Katrina At A Glance By Associated Press - September 8, 20053:18 p.m.:Water Levels Continue To Drop In New Orleans The Army Corps of Engineers said the floodwaters in New Orleans are receding at a rate of 4 to 6 inches a day. Walter Baumy, who is in charge of getting the water out of the city, said 60 percent of New Orleans remains submerged. That's down from 80 percent at the height of the flooding.
Meanwhile, Police Superintendent Eddie Compass said his officers along with National Guard Troops will begin physically forcing residents to evacuate once the entire city has been surveyed for people who want to leave but need help. He says that survey is about 80 percent complete. -- Associated Press
2:02 p.m.: Majority Want President To Focus On Domestic Issues More Americans want President George W. Bush to concentrate on what's going on at home.
A poll by the Pew Research Center found that more than half of Americans who were surveyed now say it's more important for the president to focus on domestic policy. It's the first time since Sept. 11, 2001 that domestic matters have been viewed as a higher priority than the war on terrorism.
According to the survey, two-thirds say the president could've done more to get relief efforts to the Hurricane Katrina victims.
Four in 10 said the response to the hurricane has made them less confident about the government's ability to handle a major terrorist attack. -- Associated Press
10:15 a.m.: Cheney, Gonzales Tour Stricken Area Vice President Dick Cheney and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales toured stricken Gulf Coast areas Thursday, beginning with coastal Mississippi before heading later to Louisiana. Cheney's plane, Air Force Two, flew over heavily damaged houses as it landed at the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport.
Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff greeted Cheney and Gonzales and briefed them on relief operations. The vice president then went into a series of private sessions with state and local officials. He is scheduled to tour parts of the town later and hold a news conference. -- Associated Press
7:30 a.m.: New Orleans Police Chief Said Police Holding City Together New Orleans Police Chief Eddie Compass calls the 1,200 officers who have been trying to hold the city together "heroes.” Compass said security forces are focusing on people who want to leave first and then will "go house by house by house" to force people to leave. Mayor Nagin has ordered all civilians to leave New Orleans. He's authorized forced evacuations. -- Associated Press
5:53 a.m.: Some New Orleans Schools May Reopen In January The president of the Orleans Parish School Board says it's possible some New Orleans schools that sustained relatively minor damage will be able to reopen in January, but he says others will be closed for at least a year. -- Associated Press
5:20 a.m.: Job Losses Loom The U.S. economy could take a major hit as a result of Hurricane Katrina. The Congressional Budget Office says 400,000 jobs could be lost, wiping out recent gains. Some private estimates say the figure could be closer to 1 million lost jobs. -- Associated Press
4:47 a.m.: Most Animals At Audubon Zoo Survived Most of the animals at New Orleans' Audubon Zoo survived Hurricane Katrina, and the director says the zoo crew is working hard to keep them alive. The zoo suffered quite a bit of damage although director Dan Maloney is relieved it wasn't even worse. Two sea otters died from the stress in the days after the storm. Zoos elsewhere are taking in some of the New Orleans zoo's 1,400 animals. -- Associated Press
4:28 a.m.: Congress Plans Katrina Investigation Congressional Republicans are promising quick action on President George W. Bush's request for nearly $52 billion more to help hurricane victims. They've also announced plans for a bipartisan House-Senate panel to investigate the government's readiness for Katrina as well as its response. -- Associated Press
3:42 a.m.: Cheney Visits Storm Zone Today More high-profile trips to the storm region are planned Thursday. Vice President Dick Cheney makes three stops to assess relief efforts. First lady Laura Bush will be visiting schools in Mississippi and Iowa to highlight the plight of displaced children, and the White House indicates President George W. Bush himself could soon be going back again. -- Associated Press
2:21 a.m.: World Sends Storm Aid China says it's sending 100 tons of relief supplies to the U.S., part of an international outpouring of help for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas has become an international hub for the aid. A Chinese transport carrying bedding, clothes, tents and generators is believed to be the first from China ever to land there. Aircraft from countries including Britain, Italy and France have been arriving since Monday carrying supplies including food and water. -- Associated Press
12:20 a.m.: FEMA Hires Contractor To Handle Bodies A Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman says the agency has hired a contractor to help remove bodies in New Orleans. The decision was made with the expectation that there may be large numbers of corpses, but the spokesman says other than "guesswork," nobody has any idea about the number of deaths. -- Associated Press |