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| People venture outside Keesler shelters |
| 2005-09-01 |
| For the first time since Hurricane Katrina forced them into shelters, 6,000 people at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., ventured outside for a breath of fresh air. That was late in the day on Aug. 30, just after eating their first hot meal since the devastating hurricane nearly blew the base and that section of the Gulf Coast off the map. People stood in line for up to two hours to get their first hot food in days, said Lt. Col. Claudia Foss, the 81st Training Wing spokesperson. "We were able to feed 6,000 people at one dining facility," she said. Then, after being cooped up for days, families just wanted to go outside and get some fresh air. "The kids were all anxious to get out of the shelters and play," she said. But that somewhat festive mood ended for most Aug. 31 when families who live on the training base got to visit their homes for the first time since they evacuated them late last week. Most of the base housing area along the Bay of Biloxi shoreline is uninhabitable because of water damage caused by the tidal surge, said Colonel Foss, whose house was among those heavily damaged. However, there has been little time to ponder the damage. Most people have been concerned with just making it past the storm, Colonel Foss said. And after the hurricane swept past, people working to get the base back on track have been too focused on that to worry much about their homes, she said. However, that is not the case with their families, she said. Most are anxious about what they will find when they return home. "(Aug. 31) is the first day folks are actually going to look at their homes -- to assess (the damage)," the colonel said. "So today is going to be very emotional." She said special life skills teams are standing by to help people cope with their losses. Afterward, base officials will determine where to lodge people once they can leave the base’s seven shelters. Some will have to move to another shelter on the base, or "whatever is available," she said. The tidal surge that followed the hurricane’s high winds devastated the base. Nearly every building received damage. Many roads still remain chocked with debris. And there is no electrical power available, except that provided by emergency generators to critical buildings. Communications are minimal and only Defense Systems Network telephones work. "We can’t call commercially from here," Colonel Foss said. Outside the base’s main gate the destruction is catastrophic. The city of Biloxi, Miss., is flooded, and the hurricane erased many parts of the nearby Gulf Coast. It is the same in Louisiana and Alabama. Television images are of the destruction of New Orleans, which is now under a state of martial law. Military helicopters are picking up people stranded on rooftops. Clean water and power are gone. Food supplies and gas and ice are dwindling fast and sewage is backing up in many coastal cities and towns. A railway runs past the Keesler front gate. And past the tracks is Highway 90. That was the way it was before Katrina struck. That is all "basically a coastline now," Colonel Foss said. About an hour east of the base, Lake Pontchartrain continues to flood New Orleans, which is more than 80-percent underwater. There is no potable water available and Louisiana state officials have declared a state of martial law. "We do have drinking water. We do have the sewage system up and running," the colonel said. And more help is arriving at the base. The Air Force has mobilized to help the people at Keesler and the entire area, if needed. Commanders of other Air Force bases have pledged their support. And Air Mobility Command C-17 Globemaster III and C-5 Galaxy aircraft are flying relief equipment to the airport at Lafayette, La. On Aug. 30, a C-130 Hercules and C-17 landed to medevac 25 hospital patients and 31 pregnant women in their third trimester to Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland AFB, Texas. "We’re getting a lot of great help," the colonel said. |
| Posted by:Steve |