves up to have an extended, protracted response, as necessary, until normalcy is restored to these communities. "
>> 6:00pm ET- Katrina is now a Cat 1 Hurricane with sustained winds of 75mph with gust up to 90mph.
>> I’m going to wait on doing anymore post until I see some of the Damage Reports of all 5 States that got hit by this massive storm today, Monday- 8/29/05. My next post on Hurricane Katrina shouldn’t be any later than noon tomorrow. It’s going to be worse than many think I’m afraid…
God bless the ones who lost their lives to this storm and my condolences to their family members… As of 9:30pm ET- Katrina was a Tropical Storm yet she still had winds near Hurricane strength…. Tornados- high winds and heavy rain-- going to still be a long night for many……
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