FEMA may have come up a day late and a dollar short in aiding survivors of Katrina. But you can't fault it when it comes to assisting the press. They offer a number of handy press tools including story templates for their various subdivisions. So I thought I would avail myself of the service and let you know how the search for survivors is going.

Today's news template comes from Urban Search and Rescue. I've put the FEMA instructions in italics and colored in red where I had to fill in the blanks. With the FEMA press kit and story templates, you can whip out a story and still have time for a tall one at your favorite watering hole.

 

NEW ORLEANS, LA – Local, state and federal emergency workers continue combing through rubble in the New Orleans area looking for survivors who may be trapped in the wreckage caused by Katrina.

[Verified facts about the disaster: When the disaster occurred, what happened (stick to the facts), where injured individuals were taken, whether there are confirmed fatalities (but not how many… those numbers tend to fluctuate.]

Hurricane Katrina smashed into the Mississippi and Louisiana coast a week ago Monday with such intensity that authorities were just baffled by the extent of the damage. Some fatalities have been confirmed, but authorities refuse to speculate on the total number of deaths because they say they tend to fluctuate. So far, however, unofficial body counts have only fluctuated upwards.

Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urban search-and-rescue task forces are here working [12-hour shifts round-the-clock] round-the-clock in an effort to locate survivors.

Anecdote or detail of how many people have been found, where, etc.

Groups of people who appeared to be dazed were found walking along the Interstate. "That was the last place we expected to find them," said local FEMA coordinator Ray Sizzem. "There was just no way we could get to them, strung out like they were on an open road."

To solve the problem FEMA officials decided to invoke a plan developed during previous disaster exercises. Known as "herding," it called for survivors to be directed to a central location where they could be watched for signs of anarchy. "Fortunately we had both the Superdome and the Convention Center at our disposal," added Mr. Sizzem, "so we could check them for weapons and drugs before they even got through the door. After that it was only a matter of keeping them penned."

“Obviously, our hearts go out to everyone affected by this disaster,” stated [ESF-9 coordinating official,] Kay Oss, who coordinates urban search-and-rescue for FEMA Region VIII. “We will work as hard as we can for as long as we are needed to locate the missing individuals.”

FEMA search-and-rescue personnel are working side by side with local and state emergency workers, and [hundreds of volunteers] countless volunteers who have shown up to help with the rescue effort. Each member of the FEMA team[s] team is highly trained for search-and-rescue operations in damaged or collapsed structures, hazardous materials evaluations, stabilization of damaged structures, and can provide emergency medical care to the injured.

There now. Thanks to FEMA and the free press, you know all you need to know.