Hurricane Katrina shuts federal government in New Orleans

The federal government in New Orleans officially closed Monday morning as Hurricane Katrina slammed into the city.

All government operations are closed in New Orleans and affected surrounding areas as a result of the hurricane, a spokesman for the Office of Personnel Management said Monday.

OPM "is extremely concerned about the health and safety of individuals whose lives may be affected by Hurricane Katrina," said agency director Linda M. Springer in a statement issued Monday. Springer referred agencies to an OPM memo isued earlier this year on human resources flexibilities available to assist employees affected by severe weather emergencies and natural disasters.

Those flexibilities include excused absences for employees who assist in emergency law enforcement, relief, or clean-up efforts and premium pay for employees performing emergency overtime work.

On Sunday, President Bush declared emergencies in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama, making federal disaster aid available immediately as the storms hit.

Federal Emergency Management officials said the agency was moving generators, water, ice and food into the region for immediate deployment after the storm passed. Urban Search and Rescue units and Disaster Medical Assistance Teams stood by for immediate response. FEMA deployed Urban Search and Rescue teams from Tennessee, Missouri and Texas to Shreveport, La. Search and rescue teams from Indiana and Ohio went to Meridian, Miss. Two teams from Florida, two from Virginia and one from Maryland were on alert at their home stations. Eighteen Disaster Medical Assisance Teams were deployed to staging areas in Houston, Anniston, Ala., and Memphis. Those include 9 full teams of 35 members and nine strike teams of five members, FEMA said. The Coast Guard closed the lower Mississippi River to all shipping traffic, and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport was closed.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Sunday dispatched workers to three nuclear power plants in Louisiana and Mississippi. One plant about 20 miles west of New Orleans-Waterford--was shut down to ensure that all safety precautions were in place ahead of the storm. The NRC is monitoring the hurricane from operations centers in Arlington, Texas, and its Rockville, Md., headquarters.

Nuclear plants are designed to withstand winds in excess of Katrina's and the associated storm surges. Both Waterford and the other plants have watertight doors at key safety system, but an NRC statement said the predicted surge was a major concern at the Waterford plant. Waterford initially declared an "unusual event" because of the approach of the hurricane, the statement said, without further explanation.

The NRC must approve the restart of Waterford and any other plant that shuts down. In conjunction, FEMA must determine that evacuation routes in the area are passable.

NASA is treating Hurricane Katrina in the same way it does other severe storms - as a research subject. The space agency has 19 satellites orbiting Earth and capable of observing the hurricane, but most of the information it gathers about Katrina will be shared with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other government scientists after the fury has passed.

Katrina made landfall near New Orleans, La., early Monday as a Category 4 hurricane. It was only slightly less powerful than predicted a day earlier. On Sunday, Katrina quickly strengthened from a Category 3 to a Category 5, becoming one of the fiercest storms on record. The 11th named Atlantic storm has helped to fulfill NOAA's prediction for a hyperactive season. Hurricane activity ebbs and flows over periods of decades. The latest upswing began in 1995. Scientists have yet to understand exactly what causes the variability.