4A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2005
WEATHER
Rescue teams rush to flooded coast
BY BRETT MARTEL
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW ORLEANS — Rescuers along the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast pushed aside the dead to reach the living Tuesday in a race against time and rising waters, while New Orleans sank deeper into crisis and Louisiana's governor ordered storm refugees out of this drowning city.
Two levees broke and sent water coursing into the streets of the Big Easy a full day after New Orleans appeared to have escaped widespread destruction from Hurricane Katrina. An estimated 80 percent of the below-sea-level city was under water, up to 20 feet deep in places, with miles and miles of homes swamped.
"The situation is untenable," Gov. Kathleen Blanco said. "It's just heartbreaking."
One Mississippi county alone said its death toll was at least 100, and officials are "very, very worried that this is going to go a lot higher," said Joe Spraggins, civil defense director for Harrison County, home to Biloxi and Gulfport.
Several victims in the county were from a beachfront apartment building that collapsed under a 25-foot wall of water as Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast with 145-mph winds. And Louisiana officials said many were feared dead there, too, making Katrina one of the most punishing storms to hit the United States in decades.
After touring the destruction by air, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said it is not of case of homes being severely damaged, "they're simply not there... I can only imagine that this is what Hiroshima looked like 60 years ago."
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said hundreds, if not thousands, of people may still be stuck on rooftops and in attics, and so rescue boats were bypassing the dead.
"We're not even dealing with dead bodies," Nagin said. "They're just pushing them on
"That would be the best thing to calm our spirits and thak our Lord that we are survivors. Slowly, gradually, we will recover, we will survive; we can rebuild."
Kathleen Blanco
Louisiana governor
the side."
The flooding in New Orleans grew worse by the minute, prompting the evacuation of hotels and hospitals and an audacious plan to drop huge sandbags from helicopters to close up one of the breached levees. At the same time, looting broke out in some neighborhoods, the sweltering city of 480,000 had no drinkable water, and the electricity could be out for weeks.
With water rising perilously inside the Superdome, Blanco said the tens of thousands of refugees now hudled there and other shelters in New Orleans would have to be evacuated.
She asked residents to spend Wednesday in prayer.
"That would be the best thing to calm our spirits and thank our Lord that we are survivors," she said. "Slowly, gradually, we will recover; we will survive; we will rebuild."
A helicopter view of the devastation over the New Orleans area revealed people standing on black rooftops baking in the sunshine while waiting for rescue boats. A row of desperately needed ambulances were lined up on the interstate, water blocking their path. Roller coasters jutted out from the water at a Six Flags amusement park.
Hundreds of inmates were seen standing on a highway because the prison had been flooded.
the prison that Sen. Mary Landrieu quietly traced the sign of the cross across her head and chest as she looked out at St. Bernard Parish, where only roofs peaked out from the water.
"The whole parish is gone,' Landrieu said.
All day long, rescues in boats and helicopters pulled out shellshocked and bedraggled flood refugees from rooftops and attics. Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu said that 3,000 people have been rescued by boat and air, some placed shivering and wet into helicopter baskets. They were brought by the truckload into shelters, some in wheelchairs and some carrying babies, with stories of survival and of those who didn't make it.
he can be poisoned by Across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, more than 1 million residents remained without electricity, some without clean drinking water. An untold number who heeded evacuation orders were displaced and 40,000 were in Red Cross shelters, with officials saying it could be weeks, if not months, before most will be able to return.
"Oh my God, it was hell," said Kioka Williams, who had to hack through the ceiling of the beauty shop where she worked as floodwaters rose in New Orleans' low-lying Ninth Ward. "We were screaming, hollering, flashing lights. It was complete chaos."
"He was kind of on the edge of the roof, catching his breath," Mills said. "Next thing I knew, he came floating past me."
Frank Mills was in a boarding house in the same neighborhood when water started swirling up toward the ceiling and he fled to the roof. Two elderly residents never made it out, and a third was washed away trying to climb onto the roof.
dent Bush cut short his Texas vacation Tuesday to return to Washington to focus on the storm damage.
Emergency medical teams from across the country were sent into the region and Presi-
Federal Emergency Management Agency director Mike Brown warned that structural damage to homes, diseases from animal carcasses and chemicals in floodwaters made it unsafe for residents to come home anytime soon.
A mass return also was discouraged to keep from interfering with rescue and recovery efforts.
That was made tough enough by the vast expanse of floodwaters in coastal areas that took an eight-hour pounding from Katrina's howling winds and up to 15 inches of rainfall.
hurricane didn't hit his home as hadly as some had predicted.
Hurricane
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Burnham said he wanted to go to New Orleans to help his mother this weekend, but worried he wouldn't be allowed into the city.
Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco ordered all survivors out of New Orleans last night as levees gave way and pumps failed. Thousands of individuals who were in shelters or trapped in homes were expected to be moved to shelters outside of the flooded areas as soon as possible.
Late Monday night, DeMarco Smith, New Orleans sophomore, still waited to hear from friends who were holed up inside the Louisiana Superdome as the hurricane roared overhead.
"I've tried texting them," he said. "But I haven't been able to get through."
"It was hard knowing my mom was by herself," he said. "It was hard knowing I couldn't be there with her."
—The Associated Press contributed to this story. Edited by Jonathan Kealing
is requested to enter a guilty or not guilty plea to decide whether the case goes to trial. Branson said.
Giddens
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Misdemeanor battery can result in a fine of up to $1,000 and up to six months in county jail, Branson said.
In a statement issued by the University of New Mexico's media relations department Giddens commented on the Moonbar incident and his future.
dent that May, "Last May, I had an experience I will remember the rest of my life," he said. "I learned a lot from what happened that evening, and I feel I am a better person because of it.
"Now, I want to move on with a new and exciting situation I have at the University of New Mexico. I have really enjoyed my brief time in Albuquerque and I look forward to working with my new teammates and making a positive impact to the Lobos basketball team on and off the court."
In the same statement, New Mexico men's basketball coach Ritchie McKay said he was aware of Gidden's situation when he
signed him and the charges now facing him changed nothing.
"Before judgment is passed on J.R. please consider that I think we live in a day and age in which we often assume truth in things we hear about a young person's character before really getting to know that individual," he said. "In the short time I have known J.R. Giddens, I believe, from what I have read about him, that he has been wrongly portrayed."
McKay went on to say that anyone in the New Mexico basketball program would attest to Giddens being a fine young man.
In particular, I find it difficult to believe that J.R., the 'stabee,' would have to face the charges that were announced today in rather dramatic fashion," McKay said. "However, I wasn't at the incident so I don't know all of the facts.
faces.
"Yet, I trust J.R. and we fully support him. I think that when all is said and done his impact on our basketball program and our community will be significant."
— Ryan Schneider and Miranda Lenning contributed to this story. Edited by Kellis Robinett
Success
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
and gave them an available outlet to improve their writing skills for future careers. She met with the researchers both times they visited.
"I remember them saying they really got a good feeling from the campus and the student lifestyle here." Eodice said.
One factor that made the University stand out among other universities was its available resources aimed at helping students to succeed. One example of such as resource is the Freshman-Sophomore Advising Center.
Lynn Bretz, director of Univer
Additionally, Mary Klayer, English lecturer, said the University had tried to focus on keeping class sizes to a minimum. She said even in classes that were larger, faculty attempted to implement smaller components, such as discussions.
sity Relations, said she credits the diversity of the student body for enlivening the experience that students had at the University.
The University also emphasized international experiences. Bretz said stricter admissions had improved the University's success as a whole.
"I think in general the University has very high quality faculty, and we've gone from being open admissions to having qualified admissions," Bretz said.
Bretz said the University had seen a steady improvement in retention rates, which is the return of students from one year to the next, and had its highest retention rate on record. She said the rate was about 83%.
"When you have eager students and eager faculty, that's just a great combination," Bretz said.
- Edited by Alison Peterson
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