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Government focuses on rescues, shelter

WASHINGTON — A day after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, federal emergency officials and the military focused Tuesday on rescuing thousands of trapped residents and sheltering tens of thousands more.

More than 7,000 National Guard troops were deployed in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, said Maj. Gen. Rich Rowe in a telephone interview broadcast on CNN.

Meanwhile, nearly two dozen disaster medical assistance teams were being sent to the affected areas from as far away as Washington state and Massachusetts. Two disaster veterinary assistance teams also were sent to the area to treat injured animals.

Bill Lokey, coordinator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency pleaded with residents to be patient while waiting for recovery support.

"Right now, our total focus is on life-saving efforts," Lokey said at a televised news conference in Louisiana.

Urban search and rescue task forces from Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Texas, Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, and Missouri were among those looking for stranded survivors.

Much of the relief effort involving FEMA personnel, National Guard troops and medical assistance teams was centered on the Superdome in New Orleans where tens of thousands of stranded residents sweltered without air conditioning or power.

With bridges wrecked and much of the area impassible because of high water, much of the federal response Tuesday came through the air.

The Coast Guard rescued — or assisted in the rescue — of an estimated 1,200 people by Monday night and "thousands more" Tuesday, said Cmdr. Kathleen Donohoe, a spokeswoman in the Coast Guard's Washington headquarters.

Fourteen Coast Guard helicopters, some from as far away as Cape Cod, were deployed to the Gulf Coast along with 11 C-130 transport plans to assist in rescue and reconnaissance efforts, Donohoe said. The Coast Guard had about 3,600 people responding to the hurricane, Donohoe said.

The Coast Guard also was keeping an eye on the environmental impact of Katrina's destruction, including monitoring seven mobile oil rigs which broke loose from their moorings, Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Carter told CNN.

Flying in military helicopters, FEMA officials spent much of Tuesday monitoring the hardest hit areas to determine where pre-positioned relief supplies such as ice, water and ready to eat meals were most needed and where emergency agencies could establish operations centers, Lokey said.

FEMA had positioned about 500 trucks of ice, 500 trucks of water and 350 trucks of ready to eat meals — enough to last for an estimated 10 days, according to an agency news release.

Meanwhile, a relief supply staging area was set up at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala., according to the military's U.S. Northern Command.

Larry Lipman writes for The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: larryl@coxnews.com