Katrina's Timeline

The following is the timeline from Friday August 26th to Saturday September 3rd, 2005. I found this originall on the NOLA.com web site. It was an article from the Times-Picayune. You can find the original article here.

IN THE STORM: A TIMELINE OF EVENTS

Friday, Aug. 26

Watching Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico, National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield calls Jefferson Parish emergency management chief Walter Maestri with a frightening analysis: "This is the 'Big One' ... I'm as sure as I can be."
Gov. Kathleen Blanco declares a state of emergency.

Saturday, Aug. 27

Mayfield calls New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Blanco with his warning of a potentially disastrous storm.
Blanco orders mandatory evacuations of low-lying areas.
4 p.m. Officials implement contraflow on Interstate 10. Traffic is already backing up from people leaving the coast.
Bush declares a state of emergency in Louisiana, authorizing Department of Homeland Security and FEMA "to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population."
St. Charles and Plaquemines parishes order mandatory evacuation. Others are voluntary.
5 p.m. Nagin declares state of emergency and gives voluntary evacuation order.
Nagin says Superdome to be opened at 8 p.m. for prequalified special-needs patients.
FEMA told by National Hurricane Center that Katrina storm surge is likely to top levees.
FEMA Emergency Headquarters put on highest alert. FEMA Director Michael Brown dispatches teams to Louisiana.

Sunday, Aug. 28

2 a.m.
- Katrina declared a Category 4 hurricane, with sustained winds of more than 140 mph.
8 a.m.
- Katrina upgraded to a Category 5 storm, with sustained winds above 155 mph.
10 a.m. Nagin orders mandatory evacuation; opens Superdome as shelter of last resort, warns that floodwaters could top levees.
- President Bush takes part in teleconference with officials in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. "I asked him to send me everything he's got," Blanco said.
- FEMA positions food, water and medical supplies around the region for deployment as soon as it is safe, begins coordinating with military.
3 p.m.
- About 10,000 people are sheltered in the Superdome. They are told to bring enough food, water and medicine to last up to five days.
7 p.m.
- National Weather Service predicts levees may be topped. "All indications are that this is absolutely worst-case scenario," Ivor van Heerden, deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center said.

Monday, Aug. 29

6:10 a.m.
- Katrina makes landfall as a Category 4, with 145 mph winds, surging ashore just east of New Orleans.
8 a.m.
- Nagin announces he has heard reports that levees have been breached. Ultimately, six breaches would open up in three levees.
11 a.m.
- Nagin talks to Matt Lauer on the "Today" show about an estimated 30,000 people in Superdome: "Well, you know, we have everything planned for them to be in there for four to five days. And then if it has to extend beyond that, we're going to - we're basically counting on the federal government to supply us with what we need."
- FEMA's Brown issues directive urging all fire and emergency services not to respond to counties and states affected by Katrina "without being requested and lawfully dispatched."
11:37 a.m.
- National Weather Service advisory: "Widespread flooding will continue ... Those seeking refuge in attics or rooftops are strongly urged to take the necessary tools for survival."
3:30 p.m.
- National Guard trucks start bringing dozens of people trapped in their houses to the Superdome. Many are barefoot and wrapped in sheets.
- Bush declares major disaster in Louisiana, releasing federal money.
- FEMA's Brown arrives in Baton Rouge. Blanco said she feels "blessed" he has arrived. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., calls him "an able and experienced director." FEMA teams will wait to enter the city.
- Two holes ripped in Superdome roof.
- Red Cross announces it is "launching largest mobilization of resources in its history."
- Coast Guard begins rescuing people from roofs.

Tuesday, Aug. 30

Nagin estimates that 80 percent of the city is under water. He says it's up to 20 feet deep in some places.
Bush is briefed about rising waters in New Orleans, decides to cut short vacation.
Nagin evacuates city government to Baton Rouge. He remains in a city hotel.
Looters begin ransacking stores.
Officials issued a call for flatboats to rescue people stranded in the flood.
National Guard soldiers bring people from outlying areas into the Superdome in the backs of Army trucks. Louisiana's wildlife enforcement department also brings people in on the backs of their pickup trucks.
Gov. Kathleen Blanco says everyone still in the city, now huddled in the Superdome and other rescue centers, needs to be evacuated. There aren't enough buses or drivers for the job.
6:30 p.m.
- Nagin announces efforts to patch the breach in the 17th Street canal levee have failed. Helicopters that were to drop concrete barricades in the breach weren't equipped with the proper slings.

Wednesday, Aug. 31

Bush heads back to Washington flying over the region. Appoints Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to lead federal task force.
In Baton Rouge Brown says: "The president's admonition to me today was that we do everything, everything's on the table. I've got access to everything I need."
Blanco again asks Bush for troops.
With looting and violence escalating, Blanco and staff search for buses to evacuate New Orleans. She calls for a day of prayer.
Nagin calls for total evacuation. The Superdome is crowded with 23,000 people. It is hot and there is no power, food or water.
Ten buses are found and head to Houston with evacuees. The state promises 475 more.
Brown sends memo to Chertoff that he needs 1,000 people within 48 hours. They are advised to bring sunscreen, sun hat and sunglasses, walking shoes, mosquito repellant.
Maestri complains: "We have no food or water for evacuees. FEMA and national agencies are not delivering the help nearly as fast as its needed."
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers works to plug a 200-foot hole in the 17th Street canal levee. The water in the city has crested and begins to slowly recede.

Thursday, Sept. 1

Bush tells "Good Morning America," "There is a lot of help coming."
Nagin lashes out at federal response: "They are thinking small, man. This is a major, major deal."
Attempted rescue by helicopter of patients at Charity Hospital is aborted amid reports of sniper fire.
Nagin issues a statement about conditions of evacuees at the Convention Center: "This is a desperate SOS. We are out of resources at the Convention Center."
FEMA's Brown says on CNN that the federal government only learned about the situation at the Convention Center that morning.
45,000 evacuees estimated to be at the Superdome and Convention Center.
With water level dropping a half-foot per hour, Corps of Engineers makes progress closing the 17th Street canal levee breach.

Friday, Sept 2

Bush heads to region. As he boards the helicopter he says, "The results are not acceptable." In Mississippi he tells the FEMA director, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."
Nagin says: "People in our city are holding on by a thread. Time has run out. Can we survive another night? Who can we depend on? God only knows."
50 trucks with food and water and supplies roll into New Orleans.
The National Guard moves into Convention Center and controls it.
The Coast Guard has rescued more than 4,000 people in the Gulf region.
Nagin estimates that 50,000 survivors remain on rooftops or in shelters, awaiting rescue and evacuation.
Congress approves $10.5 billion to continue the relief operation.
Bush tries to seize control of National Guard troops from Blanco. She refuses.

Saturday, Sept. 3

Bush orders 7,000 active duty soldiers to the region. They begin arriving throughout the day.