HURRICANE KATRINA SITUATION REPORT
September 4, 2005, 2000 HOURS PST
Page 1 of 3
I. Situation Summary:

61,200 total evacuated from New Orleans since beginning of operations. Superdome, Convention Center and
causeway area now completely evacuated.

Air evacuations in New Orleans are dwindling. FEMA has announced major evacuations now behind us.

A Eurocopter AS 332 Super Puma helicopter crashed northwest of downtown New Orleans Sunday evening.
The pilot and crew sustained minor injuries and were rescued by the Coast Guard.

(Reported this morning) Over 15,665 survivors have been rescued so far by air and by boat. 9,400 patients
have been evacuated from area hospitals.

The official death toll remains at 325, and is expected to rise rapidly over the coming days.

American Railroad Association (owned by Burlington Northern) has announced rail availability in western New
Orleans as a possible transportation option.

Regarding the death toll from Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, Health and Human Services Secretary
Michael Leavitt said "I think it's evident it's in the thousands," the first time a federal official has acknowledged
what many had feared. Still no definitive estimates are available.

FEMA has set up a Donations Hotline at 800-440-6728.

According to the Louisiana Department of Social Services, a phone number has been set up for help in locating
missing children: 1800-thelost and a Web site as well: http://www.missingkids.com

Katrina Missing Persons Hotline, 1-888-544-5475, will go live at 12:00 Noon (Eastern) on Monday, September 5.

CNN has developed a service to allow refugees and others affected by the hurricane to post their name and let
others know that they are safe. The site is located at: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/hurricanes/list/

Health care professionals and relief personnel that wish to volunteer to assist with Katrina response operations
can do so online. The web site is located at: http://www.hhs.gov/emergency/hurricane.html

With each passing day, health concerns continue to grow for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Doctor Ivor Van
Heerden of the L-S-U Hurricane Center says gastrointestinal illnesses like dysentery are among the immediate
concerns. So are staph infections among people who had cuts on their arms and legs while wading through
filthy water. In a couple of weeks, he expects an increase in West Nile Virus.

A shelter in Biloxi, Mississippi, was closed after 20 people were sickened with apparent cases of dysentery.
Another 20 people reportedly were treated for vomiting and diarrhea.

The Commonwealths of Pennsylvania and Virginia have declared States of Emergency to plan for and respond
to the influx of displaced persons from the effects of Katrina.

The Department of Transportation continues to operate major evacuation by bus, with well over 1,100 vehicles
engaged in the operation, and several hundred additional vehicles being identified to be added to the effort if
needed.
HURRICANE KATRINA SITUATION REPORT
September 4, 2005, 2000 HOURS PST
Page 2 of 3

(Reported this morning) 5,877 FEMA personnel are deployed, including 1,811 National Disaster Medical System
(NDMS) personnel and 1,777 USAR personnel.

(Reported this morning) 60 Department of Defense (DoD) helicopters and 12 DoD fixed wing aircraft are
assisting.

(Reported this morning) A K-Mart building in Baton Rouge has been purchased by the State of LA and a 1,000bed hospital facility is being set up.

(Reported this morning) Federal officials are chartering three Carnival Cruise Lines ships for six months to
provide shelter for Hurricane Katrina evacuees. The "Ecstasy," "Sensation" and "Holiday" are being pulled from
regular use. The Ecstasy and Sensation can each take about 2,600 passengers. The Holiday has capacity for
about 1,800 people.

(Reported this morning) The number of evacuees by state: Alabama – 6,000; District of Columbia – 1,000,
Florida – 1,400; Georgia – 900; Louisiana – 60,000; Mississippi – 16,000; Tennessee – 100; Texas – 137,000.
Total is 222,400.
II. Weather Forecast:
Mon
General
High/Low
Precip. Chance
92°/74°
30%
Tue
Wed
Isolated Thunderstorms
90°/73°
91°/72°
30%
30%
Thu
Mortly Sunny
91°/73°
30%
Hurricane Maria strengthened to 85-mph on Sunday afternoon. Additional intensification is expected and Maria
could become a category 2 hurricane on Monday. The good news is that this storm is several hundred miles east of
Bermuda and will not impact any land. The hurricane will move to the north and eventually northeast where it will
encounter shear and cooler water.
III. Current Actions:
The Algiers section of New Orleans has been the new focus for evacuation operations. Approximately 3,000
individuals needing evacuation are believed to be in the area. Current status of the number of evacuees rescued
unknown.
This incident marks the first deployment of Swift Water Rescue resources as part of a FEMA deployment.
CATF-1 (Team 3 - Swift Water Rescue) was deployed to an isolated area near New Orleans to conduct victim
search operations. They were airlifted to the area and conducted searches utilizing personal watercraft, inflatable
rubber boats (IRBs), which are zodiac boats with outboard motors, and hand-held global positioning satellite
devices. There were no reports of any rescues.
CATF-1 (Team 3 - Swift Water Rescue) reported yesterday that they conducted several animal rescues after victim
rescues were concluded.
CATF-1 (Team 1 - USAR) is still staged in Dallas. They are waiting for FEMA to issue word regarding how they will
be used (replacement asset or additional). This decision should be made tomorrow morning.
No injuries or illnesses have been reported and morale remains very high.
CATF-1 is anticipated to be assigned for 14 days from the day of assignment.
The LAFD still has three USAR Task Forces (FS 88, FS 27, FS 85) available to handle local incidents, if
needed.
HURRICANE KATRINA SITUATION REPORT
September 4, 2005, 2000 HOURS PST
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The State of California has assessed in-state capabilities. There are sufficient resources to form USAR Task
Forces to cope with local incidents.
100 California Highway Patrol Officers will be deployed to Louisiana.
IV. Miscellaneous Important Information:
Fatalities (Confirmed):
No current update available for this report.
Louisiana
Mississippi
Alabama
Florida
Texas
Total
126*
185**
2
11
1
325
*Estimates are in the thousands. **Estimates are in the hundreds.
Security:
Law and order have been established throughout the impacted areas. National Guard troops along with
Federal, State, and local Law Enforcement Officers continue to pour into the devastated areas and there are
few reports of ongoing hostility.
The Army Corps of Engineers stated that 14 contractors escorted by police were fired upon while crossing
the Danziger Bridge, which spans a canal connecting Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River. Officers
returned fire and killed five or six of the gunmen.
Electricity:
No current update available for this report.
State
Alabama
Louisiana
Mississippi
Total
Customer without power
74,725
668,861
591,548
1,335,134
% of Total
3%
62%
42%
27%
Some electric power plants in the New Orleans area are operational; power is being slowly restored in some
surrounding areas.
Communications:
No current update available for this report.
Damaged communications facilities continue to hamper the emergency rescue and re-supply mission, but
alternate systems and repairs are slowly improving the situation.
Foreign Countries:
FEMA will begin accepting supplies from foreign countries, US State Department coordinating.
The State Department said offers of help had been received from:
Australia, Austria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belgium, Canada, China, Columbia, Cuba, Dominica,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Greece, Guyana, Honduras,
Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico,
the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Philippines, Portugal, South Korea, Russia, Saudi
Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United
Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
Situation Report Prepared by LAFD Special Operations Division, Homeland Security Intelligence Section