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NASA Hotlines Provide Info About Hurricane-Damaged Facilities
NASA has designated a telephone number (256/544-4700) for family members seeking information about people who may have sought shelter from Hurricane Katrina at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans. Support personnel at that number will also assist people trying to locate employees who work at either facility. NASA established a toll-free number (888/362-4323) for recorded updates about general conditions at Stennis and Michoud. NASA's Space Shuttle Program Manager Bill Parsons was named the senior agency official in charge of the hurricane recovery effort. His deputy, Wayne Hale, has been named the acting Space Shuttle Program manager.
Stennis Space Center 40 portable generators are functioning on-site. NASA centers will send more generators to provide supplemental power. Approximately 1,000 to 1,500 people, including NASA employees, contractors and the public are at the center. There were approximately 4,000 people at the center Monday night after the storm hit. Since Stennis is serving as an emergency safe haven, NASA is coordinating with relief agencies, like the American Red Cross, to help support members of the public seeking refuge there. NASA is preparing key personnel from other agency centers to assist in Stennis/Michoud recovery efforts; they will deploy, as required. A doctor and a nurse arrived to Stennis today with additional medical supplies.
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., is delivering 100 blue rain protection tarps. No NASA employee or contractor injuries have been reported. Early estimates indicate many homes of Stennis employees have been damaged or destroyed.
Michoud Assembly Facility Various NASA centers will rotate support personnel into Michoud. They are bringing food and other supplies. The only way to access the facility is by helicopter or boat since the surrounding roadways are flooded or damaged. It appears space flight hardware was not damaged. NASA will provide information as it becomes available. For updates, visit NASA's hurricane-related webiste.
related report The company's Ship Systems sector represents the majority of company facilities and employees in the region, and the company has actively engaged in efforts to provide power, fuel, food, water and critical operating equipment to those facilities. Each Ship Systems facility will remain closed for operations until final damage assessments are complete and basic services restored for that facility. Restoration and clean-up teams are active at all Ship Systems facilities. All facilities sustained some structural damage. The company's New Orleans shipyard location encountered the least amount of damage. The Gulfport and Pascagoula locations experienced windstorm damage and complete assessments are underway. Initial assessments at Gulfport reveal that there was some damage which will require significant repair, clean-up and restoration efforts. A number of major shipyard assets, such as cranes and most fabrication facilities, appear to have weathered the hurricane. All six ships located at Ship Systems facilities successfully weathered the storm. The Aegis guided missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG 100) was the only ship to incur damage, which was repaired by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems within 24 hours. Northrop Grumman requested that certain skilled personnel in the region return to work, if possible, to assist with the operational assessment of the facilities and the restoration of operations. More than 400 employees have been able to do so. Conditions permitting, the company is attempting to ensure its regional workforce receives its usual pay by Friday, Sept. 2, 2005. The U.S. Navy has offered facilities and accommodations aboard its ships at the Pascagoula shipyard to assist in the restoration of shipyard operations. The Ship Systems sector has accepted the Navy's offer of support and established a temporary operations center aboard a Northrop Grumman-built ship, the Forrest Sherman guided missile destroyer (DDG 98). The combined support of Northrop Grumman and the Navy is making a critical difference in both the Ship Systems sector's return to operations and in the provision of much needed assistance to a workforce that has suffered so greatly from this natural disaster. Northrop Grumman is benefiting from the combined expertise of its diverse business sectors to assist in the assessment and restoration of operations at its Ship Systems sector. The Newport News sector, with emergency-response experience from Hurricane Isabel, is moving much needed fuel, rolling stock, food, water and other critical materials to Pascagoula. The Integrated Systems sector, in Lake Charles, La., is transporting fuel and water to the New Orleans facility to assist the yard in restoring operations. The Information Technology sector has moved rapidly to help reinstate the company's networks in Louisiana and Mississippi. In response to the mounting damages caused by Hurricane Katrina, Northrop Grumman Corporation will contribute an initial $2 million for relief assistance. This contribution is based on the current needs assessment and will support the company's Gulf Coast employees through a relief fund established specifically for this purpose. Local communities will receive support from the company through a contribution to the American Red Cross. Direct assistance to Northrop Grumman employees impacted by Hurricane Katrina will be provided through the new Northrop Grumman Employee Disaster Relief Fund, established by The Northrop Grumman Foundation. Affected employees may apply for funds by calling, toll free (888) 642-5645. If necessary, additional adjustments in facilities operations and employee work schedules will be announced to regional media, and posted on the Northrop Grumman Corporate Information Line.
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Post-Katrina Looters: The Hungry, The Mean, The Dangerous
New Orleans, Louisiana (AFP) Aug 31, 2005For schoolteacher Jared Wood the scariest moment of Hurricane Katrina was not the killer winds or waters, it was the looter threatening to thrash him for trying to take his picture.
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