About this blog

Andrew Locke and Bob Sullivan

From Sept. 22-27, the posts in this blog about Rita's evacuation and devastation were reported and photographed by Bob Sullivan and Andrew Locke. Sullivan, 37, is MSNBC.com's technology and consumer fraud reporter. Locke, 34, in charge of MSNBC.com's editorial strategy, was on his second hurricane blog tour.

David Friedman and Miguel Llanos

From Sept. 18-22, the posts in this blog, examining Katrina's impact on the environment, were reported and photographed by Miguel Llanos and David Friedman. Llanos, 45, is MSNBC.com's environmental reporter. Photojournalist Friedman, 35, is a multimedia producer at MSNBC.com.

Kari Huus and Jim Seida

From Sept. 10-16, the posts in this blog were reported and photographed by Kari Huus and Jim Seida. Huus, 43, has been a journalist for 20 years and a reporter with MSNBC.com since 1996. Seida, 39, has been a media editor with the Web site since 1996.

Mike Brunker and Andrew Locke mugshot

From Sept. 2-9, the posts in this blog were reported and photographed by Mike Brunker, left, and Andrew Locke. A journalist for 25 years, Brunker, 49, is MSNBC.com's West Coast news editor. Locke, 34, has been a journalist for 17 years and is currently in charge of MSNBC.com's editorial media strategy.

How you can help

• How to help the victims of Hurricane Rita

• How to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina

THIS IS NOT THE HILTON

Posted: Saturday, September 3 at 11:50 am CT by Mike Brunker

HATTIESBURG, Miss. –- We awake to a few touches of normalcy -- hot coffee, a newspaper and the “Today” show –- but with a new appreciation for what the roughly 1,100 outcasts from Hurricane Katrina who are holed up here have been going through for nearly a week.

Continued…

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SHELTER FROM THE STORM

Posted: Saturday, September 3 at 12:08 am CT by Mike Brunker

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Darkness is near complete when we pull into the parking lot of the Forrest County Multipurpose Center, an indoor arena that has been converted by the Red Cross into a shelter for hundreds of refugees from the storm.

P_katrinashelter_050902_1_1VIDEO: Roy Sanders of Ellisville, Miss., serenades Hurricane Katrina evacuees at the Forrest County Multipurpose Center. Sanders saw footage of the refugees on the news and decided to visit the shelter to entertain them. (Andrew Locke / MSNBC.com)

We are welcomed inside by bleary-eyed director Gerald Britt, who figures he has had about six hours of sleep over the last four days.

Continued…

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NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL

Posted: Friday, September 2 at 11:59 pm CT by Mike Brunker

MERIDIAN, Miss. -– No sooner do we pull off the freeway than it becomes clear that it is not business as usual in this central Mississippi city: A blocks-long gas line feeding a freeway-side Shell station extends for several blocks before disappearing around a bend on a frontage road. Venturing into the downtown area, we see other equally long queues, as well as hanging power lines, large areas still without power and shuttered businesses.

Continued…

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FIRST DAMAGE

Posted: Friday, September 2 at 11:52 pm CT by Mike Brunker

SOUTHBOUND ON INTERSTATES 20 AND 59 -– The first damage from Katrina is visible approaching the Alabama-Mississippi border. It’s subtle at first –- a few peeled-back highway signs –- but soon we start to see numerous downed pine trees alongside the roadway.

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LOGISTICS

Posted: Friday, September 2 at 02:00 pm CT by Mike Brunker

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -– We’re getting off to a slow start, having spent the morning loading up with supplies that we figure we’ll need for the days and nights ahead and dealing with technical and logistical problems.

Continued…

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OFF AND RUNNING

Posted: Friday, September 2 at 02:00 am CT by Mike Brunker

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- You don’t have to venture into the heart of the Hurricane Katrina disaster zone to find people whose lives have been turned upside down by the killer storm.

No sooner did we arrive in Birmingham Thursday night and get checked into the Sheraton, where we were lucky to find an open room, than we encountered Christina Wood of Pascagoula, Miss.

Continued…

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