Katrina Timeline
GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: [Office of the Governor]
GULF COAST STATES REQUEST TROOP ASSISTANCE FROM PENTAGON: At a 9/1 press conference, Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, commander, Joint Task Force Katrina, said that the Gulf States began the process of requesting additional forces on Friday, 8/26. [DOD]
Saturday,
August 27
5AM
— KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE
[CNN]
GOV.
BLANCO ASKS BUSH TO DECLARE FEDERAL STATE OF EMERGENCY IN
LOUISIANA:
“I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that
effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local
governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save
lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the
threat of a disaster.” [Office
of the Governor]
FEDERAL
EMERGENCY DECLARED, DHS AND FEMA GIVEN FULL AUTHORITY TO RESPOND TO
KATRINA:
“Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its
discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the
emergency.” [White
House]
Sunday,
August 28
2AM
– KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE
[CNN]
7AM
– KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE
[CNN]
MORNING
— LOUISIANA NEWSPAPER SIGNALS LEVEES MAY GIVE:
“Forecasters Fear Levees Won’t Hold Katrina”: “Forecasters feared Sunday
afternoon that storm driven waters will lap over the New Orleans levees when
monster Hurricane Katrina pushes past the Crescent City tomorrow.”
[Lafayette
Daily Advertiser]
9:30
AM — MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES FIRST EVER MANDATORY EVACUATION OF NEW
ORLEANS:
“We’re facing the storm most of us have feared,” said Nagin. “This is going to
be an unprecedented event.” [Times-Picayune]
4PM
– NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES SPECIAL HURRICANE
WARNING:
In the event of a category 4 or 5 hit, “Most of the area will be uninhabitable
for weeks, perhaps longer. … At least one-half of well-constructed homes will
have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail, leaving those homes
severely damaged or destroyed. … Power outages will last for weeks. … Water
shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards.”
[National
Weather Service]
AFTERNOON
— BUSH, BROWN, CHERTOFF WARNED OF LEVEE FAILURE BY NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER
DIRECTOR:
Dr. Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center: “‘We were briefing
them way before landfall. … It’s not like this was a surprise. We had in the
advisories that the levee could be topped.’” [Times-Picayune;
St.
Petersburg Times]
LATE
PM – REPORTS OF WATER TOPPLING OVER LEVEE:
“Waves crashed atop the exercise path on the Lake Pontchartrain levee in Kenner
early Monday as Katrina churned closer.” [Times-Picayune]
APPROXIMATELY
30,000 EVACUEES GATHER AT SUPERDOME WITH ROUGHLY 36 HOURS WORTH OF
FOOD
[Times-Picayune]
Monday,
August 29
7AM
– KATRINA MAKES LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE
[CNN]
8AM
– MAYOR NAGIN REPORTS THAT WATER IS FLOWING OVER LEVEE:
“I’ve gotten reports this morning that there is already water coming over some
of the levee systems. In the lower ninth ward, we’ve had one of our pumping
stations to stop operating, so we will have significant flooding, it is just a
matter of how much.” [NBC’s “Today Show”]
MORNING
— BUSH CALLS SECRETARY CHERTOFF TO DISCUSS IMMIGRATION:
“I spoke to Mike Chertoff today — he’s the head of the Department of Homeland
Security. I knew people would want me to discuss this issue [immigration], so we
got us an airplane on — a telephone on Air Force One, so I called him. I said,
are you working with the governor? He said, you bet we are.” [White
House]
MORNING
– BUSH SHARES BIRTHDAY CAKE PHOTO-OP WITH SEN. JOHN
MCCAIN
[White
House]
11AM
— BUSH VISITS ARIZONA RESORT TO PROMOTE MEDICARE DRUG
BENEFIT:
“This new bill I signed says, if you’re a senior and you like the way things are
today, you’re in good shape, don’t change. But, by the way, there’s a lot of
different options for you. And we’re here to talk about what that means to our
seniors.” [White
House]
LATE
MORNING – LEVEE BREACHED:
“A large section of the vital 17th Street Canal levee, where it connects to the
brand new ‘hurricane proof’ Old Hammond Highway bridge, gave way late Monday
morning in Bucktown after Katrina’s fiercest winds were well north.”
[Times-Picayune]
11:30AM
— MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY REQUESTS THAT DHS DISPATCH 1,000 EMPLOYEES TO REGION,
GIVES THEM TWO DAYS TO ARRIVE:
“Brown’s memo to Chertoff described Katrina as ‘this near catastrophic event’
but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, ‘Thank you
for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities.’”
[AP]
2PM
— BUSH TRAVELS TO CALIFORNIA SENIOR CENTER TO DISCUSS MEDICARE DRUG
BENEFIT:
“We’ve got some folks up here who are concerned about their Social Security or
Medicare. Joan Geist is with us. … I could tell — she was looking at me when I
first walked in the room to meet her, she was wondering whether or not old
George W. is going to take away her Social Security check.” [White
House]
9PM
— RUMSFELD ATTENDS SAN DIEGO PADRES BASEBALL GAME:
Rumsfeld “joined Padres President John Moores in the owner’s box…at Petco Park.”
[Editor
& Publisher]
Tuesday,
August 30
9AM
– BUSH SPEAKS ON IRAQ AT NAVAL BASE CORONADO
[White
House]
MIDDAY
– CHERTOFF FINALLY BECOMES AWARE THAT LEVEE HAS FAILED:
“It was on Tuesday that the levee–may have been overnight Monday to Tuesday–that
the levee started to break. And it was midday Tuesday that I became aware of the
fact that there was no possibility of plugging the gap and that essentially the
lake was going to start to drain into the city.” [Meet
the Press,
9/4/05]
PENTAGON
CLAIMS THERE ARE ENOUGH NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS IN REGION:
“Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said the states have adequate National
Guard units to handle the hurricane needs.” [WWL-TV]
MASS
LOOTING REPORTED, SECURITY SHORTAGE CITED:
“The looting is out of control. The French Quarter has been attacked,”
Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson said. “We’re using exhausted, scarce police to
control looting when they should be used for search and rescue while we still
have people on rooftops.” [AP]
U.S.S.
BATAAN SITS OFF SHORE, VIRTUALLY UNUSED:
“The USS Bataan, a 844-foot ship designed to dispatch Marines in amphibious
assaults, has helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water. It also can
make its own water, up to 100,000 gallons a day. And it just happened to be in
the Gulf of Mexico when Katrina came roaring ashore. The Bataan rode out the
storm and then followed it toward shore, awaiting relief orders. Helicopter
pilots flying from its deck were some of the first to begin plucking stranded
New Orleans residents. But now the Bataan’s hospital facilities, including six
operating rooms and beds for 600 patients, are empty.” [Chicago
Tribune]
3PM
– PRESIDENT BUSH PLAYS GUITAR WITH COUNTRY SINGER MARK
WILLIS
[AP]
BUSH
RETURNS TO CRAWFORD FOR FINAL NIGHT OF VACATION
[AP]
Wednesday,
August 31
TENS
OF THOUSANDS TRAPPED IN SUPERDOME; CONDITIONS
DETERIORATE:
“A 2-year-old girl slept in a pool of urine. Crack vials littered a restroom.
Blood stained the walls next to vending machines smashed by teenagers. ‘We pee
on the floor. We are like animals,’ said Taffany Smith, 25, as she cradled her
3-week-old son, Terry. … By Wednesday, it had degenerated into horror. … At
least two people, including a child, have been raped. At least three people have
died, including one man who jumped 50 feet to his death, saying he had nothing
left to live for. There is no sanitation. The stench is overwhelming.”"
[Los
Angeles Times,
9/1/05]
PRESIDENT
BUSH FINALLY ORGANIZES TASK FORCE TO COORDINATE FEDERAL
RESPONSE:
Bush says on Tuesday he will “fly to Washington to begin work…with a task force
that will coordinate the work of 14 federal agencies involved in the relief
effort.” [New
York Times,
8/31/05]
JEFFERSON
PARISH EMERGENCY DIRECTOR SAYS FOOD AND WATER SUPPLY
GONE:
“Director Walter Maestri: FEMA and national agencies not delivering the help
nearly as fast as it is needed.” [WWL-TV]
80,000
BELIEVED STRANDED IN NEW ORLEANS:
Former Mayor Sidney Barthelemy “estimated 80,000 were trapped in the flooded
city and urged President Bush to send more troops.” [Reuters]
3,000
STRANDED AT CONVENTION CENTER WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER:
“With 3,000 or more evacuees stranded at the convention center — and with no
apparent contingency plan or authority to deal with them — collecting a body was
no one’s priority. … Some had been at the convention center since Tuesday
morning but had received no food, water or instructions.” [Times-Picayune]
5PM
— BUSH GIVES FIRST MAJOR ADDRESS ON KATRINA:
“Nothing about the president’s demeanor… — which seemed casual to the point of
carelessness — suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis.”
[New
York Times]
8:00PM
– CONDOLEEZZA RICE TAKES IN A BROADWAY SHOW:
“On Wednesday night, Secretary Rice was booed by some audience members at
‘Spamalot!, the Monty Python musical at the Shubert, when the lights went up
after the performance.” [New
York Post,
9/2/05]
9PM
— FEMA DIRECTOR BROWN CLAIMS SURPRISE OVER SIZE OF STORM:
“I must say, this storm is much much bigger than anyone expected.”
[CNN]
Thursday,
September 1
8AM
— BUSH CLAIMS NO ONE EXPECTED LEVEES TO BREAK:
“I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.” [Washington
Post]
CONDOLEEZZA
RICE VISITS U.S. OPEN:
“Rice, [in New York] on three days’ vacation to shop and see the U.S. Open,
hitting some balls with retired champ Monica Seles at the Indoor Tennis Club at
Grand Central.” [New
York Post]
STILL
NO COMMAND AND CONTROL ESTABLISHED:
Terry Ebbert, New Orleans Homeland Security Director: “This is a national
emergency. This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there
is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami
victims, but we can’t bail out the city of New Orleans.” [Fox
News]
2PM
— MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES “DESPERATE SOS” TO FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT:
“This is a desperate SOS. Right now we are out of resources at the convention
centre and don’t anticipate enough buses. We need buses. Currently the
convention centre is unsanitary and unsafe and we’re running out of supplies.”
[Guardian, 9/2/05]
2PM
— MICHAEL BROWN CLAIMS NOT TO HAVE HEARD OF REPORTS OF
VIOLENCE:
“I’ve had no reports of unrest, if the connotation of the word unrest means that
people are beginning to riot, or you know, they’re banging on walls and
screaming and hollering or burning tires or whatever. I’ve had no reports of
that.” [CNN]
NEW
ORLEANS “DESCEND[S] INTO ANARCHY”:
“Storm victims were raped and beaten, fights and fires broke out, corpses lay
out in the open, and rescue helicopters and law enforcement officers were shot
at as flooded-out New Orleans descended into anarchy Thursday. ‘This is a
desperate SOS,’ the mayor said.” [AP]
CONDOLEEZZA
RICE GOES SHOE SHOPPING:
“Just moments ago at the Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen
spending several thousands of dollars on some nice, new shoes (we’ve confirmed
this, so her new heels will surely get coverage from the WaPo’s Robin Givhan). A
fellow shopper, unable to fathom the absurdity of Rice’s timing, went up to the
Secretary and reportedly shouted, ‘How dare you shop for shoes while thousands
are dying and homeless!’” [Gawker]
MICHAEL
BROWN FINALLY LEARNS OF EVACUEES IN CONVENTION CENTER:
“We learned about that (Thursday), so I have directed that we have all available
resources to get that convention center to make sure that they have the food and
water and medical care that they need.” [CNN]
Friday,
September 2
ROVE-LED
CAMPAIGN TO BLAME LOCAL OFFICIALS BEGINS:
“Under the command of President Bush’s two senior political advisers, the White
House rolled out a plan…to contain the political damage from the
administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina.” President Bush’s comments from
the Rose Garden Friday morning formed “the start of this campaign.”
[New
York Times,
9/5/05]
9:35AM
— BUSH PRAISES MICHAEL BROWN:
“Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.” [White House, 9/2/05]
10
AM — PRESIDENT BUSH STAGES PHOTO-OP “BRIEFING”:
Coast Guard helicopters and crew diverted to act as backdrop for President
Bush’s photo-op.
BUSH
VISIT GROUNDS FOOD AID:
“Three tons of food ready for delivery by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish
and on Algiers Point sat on the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon
as air traffic was halted because of President Bush’s visit to New Orleans,
officials said.” [Times-Picayune]
LEVEE
REPAIR WORK ORCHESTRATED FOR PRESIDENT’S VISIT:
Sen. Mary Landrieu, 9/3: “Touring this critical site yesterday with the
President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a
handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot
again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday
we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity;
and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a
single, lonely piece of equipment.” [Sen.
Mary Landrieu]
BUSH
USES 50 FIREFIGHTERS AS PROPS IN DISASTER AREA PHOTO-OP:
A group of 1,000 firefighters convened in Atlanta to volunteer with the Katrina
relief efforts. Of those, “a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto
a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew’s first assignment: to stand beside
President Bush as he tours devastated areas.” [Salt
Lake Tribune;
Reuters]
3PM
— BUSH “SATISFIED WITH THE RESPONSE”:
“I am satisfied with the response. I am not satisfied with all the results.”
[AP]
Saturday,
September 3
SENIOR
BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL LIES TO WASHINGTON POST, CLAIMS GOV. BLANCO NEVER
DECLARED STATE OF EMERGENCY:
The Post reported in their Sunday edition “As of Saturday, Blanco still had not
declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.” They were forced
to issue a correction hours later. [Washington Post, 9/4/05]
9AM — BUSH BLAMES STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS: “[T]he magnitude of responding to a crisis over a disaster area that is larger than the size of Great Britain has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities. The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need.” [White House, 9/3/05]
