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This site includes the postings from the Irish Aires email list. This includes a listing of Irish/Celtic events in the Houston area and other information that the Irish Aires radio program posts.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Katrina & O'Flaherty's Irish Channel
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/28/AR2005082800376_2.html
Bush Prepares Hurricane Relief Effort
By Jennifer Loven
The Associated Press
Sunday, August 28, 2005; 7:00 PM
CRAWFORD, Texas -- President Bush, as he readied the
federal government for a massive relief effort, on Sunday
urged people in the path of Hurricane Katrina to forget
anything but their safety and move to higher ground as
instructed.
"We cannot stress enough the danger this hurricane poses to
Gulf Coast communities," Bush said as the storm roared
across the gulf toward New Orleans and other communities.
"I urge all citizens to put their own safety and the safety
of their families first by moving to safe ground."
“O’Flaherty’s Irish Channel”
(See Pic at: http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2005/08/28/PH2005082800379.jpg )
Max Thore, left, helps Danny O'Flaherty, 2nd from left, and
his son Liam carry a Currack, an Irish racing boat, into
their bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Sunday,
Aug. 28, 2005. Preparations continue for the arrival of
Hurricane Katrina which is expected to make landfall on
Monday. At right is Harriet Simon. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)
(Bill Haber - AP)
With forecasters warning of a category five storm, the
president made sure the federal response would not be
delayed by already declaring emergencies in Mississippi,
Florida and Alabama just hours after a similar declaration
for Louisiana. Such declarations make federal aid available
to assist with disaster relief, but they are rarely made
before a storm even hits.
Working from his Texas ranch, Bush participated via
videoconference in a large meeting of federal, state and
local disaster management officials preparing for the
storm's onslaught. Separately, he spoke by phone with the
governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
"We will do everything in our power to help the people and
the communities affected by this storm," the president
said.
Winds reaching 175 mph and a potentially devastating storm
surge were feared when Hurricane Katrina reached land early
Monday. The 485,000 residents of New Orleans were ordered
to evacuate the city.
In Washington, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was
coordinating relief efforts sending water, food and other
supplies to staging centers in the Southeast. FEMA was
moving supplies from logistics centers in Atlanta and
Denton, Texas, to areas closer to where authorities believe
the storm will create a need, spokeswoman Nicol Andrews
said.
"It's a very dangerous situation at this point," FEMA
spokeswoman Nicol Andrews said. "We're ready and awaiting
landfall."
The American Red Cross was mobilizing volunteers from
across the country for what one official called its largest
response to a single disaster in many years.
"This is really an all-hands-on-deck scenario for the Red
Cross right now," spokeswoman Carrie Martin said.
The Red Cross urged people, even those who think they are
outside the storm's path, to prepare for an emergency.
"It could shift at any point. It's really a matter of not
taking any chances, having the supplies in place," Martin
said.
Andrews said that FEMA knows "from 30 years' experience
that these hurricanes are still largely unpredictable and
can turn at a moment's notice."
Officials anticipated a need for emergency shelters as
people evacuate the areas expected to be hit hardest by the
storm. "As far as people can get away from the storm there
will be places for them to go," Andrews said.
The Red Cross encouraged people to turn to friends and
family first rather than shelters because of the magnitude
of the evacuation. Shelters should be for those who have
nowhere else to go, Martin said.
----
Associated Press writers Tom Raum and Douglass K. Daniel in
Washington contributed to this report.