Agencies Poised For Storm Recovery

As Residents Suffer Through Hurricane, Disaster Relief Mobilized

(CBS/AP)  As Katrina pummels the northern Gulf Coast, a massive logistics effort is launching across the United States. From phone calls recruiting volunteers to moving truckloads of supplies, federal agencies and private organizations are preparing to clean up the disaster Katrina is expected to leave in her wake.

The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says the government is well prepared because it has long known how vulnerable New Orleans would be in a major hurricane like Katrina.

Michael Brown, FEMA's director, says Louisiana went through a table-top drill a year ago and is doing a good job responding right now. He also tells CBS News' The Early Show that the government is preparing supplies and response teams to move wherever Gulf state inhabitants need them once the weather allows.

"The men and women here are ready to respond anywhere and everywhere," Brown told Harry Smith. "As President Bush outlined the logistics and everything we were doing, he made the note he was very impressed with what we're doing. We're ready to respond to everything the governors might need."

Brown praises emergency responders he says are "leaning out of the foxhole," putting their lives in jeopardy to help others in the storm's path.

Efforts include:

The American Red Cross is mobilizing volunteers from across the country for what one official called its largest response to a single disaster in many years. "This is really an all-hands-on-deck scenario for the Red Cross right now," spokeswoman Carrie Martin said.

As the Category 4 the storm surged ashore just east of New Orleans on Monday, FEMA had medical teams, rescue squads and groups prepared to supply food and water poised in a semicircle around the city, said Brown.

The Agriculture Department has meals and baby formula ready. The Defense Department has communications equipment and medical teams. And, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has water and ice set to deliver to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The EPA dispatched emergency crews to Louisiana and Texas, because of concern about oil and chemical spills. The agency has set up facilities for checking on the damage, but won't be able to quickly assess the region's needs until it can safely send more people into the field.

The Coast Guard closed ports and waterways along the Gulf Coast and evacuated its own personnel and equipment.

The Defense Department dispatched emergency coordinators to Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi to provide a wide range of assistance including communications equipment, search and rescue operations, medical teams and other emergency supplies.

The First U.S. Army, based at Fort Gillem near Atlanta, has 1,600 National Guard troops that were there training to go to Iraq, and they will be available to assist the states or evacuate Camp Shelby in Mississippi, if necessary.

Late Sunday, President Bush pressed for an emergency declaration in Alabama, which would allow federal operations in. Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi were already declared disaster states, CBS News correspondent Mark Knoller reports.

President Bush, urging prayer for Gulf Coast communities "hit hard" Monday by Hurricane Katrina, considered releasing oil from petroleum reserves to help refiners, administration officials said.

With an array of relief services waiting in the wings, what exactly do city officials fear?

"Flooding, of course, is our main concern," Blanco told The Early Show's Hannah Storm. "It would create an untenable situation in the city if the levees are breached."

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©MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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