Hurricane Katrina struck a fearsome blow across a wide swath of the Gulf Coast on Monday, flooding tens of thousands of homes in three states, displacing millions of residents who sought higher ground and marooning uncounted victims who ignored warnings to evacuate and were left clinging to balconies and rooftops praying for rescue.
At least 55 deaths were blamed on the massive Category 4 storm, and officials in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi were bracing for the death count to go even higher once rescuers reach scores of neighborhoods cut off by the massive flooding. Nearly a million homes in the region were without power or clean water and officials warned it might take weeks to restore both.
“Some of them, it was their last night on Earth,” said Terry Ebbert, chief of homeland security for New Orleans, referring to those who failed to evacuate the city of 480,000 in advance of the storm. “That’s a hard way to learn a lesson.”
Downtown New Orleans escaped the worst of the hurricane when the storm weakened slightly and veered eastward shortly before making landfall at daybreak near the Louisiana town of Buras. The storm then battered the Mississippi coast, slamming into Biloxi and Gulfport. Thirty people were killed in an apartment complex in Biloxi.
Refugees from the hurricane, who made a hasty evacuation from the New Orleans region on Sunday, were crammed into every available hotel room and temporary shelter all the way west to Houston and officials cautioned it would be many days before it was safe for them to return home.
“Please, I’m begging for your patience,” Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco asked her fellow citizens during a news conference. “Stay where you are until the professionals can assess the situation. If you try to get in now it will make their jobs more difficult.”
Even when it is safe, many will be returning to ruins: The cities of Metairie and Kenner along Interstate Highway 10 west of New Orleans were under at least 4 feet of water, with many houses suffering structural and roof damage. The expressway, littered with downed trees and submerged in some places, was shut down by authorities.
Situated below sea level and protected by a series of levees and pumps, New Orleans itself was cut off from all land access by surging floodwaters that submerged every street and expressway leading into the Big Easy.
The storm’s 100 m.p.h. winds tore several large holes in the roof of the 30-year-old New Orleans Superdome, which was sheltering some 9,000 residents who had no means of escape. There were no injuries, but a power loss knocked out the air conditioning, adding to the refugees’ misery.
High-rise buildings suffered many broken windows, but the historic French Quarter was largely spared from serious damage.
The coastal cities of Biloxi and Gulfport in Mississippi ended up taking a direct hit from the storm, which then spawned numerous tornadoes as it marched across the state. But officials were still reeling by nightfall and had been unable to survey the hardest-hit areas.
Several beachfront casinos were flooded, as well as major hospitals in the two cities, and along the coast there were reports of buildings knocked off their foundations by storm surges as high as 22 feet.
“Let me tell you something, folks: I’ve been out there. It’s complete devastation,” said Gulfport Fire Chief Pat Sullivan. “This is a devastating hit. We’ve got boats that have gone into buildings.”
In Alabama, Katrina toppled huge oak branches on Mobile’s waterfront and broke apart an oil-drilling platform, sending a piece slamming into a bridge. Stately antebellum mansions along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay were flooded.
“There are lots of homes through here worth a million dollars. At least they were yesterday,” Fred Wright told The Associated Press.
“I’ve been here 25 years, and this is the worst I’ve ever seen the water.”
The dead included 50 killed in Mississippi’s Harrison County–most of them at the Biloxi apartment complex–as well as three people killed by falling trees elsewhere in Mississippi and two people killed in a traffic accident in Alabama.
Days before the full extent of the catastrophe will be known, however, it was clear that the economic impact will be severe and likely felt across the nation. Early estimates put insurance claims at up to $26 billion, which would make Katrina one of the costliest storms in U.S. history.
Even worse for motorists across the country, the storm caused oil markets to shudder because it struck a prime U.S. offshore drilling region.
World oil prices soared, briefly climbing above $70 a barrel for the first time and setting the stage for yet another spike in the retail cost of gasoline.
By the end of the day, more than 700 offshore platforms and rigs had been evacuated and two rigs had drifted away.
The Bush administration said it would consider lending oil from the nation’s emergency fuel stockpile to supply refineries affected by the storm.
President Bush promised help for victims of the hurricane to “get your lives back in order” and federal officials rushed medical teams, rescue squads, baby formula, communications equipment, generators, water and ice into the worst-affected areas.
“Now is the time for governments to help people get their feet on the ground,” Bush said. “For those of you who are concerned about whether or not we are prepared to help — don’t be. We are.”
There were scattered reports of looting in Mississippi, prompting Gov. Haley Barbour to issue a stern warning.
“I’ve urged the highway patrol and National Guard to treat looters ruthlessly,” Barbour said. “The rules of engagement will be as ruthless as the law allows.”
But the temptation was present across the region. In Metairie, a city of 146,000, the storm tore open countless storefronts and private homes, leaving valuable goods exposed. Only the floodwaters lapping at the front doors provided some protection.
Every street, yard and structure in Metairie that was visible from I-10 appeared to be flooded Monday. Thousands of cars were submerged up to their door handles, shingles were peeled from roofs and swimming-pool slides and the tops of swing sets were the only items visible above the water in many back yards.
Stranded people milled about on the upper balconies of several motels, awaiting the arrival of rescue boats.
“We stayed in a car wash last night, and I was terrified,” said Tina Salande, 37, one of a handful of displaced area residents who had made it to the top of a highway overpass. “All we can do is wait to go home and pick up the pieces. But I’ve already heard our house is flooded, so I don’t really know what we’ll find.”
Worst hurricanes to hit U.S.
Here are the worst hurricanes to hit the continental United States, and how Katrina compares:
The deadliest: The 1900 storm that hit Galveston, Texas, with virtually no warning killed at least 8,000 people. Katrina is nowhere close. It killed nine people when it blew through Florida last week, and at least 55 more when it battered Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Monday. And, authorities expect the toll to rise.
The costliest: Hurricane Andrew in 1992 caused about $21 billion in insured losses in 2005 dollars across South Florida. Katrina could even surpass that. AIR Worldwide Corp., a risk modeling firm, said Monday that insured losses could range from $12 billion to $26 billion. That does not include possible damage to oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
The strongest: Three Category 5 storms have hit the U.S.: An unnamed 1935 storm in the Florida Keys; Hurricane Camille in Mississippi in 1969 and Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Katrina was Category 5 (over 155 m.p.h.) at one point, but when it hit land its winds were at 145 m.p.h., making it a Category 4 storm.
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hwitt@tribune.com
dglanton@tribune.com
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IN LOUISIANA
– 40,000 homes flooded in St. Bernard Parish, east of New Orleans.
– Single-story homes south of Lake Pontchartrain flooded to rooflines.
– Storm surges of 15 feet reported in New Orleans.
– At least 370,000 without power in southeast Louisiana.
– Wind tears two holes in roof of New Orleans’ Superdome, where 9,000 gather for shelter.
– A broken water main makes New Orleans’ tap water unsafe; city issues boil order.
– Several arrests for looting.
IN MISSISSIPPI
– 53 killed, including 30 at an apartment complex in Biloxi.
– 22-foot storm surge reported in Bay St. Louis.
Several beachfront casinos flooded.
IN ALABAMA
– Two killed in a storm-related traffic accident.
– At least 265,000 customers without power, mostly in the Mobile area.
IN FLORIDA
– At least 82,000 without power.
RAINFALL AND WINDSPEED (area map)
Information as of 3:25 p.m.
Central Daylight Time Monday
Sources: ESRI, TeleAtlas, National Weather Service, Associated Press and wire reports
Chicago Tribune
See microfilm for complete graphic.
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Storm’s projected paths (area map and times)
Sources: National Weather Service
Chicago Tribune
