Feds Rush Aid To Disaster Zone

Federal officials declared a public health emergency for the entire Gulf Coast Wednesday, calling the life in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina "very dangerous." They rushed food, medicine and water to the victims as part of a wide-ranging government rescue-and-relief response.

An additional 10,000 National Guard troops from across the country began pouring into the Gulf Coast, adding new soldiers and airmen to shore up security, rescue and relief operations in the region ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

The new units brought the number of troops dedicated to the effort to more than 28,000, in what may be the largest military response to a national disaster.

The number of Hurricane Katrina victims in Red Cross shelters is up to 45,000 and growing, the rescue organization reported Wednesday.

Some 250 shelters were open in the storm damaged area and the Red Cross had set up 15 emergency kitchens capable of feeding 350,000 people, spokeswoman Deborah Daley said.

"This is our largest mobilization in the history of the organization," she said.

"We are focused on providing the most elemental essentials ... food, shelter and water," she added.

Emergency response vehicles are also in the area providing food but they are operating from fixed bases since they cannot yet get into neighborhoods because of the damage, Daley said.

She said that it has been a major undertaking to get people and materials into the region and that it's going to take time.

Meanwhile, the Navy is sending at least four ships carrying water and other supplies to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina, while medical disaster teams and Red Cross workers from across the country converged on the devastated Gulf Coast region.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency urged people who evacuated before the storm to stay where they are.

"This hurricane has caused catastrophic devastation across areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama," said Michael D. Brown, head of FEMA. "We need everyone's cooperation to keep passable roads clear and to prevent those returning from placing additional burdens on the limited shelter, food and water in the heavily impacted areas."

He said returning residents could face blocked and washed out roads, downed power lines across highways, unsafe road crossings due to flooding and many other dangers.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said medical specialists from Washington state were joining similar teams called in from Massachusetts, New Mexico, Ohio, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Florida to assist people in damaged areas.

Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman said Wednesday the Bush administration will also release oil from federal petroleum reserves to help refiners affected by Hurricane Katrina. The move is designed to give refineries in the Gulf Coast area a temporary supply of crude oil to take the place of interrupted shipments from tankers or offshore oil platforms affected by the storm.

President Bush held a video conference about Hurricane Katrina with his top advisers from his Texas ranch Wednesday. CBS News Radio reports that Mr. Bush then flew over New Orleans and the Mississippi coast en route back to the White House to oversee federal relief efforts.

Mr. Bush, who may visit the area later in the week, cut short his working vacation in Texas by two days — even though aides have long contended that his duties are uninterrupted when he spends time at his ranch in nearby Crawford, which has White House-level communications capability.

On his way back to Washington, the president's plane, Air Force One, descended to an altitude of about 5,000 feet to allow Bush to view some of the worst hurricane damage. White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters that Mr. Bush was examining the destruction below from the front left side windows of the plane.

"This is a major catastrophe," McClellan had said earlier. "We are certainly going to do everything from the standpoint of the federal government to make sure the needs are met. This is a time when all Americans need to come together and do all we can to support those in the Gulf state region."

McClellan said the government was declaring the hurricane an "incident of national significance," a designation that triggers a recently developed national emergency plan for the first time and will allow better coordination among government agencies. McClellan said he expects the administration will request a supplemental appropriation to pay for disaster relief and recovery efforts.

Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott urged President Bush to visit the damaged region.

"Mr. President, the people of Mississippi are flat on their backs. They're going to need your help," Lott said in a call to Bush. "I urge you to come to Mississippi."

Katrina came ashore Monday between New Orleans and Biloxi, Miss., inundating large areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

FEMA said it has 500 trucks of ice, 500 trucks of water and 350 trucks of military meals ready to eat scheduled for distribution in the next 10 days.

Four Navy amphibious ships were to leave Norfolk, Va., over the next few days for deployment on the Gulf Coast. The Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida will be a base for the relief effort.

The Coast Guard received hundreds of calls for help and has assisted in the rescue of more than 1,200 people, spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Carter said Tuesday.

He said the Coast Guard had received reports that seven mobile offshore oil drilling rigs were adrift, and was working with companies on recovery and salvage plans.

The Coast Guard was conducting search-and-rescue missions and damage assessments by air and water, and was flying supplies to affected areas, Carter said.

Federal emergency officials are looking for 2,000 Homeland Security Department workers to volunteer for hurricane relief efforts.

The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has told Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff 1,000 people are needed within 48 hours and 2,000 within a week.

Chertoff, whose agency oversees the Coast Guard, has authorized the call-up of 550 Coast Guard reservists to help in recovery operations, Carter said.