Katrina Headlines XVIII

Goddam. I thought we were going to win this. The latest from WWL: “Efforts to stop the levee break at the 17th Street Canal have ended unsuccessfully and the water is expected to soon overwhelm the pumps in that area, allowing water to pour into the east bank of Metairie and Orleans to an expected height of 12-15 feet.”
Times-Picayune: “Homes in West End, Bucktown and at the Orleans-Jefferson Parish line are nearly underwater, with residents being plucked from the water and rooftops by passing boats, WWL-TV video shows.”
Biloxi appears devastated from air.
Hurricanes from space.
Long-form feature from the L.A. Times.
All people are urged to evacuate. Efforts to beat the levee are over.
Main public hospital no longer functioning.
What’s the word on the Superdome evacuation?

Katrina Headlines XVII

Closing levee breaches is National Guard’s top priority.
A helpful history of hurricane flooding.
Katrina is equivalent of Ivan in some parts of Alabama.
Inflation worries.
Overview of Katrina’s effects, at a glance.
Latest from WWL: Navy now sending three ships from Gulf Coast. Four dead in St. Tammany.
More at Brendan Loy’s about the levee breach threat abating and the potential threat from the Mississippi, given Katrina’s work up north.
Nearly two days after this all started, Bush finally gets around to delivering a statement. Remarkable. Of course, there’s no mention of monies earmarked for federal aid. Will this prove to be as embarassing as the bargain basement Asian tsunami funding?
From the WWL TV stream, river is back to normal height. Flooding now coming exclusively from lake.
< a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-1758006,00.html">“This is our tsunami.”

The big question: is there any confirmation that the water is still rising or have the sandbags dropped in the levee somehow managed to halt the waterflow from the lake?
WWL is now reporting that state officials are trying to figure out how to transfer 4,000 inmates from the New Orleans jail and 1,000 inmates from the Jefferson Parish jail. Both prisons face flooding.
Now all hotel guests are going to the Superdome.
Now here’s where Republican self-sufficient state policy gets interesting: Louisiana is begging the White House to waive federal rules that push a sizable chunk of the financial burden of the cleanup onto the state. They want the federal government to help pick up the tab. Here’s where things get interesting: During the Florida hurricanes, FEMA picked up 100% of the costs after the first 72 hours. Will there be a quid pro quo, a deal with the devil, or a poltical favor to ensure that FEMA picks up 100% of the tab for Louisiana after three days? I sincerely hope political reporters are paying attention to this. Josh Marshall, will you keep this issue alive?
Katrina in Louisiana.

Great coverage over at Brendan Loy.
Many victims left with nothing.
Video aerial tour of coastline wiped out is at MSNBC.
Hugh Hewitt wants some ideas on how to coordinate fundraising.
Looting: “It’s downtown Baghdad.”
How the media’s been improvising to report the storm.
Retail stocks take plunge.
MSNBC’s Janet Shamlian describes what she’s seen in a Q&A.
Katrina effort is largest undertaking of American Red Cross in its history.
More global warming name-calling from Ross Gelbspan.
More good coverage from Deadly Katrina.
Blanco says there is a plan to rescue people in Superdome: (1) get them food and supplies, (2) develop network to get them out.
More on the energy relation.
They’ve even thought about the pets.
From Brendan Loy: An elevation map from the Washington Post, with the French Quarter on high ground.
Reports of looters shooting cop in head.

National Guard says there’s 60,000 people in the Superdome.
One of the deaths at the Superdome: a person leaping to their death from the upper level.
Biloxi apartment complex: 30 dead in collapse.
Mobile Loaves and Fishes coming into act.
$3 gas in Omaha.
Logic Voice points to this Democracy Now item: Iraq war will play role in recovery. Much of the Louisiana National Guard’s equipment is in Iraq.
Overview of Katrina’s economic effects.
Behind the scenes at the National Hurricane Center.
Times-Picayune: Latest update on neighborhoods. Seems that area near West Jefferson Hospital is dry, as is 1700 block of N. Turnbull St. Rumor now that water around Canal Blvd. does not seem to be rising. So perhaps we’ve reached the peak of the levee breach flooding.
Missing Persons Number: 225-925-6626.
WWL-TV blog: Confirmation that 60,000 people are in Superdome, Jefferson Parish saying that schools could reopen two months after Labor Day.