Credit to pb for the reference.

by standingup on Sat Sep 03, 2005 at 09:30:16 PM EST

Of all the publications, this is the one the CEOs read (CXO's actually).  I was amazed to see this.

Might have some granuals of info in it worth quoting as it is an MSM that is trusted by business types.

by kfred on Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 03:34:06 PM EST

"Release Date: August 27, 2005
Release Number: HQ-05-169

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, today announced that Federal resources are being allocated to support emergency protective response efforts response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina.
= = = = = = = =
In addition, federal funds will be available for public safety debris removal and emergency protective measures at 75 percent of approved costs.

All declarations are worded exactly the same.  Very specific lists of counties/parishes, no doubt since expanded.

SEE:  FEMA Media Page.

by rba on Sat Sep 03, 2005 at 04:41:56 PM EST

Release Date: August 28, 2005
Release Number: HQ-05-171

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that federal disaster aid has been made available for Florida to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by Hurricane Katrina on August 24.
= = = = = = =
For a period of up to 72 hours, Federal funding is available at 100 per cent of the total eligible costs for emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance. The period of up to 72 hours at 100 per cent excludes debris removal.

This declaration was issued after-the-fact.

Source:  FEMA August Archive.

by rba on Sat Sep 03, 2005 at 04:59:16 PM EST

Posted on Sat, Aug. 27, 2005

Katrina could leave damage across all of Mississippi

TIMOTHY R. BROWN

Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. - Hurricane Katrina could plow through Mississippi beginning as early as Monday, with storm force winds raking a path of destruction even into northern areas of the state, officials warned on Saturday.
= = = = = = =
Gov. Haley Barbour declared a state of emergency on Saturday and forecasters predicted the storm to make landfall anywhere from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana.

Noted that no local reporters bylined.

Source:  SunHerald.  Knight-Ridder; serves Biloxi & Gulfport.

by rba on Sat Sep 03, 2005 at 05:37:24 PM EST

City Of New Orleans

Mayors Office of Communications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mayor Nagin Urges Citizens to Prepare For Hurricane Katrina

(New Orleans, LA) In response to the potential threat of Hurricane Katrina, Mayor C. Ray Nagin is urging all citizens to begin preparations now for the coming storm. Mayor Nagin will hold the next press briefing at 5 p.m. today in the Mayor's Press Room, second floor of City Hall.

"Although the track could change, forecasters believe Hurricane Katrina will affect New Orleans," said Mayor Nagin. "We may call for a voluntary evacuation later this afternoon or tomorrow morning to coincide with the instatement of contraflow. This will give people more options to leave the area. However, citizens need to begin preparing now so they will be ready to leave when necessary. Do everything to prepare for a regular hurricane, but treat this one differently because it is headed our way. This is not a test."

....

Mayor Nagin is working with Gov. Kathleen Blanco and other City, local and State officials are watching the storm's path and working together to make decisions that affect citizens. Gov. Blanco has declared a state of emergency in Louisiana, which provides city government with additional authority and improved access to resources needed when responding to elevated threats, such as natural disasters.

A state of emergency has been declared for the City of New Orleans.

Source:  City of New Orleans

by standingup on Sat Sep 03, 2005 at 05:56:23 PM EST

Florida Prepares for Katrina as Storm Strengthens (Update1)
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Tropical Storm Katrina headed toward the southeastern Florida coast today and may intensify into a hurricane before coming ashore tomorrow morning.
= = = = = = =
Florida Governor Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency this morning, said Florida Emergency Management Division spokeswoman Leigh-Ann Dawes.

Florida seems well-organized.  Years of experience?

Source:  Bloomberg.

by rba on Sat Sep 03, 2005 at 06:03:15 PM EST

August 28, 2005

The President
The White House
Washington, DC

Through:  Regional Director
FEMA Region VI
800 North Loop 288
Denton, Texas 76709

Dear Mr. President:

Under the provisions of Section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S. C  5121-5206 (Stafford Act), and implemented by 44CFR 206.36, I request that you declare an expedited major disaster for the State of Luisiana as Hurricane Katrina, A Category V Hurricane approaches our coast south of New Orleans; beginning on August 28, 2005 and continuing.  The affected areas include all southeastern parishes including the City of New Orleans directly impacted by the brunt of the storm and the mid state and northern parishes accepting the thousands of citizens forced to evaluate from the impacted areas directly affected by Hurricane Katrina.

...

I have designated Mr. Arthur E. Jones as the state coordinating officer for this request.  He will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in damage assessment and may provide further evidence and justification on my behalf.

Signed

Kathleen Babineaux  Blanco
Governor

The full letter is here:
http://gov.louisiana.gov/Disaster%20Relief%20Request.pdf

Date: 8/26/2005

Contact:Denise Bottcher or Roderick Hawkins at 225-342-9037

GOVERNOR BLANCO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY

BATON ROUGE, LA--Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco today issued Proclamation No. 48 KBB 2005, declaring a state of emergency for the state Louisiana as Hurricane Katrina poses an imminent threat, carrying severe storms, high winds, and torrential rain that may cause flooding and damage to private property and public facilities, and threaten the safety and security of the citizens of the state of Louisiana The state of emergency extends from Friday, August 26, 2005, through Sunday, September 25, 2005, unless terminated sooner.

Police Struggle With Communications In Katrina's Wake
Bruce Meyerson Fri Sep 2, 3:22 PM ET
When the phones don't work, improvise. That's what emergency responders and civilians were forced to do in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which trashed the telephone system on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi.

Police in New Orleans, their main communications system knocked out, have been taking turns talking on a single radio channel with their walkie talkies. The Mississippi National Guard even resorted to ancient battlefield tactics, sending runners back and forth among commanders with information.

And a local sheriff, Sid Hebert of Iberia Parish, helped keep an ambulance company handling medical evacuations across southern Louisiana running by loaning it a portable command center.

This one's a must read.  Mr. Meyerson Explains It All.

Source:  AP via Yahoo News, 3 Sep.

by rba on Sat Sep 03, 2005 at 11:04:18 PM EST

Posted on Sun, Aug. 28, 2005
As many as 300,000 may get on roads

By QUINCY C. COLLINS

Mississippi Emergency Management officials are urging Coast residents to evacuate to escape the pummeling winds of Hurricane Katrina. It's too late to avoid congested roads.

Katrina is expected to make landfall midday Monday, possibly as strong as Category 4, packing 144-mph winds.

Saturday's storm models projected Katrina directly hitting Louisiana, with South Mississippi facing the severe winds of the storm's northeast quadrant.

Gov. Haley Barbour declared a state of emergency Saturday and was preparing to activate National Guard.

Source:  Sun Herald, 28 Aug, Sun.


by rba on Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 12:24:36 AM EST

National Situation Update: Saturday, August 27, 2005
Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).
Katrina Becomes a Category Three Hurricane, Aims Towards Northern Gulf Coast

Katrina is now a Category Three hurricane and some strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours. Reconnaissance aircraft data indicates that the Katrina has also become a larger hurricane.
= = = = = = = =
State of Emergency Declared in Mississippi, Louisiana Due In anticipation of a possible landfall, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco declared States of Emergency Friday

 In Louisiana, New Orleans is of particular concern because much of that city lies below sea level.
According to Gov. Blanco, Lake Pontchartrain is a very large lake that sits next to the city of New Orleans and if the hurricane winds blow from a certain direction, there are dire predictions of what may happen in the city.

Robert Latham, director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, said evacuations of tourists along the coast could begin late Saturday afternoon, followed by mandatory evacuations of coastal residents on Sunday. The National Guard had been activated to help with storm preparations, he said.

The last time Mississippi or Louisiana saw landfall from a storm classified as Category 4 or stronger was in August 1969, when Hurricane Camille roared ashore with winds in excess of 155 mph, killing 143 people.

Source:  FEMA Sit Rep, 27 Aug.

by rba on Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 12:33:50 AM EST

FEMA Region VII Moving to New Quarters

FEMA Region VII will move from its existing location to 9221 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, Mo. The actual move will occur August 24-26, 2005.

The Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC) will be staffed to conduct normal business at the current location from August 24-26, 2005. All phones will be transferred into the RRCC during the move.

Please see the listing below for the correct phone numbers to call during the move:

August 24 to Noon on Friday, August 26, 2005

Main RRCC 816-283-7600

RRCC Fax 816-283-7601

Effective noon Friday - August 26, 2005

Main RRCC 816-221-6092

Regional Director 816-221-5680

Main FAX 816-221-2995

Effective August 29, 2005, the Regional Office will operate from the new location. All phone numbers will transition back to the existing phone numbers prior to the move. (FEMA Region VII)

Source:  FEMA Sit Rep, 24 Aug.

by rba on Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 12:39:31 AM EST

BULLETIN
HURRICANE KATRINA ADVISORY NUMBER  10
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
11 PM EDT THU AUG 25 2005

...EYE OF KATRINA MOVING SOUTHWESTWARD ACROSS MIAMI-DADE COUNTY...
= = = = = = =
BULLETIN
TROPICAL STORM KATRINA INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER  10A...CORRECTED
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
1 AM EDT FRI AUG 26 2005

...CORRECTED TO REMOVE REFERENCE TO HURRICANE STATUS IN LOCATION

As it approached the Southeast Coast of Florida it was downgraded.  But it hit hard anyway on it's way to the Gulf.

Source:  NHC (26th).  

by rba on Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 12:52:29 AM EST

Blanco asks for quick return of National Guard in Iraq

Gov. Kathleen Blanco Friday night called on President Bush to order the expeditious return to the state of the 256th Brigade Combat team of the National Guard which is now serving in Iraq because they are needed in Hurricane Katrina cleanup and rescue efforts.

The unit, based in Lafayette, is expected to be phased out of Iraq and return to the state in the coming weeks.

"They are urgently needed needed here at home,'' Blanco said. She told Bush that the unit is needed to become "part of the recovery efforts in their home state.''

Blanco also called on Bush to have military officials set up another base for humanitarian relief in Baton Rouge. The only one that is now in operation is in Pineville in central Louisiana.

She also asked for communications assistance for governmental agencies, including radios with higher capacity, 25 more frequencies and 1,000 additional portable radios.

"I want aerial and ground firefighting support to address the growing danger of fire,'' Blanco told Bush in the two-page letter. She also asked for a more military trucks and other vehicles as well as 175 generators and additional fuel.

Some of these are collected in the Dkos Timeline Standingup identifies above... just pulling out the official documents to include here.  

by Cho on Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 09:10:43 AM EST

According to Naomi, any concerted effort to protect the city from a storm of category 4 or 5 will probably take 30 years to complete. And the feasibility study alone for such an effort will cost as much as $8 million. Even though Congress has authorized the feasibility study, funding has not yet been appropriated. When funds are made available, the study will take about six years to complete. "That's a lot of time to get the study before Congress," Naomi admits. "Hopefully we won't have a major storm before then."
= = = = = = = =
Suhayda's model is not the only one that describes such a catastrophe. A model called SLOSH (Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes), which is used by the National Weather Service and local agencies concerned with emergency preparedness, portrays an equally grim outcome should a storm of category 5 hit New Orleans.
= = = = = = = =
Experts say a flood of this magnitude would probably shut down the city's power plants and water and sewage treatment plants and might even take out its drainage system. The workhorse pumps would be clogged with debris, and the levees would suddenly be working to keep water in the city. Survivors of the storm--humans and animals alike--would be sharing space on the crests of levees until the Corps could dynamite holes in the structures to drain the area. In such a scenario, the American Red Cross estimates that between 25,000 and 100,000 people would die.

Source:  ASCE - Civil Engineering, June 2003.  Referred to by:  USACE Search

by rba on Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 10:04:46 AM EST

 3.  Tidal surge, associated with the "worst case" Category 3, 4 or 5  Hurricane Scenario for the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan Area, as  determined by the National Weather Service (NWS) Sea, Lake and Overland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH) Model, could cause a  maximum inundation of 20 feet above sea level in some of the parishes  in the Region, not including tidal effects, wind waves and storm rainfall.  

Source:  LA OHSEP Plans Index Page.

by rba on Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 10:11:37 AM EST

Diary - Bush's Disastrous Response
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/4/111017/0402

Resources (official releases from FEMA, DHS, White House, and Times-Picayune).
http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2005/9/4/111017/0402/10#10

T-P articles are not timestamped but in chronological order by day so you can get a good estimate of the timeline. T-P archives contain lots of info on parishes outside of Orleans in Metro NO.

by joejoejoe on Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 12:02:42 PM EST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5253658,00.html

by joejoejoe on Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 12:20:11 PM EST

What You Didn't Know About Urban Search-and-Rescue

    * For every US&R task force, there are 62 positions. But to be sure a full team can respond to an emergency, the task forces have at the ready more than 130 highly-trained members.

    * A task force is really a partnership between local fire departments, law enforcement agencies, federal and local governmental agencies and private companies.

    * A task force is totally self-sufficient for the first 72 hours of a deployment.

    * The equipment cache used to support a task force weighs nearly 60,000 pounds and is worth about $1.4 million. Add the task force members to the cache and you can completely fill a military C-141 transport or two C130's.

    * Training requirements are intensive, to say the least. In addition to being an Emergency Medical Technician, each task force member must complete hundreds of hours of training. Specialties such as K-9 search, rescue and rigging carry their own training requirements.

    * What the task force can do:

            * Conduct physical search-and-rescue in collapsed buildings
            * Emergency medical care to trapped victims
            * Search-and-rescue dogs
            * Assessment and control of gas, electric service and hazardous materials
            * Evaluation and stabilization of damaged structures

fema.gov

http://www.jhuapl.edu/POW/bios/friedman.htm

Article in toto:

New Orleans: A Geopolitical Prize
By George Friedman

The American political system was founded in Philadelphia, but the American nation was built on the vast farmlands that stretch from the Alleghenies to the Rockies. That farmland produced the wealth that funded American industrialization: It permitted the formation of a class of small landholders who, amazingly, could produce more than they could consume. They could sell their excess crops in the east and in Europe and save that money, which eventually became the founding capital of American industry.

But it was not the extraordinary land nor the farmers and ranchers who alone set the process in motion. Rather, it was geography -- the extraordinary system of rivers that flowed through the Midwest and allowed them to ship their surplus to the rest of the world. All of the rivers flowed into one -- the Mississippi -- and the Mississippi flowed to the ports in and around one city: New Orleans. It was in New Orleans that the barges from upstream were unloaded and their cargos stored, sold and reloaded on ocean-going vessels. Until last Sunday, New Orleans was, in many ways, the pivot of the American economy.

For that reason, the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815 was a key moment in American history. Even though the battle occurred after the War of 1812 was over, had the British taken New Orleans, we suspect they wouldn't have given it back. Without New Orleans, the entire Louisiana Purchase would have been valueless to the United States. Or, to state it more precisely, the British would control the region because, at the end of the day, the value of the Purchase was the land and the rivers - which all converged on the Mississippi and the ultimate port of New Orleans. The hero of the battle was Andrew Jackson, and when he became president, his obsession with Texas had much to do with keeping the Mexicans away from New Orleans.

During the Cold War, a macabre topic of discussion among bored graduate students who studied such things was this: If the Soviets could destroy one city with a large nuclear device, which would it be? The usual answers were Washington or New York. For me, the answer was simple: New Orleans. If the Mississippi River was shut to traffic, then the foundations of the economy would be shattered. The industrial minerals needed in the factories wouldn't come in, and the agricultural wealth wouldn't flow out. Alternative routes really weren't available. The Germans knew it too: A U-boat campaign occurred near the mouth of the Mississippi during World War II. Both the Germans and Stratfor have stood with Andy Jackson: New Orleans was the prize.

Last Sunday, nature took out New Orleans almost as surely as a nuclear strike. Hurricane Katrina's geopolitical effect was not, in many ways, distinguishable from a mushroom cloud. The key exit from North America was closed. The petrochemical industry, which has become an added value to the region since Jackson's days, was at risk. The navigability of the Mississippi south of New Orleans was a question mark. New Orleans as a city and as a port complex had ceased to exist, and it was not clear that it could recover.

The Ports of South Louisiana and New Orleans, which run north and south of the city, are as important today as at any point during the history of the republic. On its own merit, POSL is the largest port in the United States by tonnage and the fifth-largest in the world. It exports more than 52 million tons a year, of which more than half are agricultural products -- corn, soybeans and so on. A large proportion of U.S. agriculture flows out of the port. Almost as much cargo, nearly 17 million tons, comes in through the port -- including not only crude oil, but chemicals and fertilizers, coal, concrete and so on.

A simple way to think about the New Orleans port complex is that it is where the bulk commodities of agriculture go out to the world and the bulk commodities of industrialism come in. The commodity chain of the global food industry starts here, as does that of American industrialism. If these facilities are gone, more than the price of goods shifts: The very physical structure of the global economy would have to be reshaped. Consider the impact to the U.S. auto industry if steel doesn't come up the river, or the effect on global food supplies if U.S. corn and soybeans don't get to the markets.

The problem is that there are no good shipping alternatives. River transport is cheap, and most of the commodities we are discussing have low value-to-weight ratios. The U.S. transport system was built on the assumption that these commodities would travel to and from New Orleans by barge, where they would be loaded on ships or offloaded. Apart from port capacity elsewhere in the United States, there aren't enough trucks or rail cars to handle the long-distance hauling of these enormous quantities -- assuming for the moment that the economics could be managed, which they can't be.

The focus in the media has been on the oil industry in Louisiana and Mississippi. This is not a trivial question, but in a certain sense, it is dwarfed by the shipping issue. First, Louisiana is the source of about 15 percent of U.S.-produced petroleum, much of it from the Gulf. The local refineries are critical to American infrastructure. Were all of these facilities to be lost, the effect on the price of oil worldwide would be extraordinarily painful. If the river itself became unnavigable or if the ports are no longer functioning, however, the impact to the wider economy would be significantly more severe. In a sense, there is more flexibility in oil than in the physical transport of these other commodities.

There is clearly good news as information comes in. By all accounts, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, which services supertankers in the Gulf, is intact. Port Fourchon, which is the center of extraction operations in the Gulf, has sustained damage but is recoverable. The status of the oil platforms is unclear and it is not known what the underwater systems look like, but on the surface, the damage - though not trivial -- is manageable.

The news on the river is also far better than would have been expected on Sunday. The river has not changed its course. No major levees containing the river have burst. The Mississippi apparently has not silted up to such an extent that massive dredging would be required to render it navigable. Even the port facilities, although apparently damaged in many places and destroyed in few, are still there. The river, as transport corridor, has not been lost.

What has been lost is the city of New Orleans and many of the residential suburban areas around it. The population has fled, leaving behind a relatively small number of people in desperate straits. Some are dead, others are dying, and the magnitude of the situation dwarfs the resources required to ameliorate their condition. But it is not the population that is trapped in New Orleans that is of geopolitical significance: It is the population that has left and has nowhere to return to.

The oil fields, pipelines and ports required a skilled workforce in order to operate. That workforce requires homes. They require stores to buy food and other supplies. Hospitals and doctors. Schools for their children. In other words, in order to operate the facilities critical to the United States, you need a workforce to do it -- and that workforce is gone. Unlike in other disasters, that workforce cannot return to the region because they have no place to live. New Orleans is gone, and the metropolitan area surrounding New Orleans is either gone or so badly damaged that it will not be inhabitable for a long time.

It is possible to jury-rig around this problem for a short time. But the fact is that those who have left the area have gone to live with relatives and friends. Those who had the ability to leave also had networks of relationships and resources to manage their exile. But those resources are not infinite -- and as it becomes apparent that these people will not be returning to New Orleans any time soon, they will be enrolling their children in new schools, finding new jobs, finding new accommodations. If they have any insurance money coming, they will collect it. If they have none, then -- whatever emotional connections they may have to their home -- their economic connection to it has been severed. In a very short time, these people will be making decisions that will start to reshape population and workforce patterns in the region.

A city is a complex and ongoing process - one that requires physical infrastructure to support the people who live in it and people to operate that physical infrastructure. We don't simply mean power plants or sewage treatment facilities, although they are critical. Someone has to be able to sell a bottle of milk or a new shirt. Someone has to be able to repair a car or do surgery. And the people who do those things, along with the infrastructure that supports them, are gone -- and they are not coming back anytime soon.

It is in this sense, then, that it seems almost as if a nuclear weapon went off in New Orleans. The people mostly have fled rather than died, but they are gone. Not all of the facilities are destroyed, but most are. It appears to us that New Orleans and its environs have passed the point of recoverability. The area can recover, to be sure, but only with the commitment of massive resources from outside -- and those resources would always be at risk to another Katrina.

The displacement of population is the crisis that New Orleans faces. It is also a national crisis, because the largest port in the United States cannot function without a city around it. The physical and business processes of a port cannot occur in a ghost town, and right now, that is what New Orleans is. It is not about the facilities, and it is not about the oil. It is about the loss of a city's population and the paralysis of the largest port in the United States.

Let's go back to the beginning. The United States historically has depended on the Mississippi and its tributaries for transport. Barges navigate the river. Ships go on the ocean. The barges must offload to the ships and vice versa. There must be a facility to empower this exchange. It is also the facility where goods are stored in transit. Without this port, the river can't be used. Protecting that port has been, from the time of the Louisiana Purchase, a fundamental national security issue for the United States.

Katrina has taken out the port -- not by destroying the facilities, but by rendering the area uninhabited and potentially uninhabitable. That means that even if the Mississippi remains navigable, the absence of a port near the mouth of the river makes the Mississippi enormously less useful than it was. For these reasons, the United States has lost not only its biggest port complex, but also the utility of its river transport system -- the foundation of the entire American transport system. There are some substitutes, but none with sufficient capacity to solve the problem.

It follows from this that the port will have to be revived and, one would assume, the city as well. The ports around New Orleans are located as far north as they can be and still be accessed by ocean-going vessels. The need for ships to be able to pass each other in the waterways, which narrow to the north, adds to the problem. Besides, the Highway 190 bridge in Baton Rouge blocks the river going north. New Orleans is where it is for a reason: The United States needs a city right there.

New Orleans is not optional for the United States' commercial infrastructure. It is a terrible place for a city to be located, but exactly the place where a city must exist. With that as a given, a city will return there because the alternatives are too devastating. The harvest is coming, and that means that the port will have to be opened soon. As in Iraq, premiums will be paid to people prepared to endure the hardships of working in New Orleans. But in the end, the city will return because it has to.
Geopolitics is the stuff of permanent geographical realities and the way they interact with political life. Geopolitics created New Orleans. Geopolitics caused American presidents to obsess over its safety. And geopolitics will force the city's resurrection, even if it is in the worst imaginable place.

by kfred on Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 01:57:29 PM EST

Cingular Wireless Awarded Contract to Provide Wireless Priority Service for Improved Emergency Communications in Louisiana

Local emergency response personnel and community leaders to benefit from new service

    NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 10 PRNewswire -- The state of Louisiana is now among the areas in the nation to benefit from a program that will provide improved communications to emergency response personnel and community leaders.
    Cingular Wireless has been awarded a contract by the National Communications System (NCS) to provide Wireless Priority Service (WPS) to the country's authorized emergency response personnel. As part of that contract, Cingular has launched WPS throughout Louisiana, as well as other select regions of the United States.
    The initial phase of WPS deployment (covering the top 25 markets in the U.S.) is complete for 2004. Total network deployment will be complete by the summer of 2005.
= = = = = = =
    Computer Sciences Corporation, the NCS's integration contractor for the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service and the Wireless Priority Service, was responsible for the acquisition of Cingular as a participating WPS provider.

Source:  Cingular PR Newswire, 10 Nov, '04.

by rba on Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 02:00:25 PM EST

LA - High Risk, 27 historically
MS - Medium Risk, 9 historically
AL - Medium Risk, 12 historically

Floods don't have the same layout for information.  The risk is guaged in dollars spent.

LA - Highest range
MS - Mid-range
AL - lower range

See this link "Are you ready for a flood":
http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/flood.shtm


by kfred on Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 03:07:49 PM EST

and also the epluribusmedia nodes on same timeline.

by intranets on Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 07:13:54 PM EST

WeatherInSite's What Else Went Wrong fresh off the presses.

by luaptifer on Sun Sep 04, 2005 at 09:41:22 PM EST

"Following President Bush?s federal disaster declaration, HUD began providing staff to Disaster Field Offices set up by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. HUD?s initial concern is to help meet the immediate housing needs of those whose homes have been damaged or destroyed. HUD is also reaching out to its private sector partners for assistance. HUD is contacting: top mortgage lenders about their inventory of repossessed homes; the homebuilding industry for help with building materials and supplying construction workers; its housing counseling network to assist displaced homeowners; and the manufactured housing industry about available housing stock."

This is an excerpt from a press release posted on their website, it's dated Friday, September 2nd:

http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr05-111.cfm

by kfred on Mon Sep 05, 2005 at 11:28:23 AM EST