Governor of LA on phone now at WWL TV nt

[steve2470]

[steve2470]

1. Stay calm she says. Prez called her, he's aware, offers prayers,support nt

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2. "he signed emerg. decl., highly unusual".."he was fully briefed" nt

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3. "stay calm, be patient, we will all be safe if we keep our wits about us"

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4. "Mr. Mayfield expressed his awesome concern" "storm surge was his biggest

concern" "pray our way through the danger"

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5. not wise to ride out this storm anywhere..nt

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6. she's at baton rouge, at state oem, talking to natl. dir. fema

extensive operation to recover, hoping to escape without loss of life

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7. contra flow system worked well...talked to jeb bush...evac. from miami was

a nightmare...contra kept people flowing 24 hours....a lot left early

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8. was blockage in the city today after mandatory evac.

begging people to drive safely...accidents impede flow of traffic so be patient...national guard units prepared, 4000 on standby, more if they need them, other states will send if they need them

[steve2470]

9. have plenty of assistance...as storm subsides National Guard will go in

coming from east and west...

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10. parrishes cooperated magnificently..low lying areas first to be evaced

size of hurricane helped....short time line helped....modeling of hurricanes very accurate

[steve2470]

11. frightening to see how accurate reports are

intensification has us all concerned.....we know we've lost a lot of wetlands...we have to remember even if cat. 3 , 6 lives lost in florida...with fema, housing red cross, low interest loans, all kinds of federal assistance, ask for patience, things will not happen instantaneously, want to relieve frustration, media has been terrific,

[steve2470]

12. praising media and wwl a lot, a lot of people out of harm's way

people who ride out storm "god bless them", go to bigger shelter,

[steve2470]

13. not time to be independent minded...telling nightmare story

lots of independent minded people in LA, we know low lying areas will have extensive flooding, lots of unknowns, be safe not sorry, oil industry is critical, 30% of resources to nation, higher prices of gasoline and oil, lots of service disruption, refineries have to shut down

[steve2470]

14. hoping infrastructure will survive with oil wells but knows there will be

damage, coastline impact unknown

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15. she's learned ..not saying, we will be assessing everything

thanking everyone esp. disaster preparedness, north LA and MISS people have helped them...texas is helping...great nation..calls from va and ga and fl and ms governors....

[steve2470]

16. once it passes, higher level of frustration is to come

everyone needs helping hand...LA helping state.."god bless us all"...that's it. whew...