Live video from WDSU and WWL. I'm glued to the local coverage, hoping for a glimpse of friends who refused to evacuate, and of my house (preferably not covered by water or my oak tree.)

I'll be adding new items to the top of this list as they come in:

• 10:35 Body counts are starting to come in. 5 dead in Jefferson Parish. 7 missing from Grand Isle.
• A little comic relief... a report of a shark about 10 minutes from my neighborhood and 1 block from my husband's office. (Funny because it's unexpected - obviously this could be a problem for idiots who refuse to stay out of the water, but since we're all brought up from babyhood being told to stay out of flood water because there are lots of snakes in it, this won't affect too many people, and those it does are Darwin Award candidates anyway.)
• 7pm Like we don't have enough problems - OPP prisoners riot, take hostages.
• 5:50pm Looting in Slidell. The police chief says he will take a very tough stand on this.
• If you have a boat, get it to Sams Club on Airline Hwy. to take part in rescue efforts.
• Looks like severe flooding at Orleans Parish Prison, and the video shows prisoners outside under armed guard.
• A fire at a pawn shop that was looted (set by the looters), but this time there is enough water pressure for the Fire Department to at least try to put it out. These people should be SHOT.
• Mayor Nagin says the death in the Superdome appears to be an accident - someone tried to jump from a higher level to a lower one. When I've been in the Dome for games and concerts, the distance between levels looks deceptively close from above, so that could be exactly what happened.
• NOPD officer shot in back of the head for trying to prevent looting in Algiers.
• 4:30pm Not just looting but now burning of cars. You can make some excuse for looting if people stole food - I'm not saying it's right but you can understand it - but to destroy for no reason, when we're already up to our necks in destruction, is inexcusable. And there's no practical way to arrest and deal with the criminals right now.
• Officials are coming up with a plan to evacuate the entire New Orleans area, including the 10,000+ who are in the Superdome. I get the impression I'm not going to get to go home anytime soon.
• Fellow evacuees, check your neighborhood status here.
• New Orleans will absolutely be rebuilt. Senators Vitter and Landreiu are putting together a legislative package so the rest of the country can help pay for it. (My phrasing not theirs.)
• Press conference at 3pm with Gov. Blanco, Sens. Vitter and Landreiu: I-10 between New Orleans and Slidell has sections missing, according to Gov. Blanco, and there is "very deep" water in Metairie near Clearview (that's 5 minutes from my house!!!) Senator Mary Landrieu just said that she flew over the tsunami area right after the tsunami, and she just flew over the New Orleans area, and it is equivalent. There are areas that are just gone. Corps of Engineers: One breach is almost 300 feet (the Lake Pontchartrain one). They are working on preliminary solutions. The Industrial Canal breach is on the St. Bernard side, so that is actually letting water OUT of St. Bernard because the water is higher inside it than out. So there's no rush to fix that breach.

• The Army Corps of Engineers is desperately trying to plug up the breaks in the levees; until they are plugged, water continues to flow into the city and even areas that were not flooded before are flooding now.
• Heat indexes in the low 100s hamper rescue efforts.
• Other area rivers (i.e. the Pearl River) are at or near flood stage and this may well cause more problems in the area.
• Water is flowing into the whole downtown area at a rate of 6 inches per hour.
• 1200 rescues have been successfully completed in the New Orleans area, but hundreds still calling 911.
• There are several confirmed levee breaches - at least one on the south side of Lake Pontchartrain, one a couple of blocks long in the 17th St. Canal on the New Orleans side, and reportedly one in the Industrial Canal. This is why the flooding is getting worse, not better.
• The only way in or out at this point is the Crescent City Connection (the main bridge over the Mississippi River.)
• People who evacuated told to stay out until further notice, people who didn't evac told to get out as soon as possible via the Crescent City Connection.
• Mayor Ray Nagin: 80 percent of New Orleans is underwater, up to 20 feet deep.
• Tulane Medical Center is being evacuated due to fast rising water and they are moving people to the Superdome.
• The Superdome already has about 10,000 people, little or no potable water, no bathroom facilities, and several large holes in the roof. But this is the best available.
• At least 20 collapsed buildings.
• $26 BILLION in damage and counting.
• I just saw video of the twin spans; at least one huge chunk, maybe 50-60 yards worth, is missing. And many collapsed sections where it's over land.
• I-12 has been re-opened, I-10 in the New Orleans area is closed and will remain so indefinitely.
• Over 800 calls in the 911 database queue that LA State troopers and others are trying to deal with and get help where needed.
• New Orleans Police Dept. headquarters is getting 6 inches an hour of water, still rising. What did they do with the prisoners in lockup?
• Martial law, but looting is still occurring.

Other sites watching all this - Michelle Malkin as always has a fantastic roundup on various Katrina topics, this link to the latest on what's going on with the Superdome. New Orleans local Paul from Wizbang has plenty.

Apparently the water in my part of the city (Metairie) is getting deeper, and a LOT of trees are down. I'm glad I'm in Dallas right now - I'm simultaneously frantic to get back and dreading it.

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