A National Guard multi-purpose utility truck brings supplies to the Super Dome in downtown New Orleans. Tens of thousands of displaced citizens sought shelter at the dome, before, during and after Hurricane Katrina, but have been forced to evacuate as floodwaters continued to rise. Photographer’s Mate Airman Jeremy L. Grisham


WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Sept. 1, 2005) -- The Army Corps of Engineers is battling to repair breaches in the 350 miles of hurricane-protection levees surrounding New Orleans, while the National Guard is helping to evacuate residents from flooded areas, and other troops scramble to stage relief supplies to help those stricken by Hurricane Katrina from Alabama to Mississippi.

Fort Polk, La., has deployed helicopters and crews in support of Joint Task Force Katrina, under U.S. Northern Command, with a major staging area at Camp Shelby, Miss. Three Army Helicopters from III Corps out of Fort Hood, Texas, are in Baton Rouge and two more are in Mississippi to assist with search and rescue and damage assessment.

Two Fort Polk UH-60 Black Hawks and two UH-1 Hueys are providing support to the Louisiana National Guard medical evacuation assets in New Orleans. Their first mission was to fly medical doctors into the Super Dome to provide triage to evacuees, officials said, adding that the helicopters will also provide air ambulance support as needed.

In addition, National Guard troops from Illinois, Louisiana and Texas will be staging at the Alexandria Airpark near Fort Polk, designated an Intermediate Staging Area for the relief operations. The Corps of Engineers has released two contracts to close the breach in the 17th Street Canal in New Orleans. The 3,000-pound sandbag operation at the canal was postponed when U.S. Army Chinooks were diverted for rescue missions. Corps officials said they are continuing to coordinate with Army officials to have helicopters assist in placement of sandbags at the breaches.

The canal and levee system was built to withstand hurricane Category 3 storms, Corps officials said, adding that Katrina exceeded that, resulting in several breaches. Water is now flowing slowly out of New Orleans, officials said, because the water is seeking its own level -- that of Lake Pontchartrain. Lake water is draining from Pontchartrain out the Rigolettes, Chef Mentour and Seabrook passes. The rate of fall is slowing down as the head differential across the passes diminishes, officials said, adding that Lake Pontchartrain is almost back to normal levels.

Unfortunately, the levee gaps aren’t allowing the water to flow back out of the city very quickly, officials said. Gaps will still need to be closed and the water pumped from flooded areas. Along with local and state officials, the Corps is contracting to build access roads to breach sites and to fill in the breaches. Rock/stone/crushed concrete will be hauled by truck for road construction and to repair the breaches, officials said.

The Corps has also delivered two 5,000-cubic-feet-per-second pumps to the Louisiana Superdome, and deployed 15 boats to assist in search and rescue. The Motor Vessel Lafourche is surveying the Mississippi River from the New Orleans District headquarters to the mouth of the Mississippi. A private business, Kirby Marine, volunteered its services and sent the Kirby Responder to survey the Gulf Intra-coastal Waterway from Pascagoula, Miss., to the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. Based on aerial photos and visual observations, the Corps of Engineers has determined:
• The breach at the 17th Street Canal Levee, a levee-floodwall combination, is about 300-feet long. It’s believed that the force of the water overtopped the floodwall and scoured the structure from behind and then moved the levee wall horizontally about 20 feet, opening both ends to flow.

• At the Industrial Canal floodwall breach, two breaches have been identified: one 100-foot breach is closer to the lakeside and another 500-foot breach. Fortunately, water is receding through the breach and when it equalizes, the Corps will begin breach-closing operations.

• At the London Street floodwall, it’s estimated that there’s a 300-foot breach.Evacuees from the flooded areas, some currently at Fort Polk, are registering with the Red Cross and being assigned shelters. By registering with the American Red Cross, evacuee's relatives and loved-ones will have a stable location and contact point for inquiries, officials said.

Families of Deployed Army National Guard Soldiers affected by the Hurricane are asked to call the National Guard Bureau Family Program at 1-888-777-7731 to let family members know of their whereabouts.

Military or family members in need of counseling services as a result of the hurricane can call Military OneSource at 1-800-342-9647.